Pretty Little Green Things

Archive for the ‘Eco Travel’ Category

I just got back from the most amazing girls weekend in the country with my equally amazing girlfriends.  The cottage we stayed in was cozy, cute and as one of them put it, quilt-y (tons of quilts, quilted pillows and blankets piled everywhere).  Getting out of New York City, even for just the weekend, always inspires me to want to keep driving on and be a perpetual traveller.  So of course as soon as I got home, I popped open the computer and selected the most gorgeous green hotel I could find to appease my travel bug.  I don’t think the Saffire Freycinet, a stunning boutique hotel in Tasmania, Australia could be any more perfect.  I’m sorely tempted to hop on a plane tonight so I can check it out in person.

The Saffire Freycinet and the 20 guestrooms it comprises was built to be ecologically & environmentally sensitive.  The undulating and organic shape of the buildings are made from local Tasmanian wood and are reminiscent of the nearby Hazard Mountains.  Other ecological considerations include the use of local materials throughout, double glazing, appropriate insulation for the climate, energy efficient lighting, water conservation and limited night lighting.  In addition, the Saffire tries to not only lessen their effect on the local landscape, they strive to heal damaged sites.   I’m loving the elegant and modern design – it’s absolutely luxurious but not at all showy or overdesigned.  The interiors were designed by Chhada Siembieda from Hong Kong who was inspired by the colors and textures of the surrounding environment to create a seamless experience between the indoors and out.  Enjoy!  And as always, let me know your thoughts below.

See what I mean about the buildings being reminiscent of the nearby mountains?  Beautiful setting.

I love the color and texture of the Tasmanian wood ceilings found throughout the hotel.

The Lobby Lounge

How beautiful is this dining room?  I’m loving those chandeliers.  I wonder where they’re from.

Another view of the Dining Room

Exterior of one of the 20 suites

Luxury suite

Another suite

Premium room

The Spa

And of course, I couldn’t possibly finish without at least one stunning picture of the landscape.  If I don’t update the blog tomorrow, you’ll know where to find me.

Photos courtesy of the Saffire Freycinet

If, like me, you’re not fortunate enough to be a resident of Serenbe, the amazing eco-community that I’ve been talking about all week, don’t you worry.  This housing development has really made sure to provide everything in one area.  Yes, that’s right, they have an inn & guesthouses where you can stay while you enjoy your organic food, eco-friendly shopping and ride a horse through their 40,000 acres of greenspace.  The Inn at Serenbe actually comprises a main house plus four cottages of varying sizes to accommodate any sized party.  Three of the buildings were converted while the others were built new according to the EarthCraft rating system.  Whether its reuse or green from the start, I think that’s a great accomplishment.  I’m loving that each room is decorated differently so the entire inn has a very organic and lived-in aesthetic.  Enjoy!

This is the Main House with seven different room types to choose from

And these are a few of the rooms available.  I’m loving the neutral palette.  Very serene.

This is the exterior of the Magnolia Cottage.  How cute is this?

And the interior.  How beautiful is this room?  I love all the drapery (of course)

The living room of the Magnolia cottage

This is the exterior of the Dogwood Cottage.

I wouldn’t mind hanging out here on the Dogwood cottage’s porch.

Photos from Serenbe Inn & Trip Advisor

Now that it’s turned a bit chilly in New York, I wouldn’t mind escaping to the Basque region of Southern France.  Oh who am I kidding?  Who needs to use weather as an reason to visit that part of the world?  But what would make a nice excuse is L’Auberge Basque, a beautiful little inn nestled between the Rhune Mountains and the Bay of Biscay.  It was founded by Basque native, Cedric Bechade, with a commitment to the local community and environment.

And not only is this contemporary guesthouse chic, it’s also eco-friendly.  Geothermal systems heat and cool the hotel and a sophisticated shower system mixes in air to save on water.  In addition, energy efficient lighting, natural cleaning products and a recycling system are found throughout.  I’m loving the sophisticated furnishings paired with a very serene color scheme, making it a perfect place to relax and enjoy your surroundings.  Enjoy!

Photos from L’Auberge Basque

If you saw last week’s post about Cisco Pinedo’s gorgeous home in California, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of his company, Cisco Home.  Their furniture is not only well made and stylish, it’s also eco-friendly!  So when I saw that one of the furnished model units at the W Hollywood Residences was done in partnership with Cisco Home, you can probably guess that I got pretty excited about it.

The whole project is a mixed use building comprising hotel rooms, residences, a restaurant, spa and many other facilities, all operated by the W.  But what’s even more impressive than the legendary first class service from this hotel chain are the eco creds.  The whole building is slated to received LEED Silver for environmental initiatives including: energy & water efficiency, proximity to mass transit, use of local & green materials and more.  In order to show off their commitment to sustainability, W has turned one of the seven model units into an inspiring example of stylish eco-friendly living, designed by econnect grp. and Kelly Van Patter.  I’m loving the mix of luxurious materials and furnishings with bold modern touches – true W style.  Enjoy!

I must find out where that wallpaper comes from.  Love!

Such a nice color scheme.  I’m loving the mix of cool & warm tones.

Hello balcony!  How I wish I had thee… (although c’mon if you’re selling this unit, wait for a nicer day to take the picture.  Or is that smog on the horizon?  Hmm, looks like someone needs some photoshop help.)

Such a bold red wall against the distressed wood.

I am LOVING those wood hooks.  If anyone knows where I can find these, let me know!

Photos from W Hollywood Eco Residences

I’m home!!!  We got back from our whirlwind two week vacation to Southeast Asia late last night.  I’m still a bit dazed at being in the US but am ready to unpack, do some laundry and make a huge grocery store run today.  We had an amazing trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.  I’ll be working on going through our hundreds of pictures and will post a few of the best ones this week.

One of the biggest surprises coming back home for us was the dropping temperature.  It’s gotten quite chilly in New York since we’ve been gone and I’m already longing for the warmer temperatures of Thailand (although my hair is not missing the humidity.  Hello fro!).  We stayed at a beautiful resort on Ko Phi Phi with amazing views of the Andaman Sea and a few surrounding islands off in the distance.  One of these islands, Koh Yao Noi, is home to a Six Senses Resort & Spa.  Sustainability has always been part of the hotel group’s platform, so it comes as no surprise that the Six Senses Yao Noi won a Wild Asia Responsible Tourism award in 2008 for their energy and water conservation, waste management, use of natural materials, environmental awareness and social responsibility.  If you want to read more about the specifics of the Six Senses Yao Noi’s environmental profile, you can take a look here.

Unfortunately we didn’t visit the island so I didn’t get to peek in at the luxury resort.  But if the pictures are any indication, the Six Senses Yao Noi is a gorgeous eco-resort.  So with that, put your feet up, drink a pina colada and enjoy!

Hilltop Reserve Villa Pool

View from the Hilltop Reserve Villa

Hilltop Reserve Master Bedroom

Outdoor Dining area

Guest Bathroom

Pool at the Deluxe Villa

View of surrounding islands

Outdoor Shower

View at night.  Sigh.

View of the Main House

Entry to the Spa

Photos from Six Senses

Newport, RI has a brand new luxury resort, Forty 1° North, that’s not only beautiful but green!  This waterfront hotel is aiming for LEED Silver with features such as: efficient design of windows & doors to reduce heating & cooling, reduced energy consumption with LED and CFL lightbulbs, FSC certified wood, low flow shower heads and dual flush commodes, and recycled content in the exterior concrete.  While I’m impressed by this long list, the one feature that I’m most excited about are the iPads in every room.  While they’re incredibly fun to play with, the iPads are actually used as a paperless way for the hotel to deliver messages, menus, directories and newspapers.  How forward thinking!

The hotel was designed by DAS Architects of Philadelphia.  I’m loving the neutral color palette and understated yet elegant design. Now if only I could think of a reason to visit Newport soon, so I could see it for myself.

The Harbor View Suite.  The view is incredible!  I wouldn’t mind enjoying my morning coffee on that balcony overlooking the harbor.

A typical guestroom.  The bed is just waiting to be fallen into.  And I’m loving the pendant shades as bedside lamps.

Another view of the guestroom.  What cute chairs!

The Grand Suite – avery handsome color palette.

The Gallery is my favorite space in the hotel.  Its airy, bright, modern with a touch of whimsy.

See?  A very fun space indeed.  I want to hang out in those O loungers.  And when I learn how to play chess, watch out!

The Lounge – a very beautiful color palette.

The Marina.  This is really a gorgeous area overlooking the harbor.  I bet it’s an amazing spot at sunset.

Photos from Forty 1 North

I’m off to Minnesota for the weekend to visit friends and family, so I’m going to leave you till Tuesday with this gorgeous resort located on the southern tip of Uruguay, next to the Atlantic Ocean.  From the outside, Estancia Vik José Ignacio looks like a traditional estancia, but on the inside, you’ll see that all similarities to tradition stop there.  20 different Uruguayan artists were involved in the creation of this resort, which was designed by architect Marcelo Daglio and curated by Enrique Badaró Nadal.  You’ll see in the following pictures how artful and chic this resort truly is.  The use of natural materials, local crafts and the traditional bones of the building makes this estancia look like it truly belongs in this gorgeous setting in Uruguay.  And the amazing homage to art makes it truly unique.

I could just stop there and show you this gorgeous property, but no, it actually has some amazing green features.  By locating and planning the building just so, the design minimized the need for heating, cooling, ventilation and irrigation.  Additionally, windmills, solar panels and water collection make this resort self sustaining.  And all of the food they serve is either locally sourced or comes from their organic garden.  Mom, I love you, but would you be insulted if I ended up here this weekend instead of Minnesota?

I may have gone a bit overboard on the number of pictures, but I just can’t get over how beautiful this resort is.  Enjoy and have a wonderful July 4 weekend!

Photos from Vik Hotels

The traditional hotel suite is a model of inefficiency, so last year the US Green Buildings Council put out a contest to redefine how a high-performance, energy-and-resource-efficient hotel suite should look and function.  WATG & IDEO partnered up to create their version and this suite was the result.  They named it Haptik, a Greek term meaning to experience interactions because the design was based on a sense of touch.  They wanted to create a “juxtaposition between sustainability and luxury by redefining the guest experience without sacrificing either ideal.”

According to WATG, their Haptik suite features the following green elements:

• An all-off room switch based on passive infrared sensors (PIS) to make sure lights are all turned off
• Solar heat capture to warm shower water
• A graywater irrigation system that filters and recycles shower water to outdoor gardens and landscaping
• FSC wood products
• LED lighting
• Customized lighting and temperature preferences via PDA prior to arrival
• Room key doubles as bus and train passes & complementary bicycle rentals (very cool)
• Nana Wall that opens to the outdoors (this is the type of system that you see a lot of New York restaurants use in the summer)

There aren’t a ton of pictures of the suite, but WATG did do a few renderings before it was built that I’ve included.  I think it’s an interesting study of what a hotel room could be.  What do you think?

If you’re interested in seeing or reading more about this suite, you can visit WATG’s website and read more about the project here.

Photos from Interior Design.  Renderings from WATG.

Alila Villas Uluwatu is an amazing luxury resort in Bali that just opened about a year ago.  Designed by WOHA, a Singapore based architectural firm with a commitment to the environment, it includes clusters of private villas, pools, gardens, restaurants and a spa, all perched above the Indian Ocean a top limestone cliffs (sounds nice, huh?  Wish I was there right now!).   Traditional materials and building techniques were used to allude to the rich Bali culture and heritage, but all done in a very modern way.    What I love the best is that they’ve blurred the lines between indoors and out so that you really feel a connection to the environment.

Here are a few eco facts for you according the WOHA:

• Alila Villas Uluwatu is on track to achieve Green Globe design and build accreditation, a certification system for sustainable hotel management and operations.
• Use of local materials throughout the resort
• Use of local plants from the Bali Savannah ecosystem which saves on water consumption and encourages local bird and animal life
• Water conservation with rain gardens and gray water systems
• Use of heat pumps for water heating
• Use of salt water pools (no chlorine!)

I could go on, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves (and there are quite a few!).  If you want to know more about the project, make sure to visit the website for Alila Villas Uluwatu.  Enjoy!



















Photos from Alila Hotels & Resorts

Before I get into the nitty gritty of what makes something green and chic, I wanted to show you that not only is it important to live a beautiful and sustainable life, it’s absolutely possible!  Over the next couple of posts I’ll be showing wonderful green projects that we should all aspire to.

I’ve chosen this first hotel to highlight what I think is a perfect example of a chic green project that you wouldn’t necessarily know is green.  The Crosby Street Hotel opened last year in Soho, New York and is the seventh hotel and first US hotel for Firmdale Hotels.  This luxury boutique hotel chain is owned by Tim & Kit Kemp with all interiors designed by Kit.  Room prices aren’t cheap, but if the service is anything like their super cute Number Sixteen Hotel in Kensington, it’s definitely a nice treat.

In typical British fashion, the style of this hotel is quirky, fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.  Interesting objects, bright punches of color and traditional furniture fill the hotel.  But what I love best about the design is that each of the 86 guestrooms is different.  It’s like they designed this luxury hotel as they would their own home.










How is this chic hotel green you say?  Well let me tell you.  Firmdale Hotels are looking towards certifying this hotel as LEED Gold, which is quite an achievement.  They recycled waste from the previous building, which if you live down that way, you may remember that it used to be a small parking garage.  There’s also an amazing movie of the transformation on their website that you can check out.  Other green qualities include: bike racks, energy efficient lighting, solar panels, zero and low VOC finishes and FSC certified wood.





One of the coolest green things I think they did was to install a roof garden, care of April Goode at Goode Green.  They plan to harvest food for the restaurant come this spring.  I might just need to make a trip over for dinner to check it out!

I personally love the quirky and bright British style.  I think it’s fun and fresh.  Besides, who really takes  themselves that seriously?  I know I don’t!  What do you think?

Here are a few more pictures of the hotel for you.  You can also check out some of their other room types on their website.

Photos from Firmdale’s Website