2011 – EcoSalon

The Top Places & Spaces of 2011

Fiona Flores Watson — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:17:52 +0000

A look back at all the amazing places and spaces we can go to worldwide.

It’s time to look back at some of the fabulous, luxe, glamped out and gorgeous havens, hotels and resorts we’ve covered in Places & Spaces this year. Be it for for their standard-bearing eco-consciousness and innovative energy-saving, or inimitable style and originality (or, indeed all four), these hotels all merited mentioning. And now they bear ranking as our favorites.

Top LEED Certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

CityFlatsHotel, Holland, Michigan

This LEED Gold-certified hotel has eco-friendly features such as extra-thick insulating curtains, large windows for natural lighting, recycled materials and intelligent occupancy systems to save on heating, cooling and illumination when you’re not there.

Bardessono, Yountville, California
Made from recycled materials and using only renewable energy sources, this is one of only two LEED Platinum certified hotels in the world. Temperature control includes simple but effective blinds, while the rooms are large and the food renowned. Free wine tastings – as you’d expect from a hotel in Napa Valley.

Crosby Street, New York
A converted warehouse in SoHo, this was one of New York’s first LEED Gold certified hotels, with sustainable power, recycled materials, a vegetable garden and chicken coop on the roof.

Orchard Garden, San Francisco
Non-toxic paint and recycled building materials and carpets are some of the features which led to this Union Square hotel being the third LEED-certified hotel in the US.

Top Roughing It

Canvas Hotel, Norway
On an island in a lake, this yurt hotel is aimed at cyclists. After a day on two wheels, ease your aching muscles in a sauna, or portable bathtubs – pick your preferred soaking spot; wild swimming inevitable.

Treehotel, Sweden
Glamping at its most original, this hotel in a Swedish forest has a UFO, a bird’s nest and a mirrored cube where you sleep. To get to the washing facilities, you have to go down steps, or across a bridge or walkway, which just adds to the sense of adventure. Don’t look down.

Tubohotel, Tepoztlan, Mexico
Cast-off concrete tubes offer a truly one-off experience, in this Mexican camp of cozy circular units. Mind your head.

Top Luxe

The Scarlet, Cornwall, UK
In a super-eco building (solar power – yes, in England; water recycling; and green-roof insulation), this beachfront hotel combines a spa using local, natural ingredients; outdoor hot tub with sea view; and funky-chic interiors. The best of contemporary English style – and hopefully some fine English weather.

Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali
Overlooking the sea, this resort has huge villas made of local materials, naturally ventilated with private pools and cabañas – as well as water recycling, filtration and conservation. The ultimate in genuine eco-luxury.

Hidden Hotel, Paris
Get a dose of French chic at this discreet boutique hotel near the Arc de Triomphe, furnished in wood, linen, cotton and stone. Feel the textural heaven.

For Foodies Only

Rosalie Bay, Dominica, Caribbean
Colonial-style beachfront resort where the chef tends his own organic garden and produces contemporary-Caribbean finger-licking-good dishes, with an accent on seafood (conch ravioli). Eco features include wind power and water filtration; the spa uses local natural products and the garden’s bursting with Frangipani and Hibiscus.

Banjaran Hot Springs Retreat, Malaysia
Tropical fruit and vegetables grown in this lakeside resort’s own organic garden are used in the spa restaurant’s concoctions, while the wine bar is in a limestone cave. With naturally-heated water, the villas feature private geothermal pools; spa treatments use home-grown organic fruit; and you can zen out in meditation, crystal and sauna caves (don’t worry, no bats).

Top Beachy Locales

Six Senses Ninh Van Bay, Vietnam

Accessible only by boat, this resort in the South China Sea has a spa offering “Slow Life” treatments, and organic meals cooked in traditional clay pots. Villas (some thatched) – either on the beach, over the water, on the mountain or in the jungle – have their own plunge pool and terrace or sundeck. Rainwater collection, responsible fish sourcing, local community projects and a herb and vegetable garden show the resort’s green credentials. Tempted to sabotage that boat and get stuck here?

Eco Beach, Australia
This resort in northwestern Australia tells you to forget your shoes – stay in wood-framed tents with decks, or plusher villas, all steps away from the beach. With solar panels, an organic vegetable garden, and chickens. Beach bunnies will be in heaven.

Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

This family-friendly resort just outside Los Angeles, in sprawling ranch style, overlooks the Pacific Ocean – unusually, pets are also welcome. The eco-golf course has special wetland plants used for filtering water. Just close enough to the madness of Hollywood – but not too close.

Bay of Fires, Tasmania

This intimate beach-side lodge, with just 10 simple guest rooms where all meals are included, was built using local materials, and boasts solar power and water recycling. You can only get there by boat, helicopter or 4WD. What it lacks in plushness, it more than makes up for with unrestricted 360-degree views over the coastal wilderness. A 21st-century escape (bet there’s no mobile coverage).

Top All Around
For their environmental high score, their originality and their style.

Gaia Hotel & Reserve, Costa Rica
In a nature reserve on the Pacific coast, this luxury adult-only resort with spa gets you close to nature like nowhere else – monkeys play in the rainforest just outside your window; suites have balconies, terraces or private pools. Water-saving measures and biological waste treatment, with natural ventilation and cooling. For nature-loving, luxe spa babies.

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

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The Friday 5: Hopeful Edition

Mike Sowden — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:04:41 +0000

Our final weekly roundup of stories in 2011.

Here at EcoSalon we’re filled with hope for the new year – specifically:

The New Year resolutions we hope you’re not making in the next few days.

The 2012 we hope you’ll have, specifically, every single one of us.

The 10 news stories of 2011 we hope you didn’t miss.

The 10 quotes about women that we sincerely hope you did miss.

…and in the coming year, we dearly hope we’ve all learned how to seize the moment – because life is short.

Happy New Year!

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Triumphant

Andrea Newell — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:26:19 +0000

QuotesDaily quotes at EcoSalon.

“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” – Mia Hamm

Congratulations to the Japanese women’s soccer team for winning the 2011 Women’s World Cup. After a tumultuous year overcoming the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear mishap in Japan, it is gratifying to see these first-time winners triumph. The U.S. women’s team, aiming to take home their third World Cup title, played an amazing series. These strong women are an inspiration for girls everywhere.

image:Bleacher Report

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From Niche to Mainstream: A Toast to Sustainable Fashion

Rowena Ritchie — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:27:55 +0000

While the New Year has provided the typical fashion media’s pause for reflection, coverage for the sustainable fashion movement is enjoying a few more toasts and moments of celebration.

Champagne Lifestyles. Don’t you think the Golden Globes’ red carpet fashion could have used a little more green? And I’m not talking about the emerald dresses sported by Angelina Jolie, Catherine Zeta Jones, and Elizabeth Moss. The best news about Colin Firth’s win for the Kings Speech? The spotlight will be more brightly focused on his dedicated green-living wife, Livia Firth, and her Eco Age store which offers sustainable fashion and domestic solutions.

Congrats! Along with mentoring the newly launched Awamaki Lab Initiative, Study NY designer Tara St. James won the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award for Sustainable Design. Along with seven New York-based designers who will each receive the $25,000 grant towards production of their runway show at February’s New York Fashion Week.

Hitting the big TIME. Discussions about the need for greener fashion are increasingly penetrating the mainstream media. Levi’s Water Less Jeans have garnered a steady stream of discussion-provoking coverage since the advance news of their launch hit the airways culminating in this week’s issue of TIME.

Bottoms up! Three U.K. mass market chains are broadening the reach of ethical fashion. After the well-received upcycled line From Somewhere, the popular supermarket chain Tesco announced the launch of a capsule collection from Goodone, made from factory surplus and off cuts.

Pharrell Williams’s sustainable Fabric company, Bionic Yarn, is teaming up with retailer Topshop to launch a three-piece denim collection with this season’s 70s style detailing. Retailer M&S is also launching a 70s influenced sustainable line, Indigo Green. The 15-piece collection will be made from organic, fair trade and sustainable sourced fabrics.

Image: Matt From London

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Oh Hai 2011

Heather Dale — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 14:00:49 +0000

To help you ring in the New Year, here are some EcoSalon treasures to get you thinking about your past, present and future – because ultimately, isn’t that what this day is all about?

Happy New Year!

Image: 1suisse

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