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 »

The Orchard Garden Hotel is a beautiful luxury boutique hotel, and any visitor to San Francisco would enjoy spending a night or four there.

The rooms are bright and spacious, and the location is central to everything people want to do on vacation in the city by the Bay. It’s right on Union Square for shopping, the Museum of Modern Art is walking distance, and it’s around the corner from the largest and oldest Chinatown outside of Asia.

Orchard Garden Hotel, San Francisco, CA

More importantly, for those of us who like to make eco-responsible travel choices, the Orchard Garden Hotel is one of the most elegantly, seriously green hotels you will ever visit, which is why it’s one of my picks for the Top 5 Green Hotels in San Francisco.

The hotel was built from the ground up in 2006, using the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.  In 2007, the Orchard Garden hotel was the first hotel in California, the third hotel in the US, and just the fourth in the world, to earn LEED certification.

This is a legitimately environmentally-responsible property, and their efforts go far beyond in-room recycling, which they obviously have. For example, the key card activated energy management system.

When you enter the room, you put your key card in a holder by the door. This turns on the lights and air systems. When you leave, you take the key and everything gets turned off, except for one outlet. That way you effortlessly conserve energy, and you’re still able to charge electronics while you’re eating dinner or sight-seeing. This system is common in Europe and Asia, but it’s just catching on here, which is a mystery to me — it saves so much energy that the system paid for itself in two years.

If you’re as geeky about eco-friendly building and certification as I am, you can read more about the Orchard Garden’s green efforts on the hotel’s website. They’re very proud of their green-cred, and make all of the information freely available. Here’s my favorite stat: they diverted 77% of the construction waste out of landfill!

Terrace Suite at the Orchard Garden Hotel

The thing I like best about the Orchard Garden Hotel is that the environmentally-friendly practices make it a very nice place to stay.

I already mentioned the great lighting — 80% of the space is lit by daylight, even though it’s downtown and surrounded by tall office buildings. They use chemical-free cleaning products and all of the linens are machine washable Egyptian cotton, which means your bedspread isn’t leeching drying cleaning chemicals into the bed.

The furniture is made of FSC-certified maple, and the interesting art on the walls (very cool photography, no sad watercolors here) was created by local artists. When you put it all together, the rooms are pretty, comfortable and relaxing.

The bar at Roots Restaurant, Orchard Garden Hotel

Even in restaurant-crazy San Franscisco, what hotel is complete without a tasty restaurant? The Roots Restaurant — with a full bar, extra points — is off the lobby of the hotel. In keeping with the green philosophy, they serve local, organic dishes. Don’t miss the truffle oil french fries. You’re on vacation, live a little!

Magical Rooftop Deck, Orchard Garden Hotel

All of the rooms in the Orchard Garden Hotel are a good size, and you have access to a beautiful shared roof deck, with views of the City. In addition to the standard room with a queen sized bed, you can choose from a junior suite, with a little more space to spread out, or the deluxe terrace suite, which gets you a private section of roof deck.  There are always specials and packages, including AAA member rates.  On the site you can find rates that start around $150/night and go up.

San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco is a town with a well known reputation for being “green” — from fleets of Prius taxis to every kind of organic, natural and free-range fare –  the eco-traveler is right at home in the City by the Bay.

This extends to the selection of hotels as well. There are so many that it’s almost impossible to pick just five, so for each of the hotels here I included a “Green Claim to Fame” that earned them a place on this top picks list.

The Orchard Garden Hotel
466 Bush Street, San Francisco, California 94108
Toll Free: 888-717-2881, Phone: 415-399-9807, Fax: 415-393-9917
The Orchard Hotel
665 Bush Street, San Francisco, California 94108
Toll Free: 1-888-717-2881,  Phone: 415-362-8878,  Fax: 415-362-8088

Green Claim to Fame
The Orchard Hotel and sister-property the Orchard Garden Hotel set the standard for green hotels – literally. The Orchard properties were the first in California to receive LEED certification, and just the fourth in the world.

One of the many environmentally friendly innovations you’ll find these hotels is a guest room key card system that reduces electricity consumption by an estimated 20%. When a guest enters the room, he or she activate the light and heating systems by inserting the key card into a wall unit. When the key is removed, the systems automatically shut off.

In addition to deluxe green accommodations, guests at the hotel can arrange for eco-friendly services like airport transfers in Toyota Prius Hybrids, receive discounts on rental bikes and eco-tours, and peruse copies of the Greenopia Guide, “the urban dweller’s guide to ‘green’ living.”

Hotel Triton
342 Grant Avenue at Bush Street, San Francisco, CA  94104
Reservations: 800-800-1299, Hotel: 415-394-0500, Fax: 415-394-0555

Green Claim to Fame
The Hotel Triton is a member of the Kimpton Family of Hotels, all of which adhere to the strict “EarthCare“   environmental practices. Additionally, the Triton was one of the earliest green hotels, opening the “Eco 7th Floor” in 1994. All of the room on this floor have water saving devices, water filtration systems, and air filtration/purifiers. The hotel recycles 60% of its waste, has recycling receptacles in all guest rooms, and all of their cleaning products are non-toxic and environmentally safe. They also offer 25% off valet parking for hybrid certified vehicles.

W San Francisco
181 3rd Street · San Francisco, California 94103
Phone: 415-777-5300

Green Claim to Fame
Although the W Hotel doesn’t do a lot of eco-promotion on their website, the San Francisco property is leading the way for the Starwood Chain to become greener. They are piloting in-room recycling bins on 6 floors, recycling 71% of waste, and exploring the installation of six wind turbines on the roof.

Hotel Carlton
1075 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94109
Reservations: 1-800-922-7586, Phone: 415-673-0242, Fax: 415-673-4904

Green Claim to Fame
The Hotel Carlton is the only hotel in San Francisco that can boast of having 105 solar panels on the roof. The property was recently certified as a Green Business by the City of San Francisco. It is also an environmentally responsible and carbon neutral hotel, partnering with Carbonfund.org. Their Green Environmental Policy Statement is posted on the website, and it highlights their extensive efforts to recycle, conserve and reduce toxic materials.

Best Western Tuscan Inn
425 N Point Street US San Francisco, California, 94133-1405, United States
Phone: 415-561-1100

Green Claim to Fame
You might not think the world’s largest hotel chain would be all that green, and admittedly the Best Western Tuscan Inn is not the greenest hotel in the city, but the combination of a fabulous location on Fisherman’s Wharf and environmentally friendly practices like in room recycling, organic food, composting, water conservation protocols, and their efforts to educate guests and staff earn them a place on this list.

A Guide to Green Hotels in San Francisco
Even if you don’t pick one of the hotels on this list for your next visit, you can be reasonably sure that almost every hotel in San Francisco is relatively green.

The city follows an aggressive recycling program, has a ban on plastic bags, and you won’t find Styrofoam take out containers anywhere — they’ve been banned too. Most hotels have water saving practices like only changing sheets and towels when you request them. And even if you don’t see a recycling bin in your room, it’s a pretty safe bet that the cleaning staff will get your cans to a blue bin.

Enjoy your trip, and remember that you bring your environmental citizenship with you when you travel, so make your choices wisely!

Photo credit: Lucky Cat Photography