Trend on the Wane: Hotel Toiletries

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Are you one of those travelers who hordes collects the little plastic bottles of shampoos and lotions from hotel rooms? My grandmother was one such traveler, and her collection amassed over 25 years overflowed from under the sink in her powder room” just in case.

These outdated vials bother me, not only because their “fragrance” is usually a chemical cocktail, but because a carpet of single-use plastic containers now covers a vast swath of the Pacific.

So it’s encouraging when I find hotels that are replacing all those senseless plastic bottles with refillable wall-mounted dispensers. Luxury in the past has implied waste, but increasingly, luxury is being defined as what is most comfortable and thoughtful, not disposable or collectible. I find it refreshing that luxury can now rest graciously in the same sentence with words like recycle, conserve and green consciousness.

These California hoteliers are proving it: there’s The Ambrose in Santa Monica, The Orchard Garden in San Francisco and Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa in Napa. I’ll be exploring more soon, but in the meantime, please tell me about any eco-luxe locations you’ve discovered.