If it looks like a green hotel, and quacks like a green hotel, then it has to be… the Oxford Hotel in Bend, Oregon. This boutique hotel has gone the extra mile to make sure that guests can enjoy guilt-free and eco-friendly luxury.

The Oxford Hotel, Bend, OR

In fact,  ”where luxury meets sustainability” seems to be their watchword. Every luxury the hotel offers is rendered guilt free by the use of green technology and products.

The use of 100% renewable energy allows for them to light up the hotel like a Christmas tree with fluorescent lighting and for guests to use all kinds of gadgets and gizmos in the brightly lit rooms, including two 42″ LCD flat-screen television sets, a refrigerator, individual climate control and a microwave.

Room at the Oxford Hotel in Bend, OR

Many of the rooms and the 59 suites in the hotel offer views of the Cascade Mountains and Downtown Bend. The dark wood tones, ornate furnishings, naturally bright lighting with large windows and expansive space create the impression of an understated luxury that’s rare in a hotel where rates start from $160. Read More »

They’ll still leave the light on for you, but now the lights are eco-friendly. A historic moment for Motel 6 – The Northlake, TX Motel 6 is now the first economy hotel in the US to attain LEED certification from the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

LEED Certified Motel 6 in Northlake, TX

This makes it the greenest budget hotel in the US. But it’s not just all about the green (as in money and eco-friendly), though. The hotel also happens to be new and in mint condition, and not coincidentally - also very stylish.

The Northlake property is part of the new wave of ‘Phoenix’ design Motel 6 properties. This design won an award for its stunning Euro-chic features from Travel + Leisure magazine, which gave the Phoenix design it’s 2010 Design Award for ‘Best Large Hotel.’

Read More »

The newly opened h2hotel in Healdsburg, CA adds one more ultra-green hotel to the growing list of eco-friendly Wine Country retreats.

h2hotel

The $19 million, 36-room hotel is aiming for LEED Gold certification. Everything about it – the lower case h2hotel name, the water bars and the undulating living roof that blends into the hillside –  is themed to reflect a harmony with the surroundings.

The first thing you’ll see when you arrive is the ‘Spoonfall’ water sculpture that uses collected rainfall and thousands of espresso spoons sending down water droplets.

Once inside, the lobby has the ‘Receptobar’ where you check-in. There’s a Flying Goat Coffee bar and the h2shop, if you want to indulge in eco-fashion or stock up on gourmet drinks and snacks.

h2hotel’s 36 rooms include 28 guest rooms, 6 junior suites and 2 suites. The 11-foot ceilings, striped bamboo floors and the outdoor sitting balconies with rusting steel grillework provide the rustic touch. The art in the rooms was commissioned by San Francisco Bay Area artist Kathi Aoki.

Read More »

My brother-in-law and his wife are expecting their first child at the end of May. It’s the first grandchild on both sides, so the whole family is pretty “over the moon” about it.

The happy couple have been talking about a different kind of moon — a babymoon, which is an often romantic trip that expectant parents take near the due date (although not too near!) You could call it a last hurrah before the baby arrives and distracts them from everything else, including each other, for the next 18 years.

Of course they asked me for hotel recommendations, and of course I had some! Here are my top 5 ideas for a fabulous Northern California (no flying so close to the due date) pre-baby weekend getaway, moving from South to North: Read More »