Santa Monica is famous for it’s “Baywatch” beaches- acres of golden sand, dotted with pale blue Read the rest of this entry »

Let the magic begin” is inscribed on a bronze sign, which hangs beside a gigantic chair, which is fashioned in the Read the rest of this entry »

If you ever get the chance to visit the old city of Pasadena – just a 30 minute drive out of Los Angeles, I urge you to go. The main attraction for me is the magnificent Huntington Gardens, which contains over 14,000 plants in over a dozen different gardens. This is an absolute treat for a nature lover and there’s something to enjoy whatever time of year you visit.  My mother-in-law loves to go in June when the roses are sublime, my daughter loves to visit the Japanese Gardens to see the enormous lilies and Koi fish whenever, and I love to just sit under an enormous shady tree and breathe in my surroundings. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of year when we all dream of a lovely vacation. We’ll be reviewing some choice eco-friendly vacation spots this year and to kick off this series, our guest eco-wedding blogger, Sharon Naylor, visited a very special place. Hmmm – this one’s now on my bucket list, which is getting really long. Let us know which places on Earth are on your bucket list? Read the rest of this entry »

As you may have already gathered, I’m not a camping/sweat lodge type of girl. Oh No – I love a bit of eco-luxury as far as travel is concerned, however, I recently decided to get a grip on myself and try out a few getaways that might – oh horror of horrors, take me out of my comfort zone. Being “Ms Gorgeously Green,” I get teased relentlessly by family and friends, who clearly think I Read the rest of this entry »

My husband and I had planned to spend our 11th Anniversary in Paris, but because of a last minute work emergency, my husband got held up in LA – so we only made it as far as London. With only a few days to plan our weekend, I was bound and determined to discover an eco-hotel – not an easy find in a city like London, but after a little research I discovered that One Aldwych, bang in the middle of the West End, is a hotel which is most certainly Gorgeously Green. It’s efforts have resulted in it just being awarded the Luxury Eco-Certification Standard (LECS). One Aldwych is one of only six hotels in the world to get this rigorously assessed accreditation, so I was very excited to step inside. Read the rest of this entry »

When traveling to large cities, such as NYC, Chicago, London, Paris etc, it’s often a challenge to find a green way of doing it. On a recent trip to NYC, I was pleasantly surprised to find a new level of consciousness arising in the hotel industry. For now, with their massive and often archaic infrastructure, it’s pretty hard for for old school hotels in any city to change, however, like an old person stuck in their ways, some are at least taking a stab at it. So before landing in the big apple, I sniffed around a bit, and found The Benjamin Hotel, which is bang in the center of the city (mid town), and is a jewel among a lot of other rather large hotels in this Read the rest of this entry »

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Bright Green

Fairmont Resorts can always be relied upon for ultimate luxury. Every need is taken care of and it’s pretty cool to be able to indulge and pamper at such an ecologically responsible resort.

Why Eco?
The Fairmont Chain has always been a favorite of mine, as they are leaders in environmental stewardship. They are pretty much mindful across the board: Their wonderful golf courses are overseen by the “greening our greens” program, their green cuisine program, where they partner with local sustainable farms is really impressive, they recycle all their paper and waste food gets taken to the local pig farm for feed! The most interesting eco-aspect is that they have partnered with the University of Hawaii at Hilo in a Reef-monitoring program.

We love…
The ‘Spa Without Walls”, where you go to have either an ocean side or fountain-side massage, either of which is dreamy. If you get a chance to stay on their Gold Floor, you’ll get treated like Royalty and you really don’t need to order any food at all, as a massive breakfast, tea, and evening au deurvres are laid out for your enjoyment. That being said, dishes prepared by Executive Sous Chef Stephen Rouelle at Brown’s Beach House are not to be missed. Plan at least one dinner here, and watch the sun go down as you indulge in his culinary delights. We love that Stephen is so passionate about every ingredient he uses and that his food will satisfy every taste bud, leaving you with a huge Gorgeously Green smile on your face.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Bright Green

Why eco-friendly?
Named as one of the World’s Top Earth-friendly resorts by Conde Nast Traveler magazine, this resort really walks the walk. Mauna Lani opened 26 years ago and was on the case environmentally way back then. The resort has more energy generated through solar than any other luxury resort in the world, drought resistant grass is used on the golf course, gray water is used throughout the resort, and the “Epicuran 808” menu sources food harvested within a radius of 100 miles of the resort. Perhaps the most stunning eco-aspect of Mauna Lani is their green sea turtle program, where they raise juvenile turtles in the resort’s saltwater ponds until they are old enough to be released into the wild. Read the rest of this entry »

Imagine this: You’re lying on a heated massage table enjoying a deeply soothing massage. You can hear the waves crashing on the beach outside, as flames flicker in an enormous fireplace. You are at The Terranea Resort and Spa, which is eco-luxe at its best. If you live in/near Los Angeles, you’re in luck as this wonderful Resort and Spa has just recently opened on the Palos Verdes Penninsula. If you are visiting LA this summer, I highly recommend this spot for either the whole family, or for a deliciously Read the rest of this entry »