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.
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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 »

The perfect getaway for me is admittedly a luxurious resort, but one that really takes responsibility for the environment in more ways than one, so I was delighted to find myself at the newly refurbished Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa for a cozy winter weekend.
I had never been up to the San Bernardino National Forest before and it came as some surprise that we had to drive 6,000 feet up a bendy mountain road to reach our destination. Often referred to as “The Alps of Southern California”, the delightful Lake Arrowhead village had me feeling I was light years away from smoggy LA. The lake itself is nestled into the mountains and surrounded by huge pine and cedar trees. We were fortunate enough to have perfect weather: crystal clear blue skies with a deliciously refreshing chill in the air. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re always on the lookout for great family resorts that help us to getaway from the stresses of life and get connected to a deeper purpose. We love eco, however, we also like a bit of luxury every now and then. We also love to find resorts where the kids can have a wild & wonderful time, while we can find our peace. Once such resort is just a couple of hours from Los Angeles, and minues away from San Diego. It’s La Costa Resort & Spa, which features the most enormous waterslide outside of a waterpark that I’ve ever seen. So you get to do the whole kid- aventure thing and get to have an amazing spa experience. The resort is set in amongst lush and beautiful grounds and is just mintues away from the beautiful beaches of Carlsbad. Read the rest of this entry »