A premier example of eco-chic, Bardessono is one of only two U.S. hotels that are LEED Platinum certified.

Imagine going away on vacation without leaving the faintest trace? This is not a plot point for an episode of CSI, in which, should the aforementioned happen would make for the most unpleasant vacation ever. We’re talking footprint, your carbon one, while still relaxing, getting pampered, and using no fossil fuels.

Bardessono, in California’s Napa Valley, will make you feel wonderfully smug about your time away but this sense of environmental satisfaction comes at a formidable price.

Built from recycled materials, almost completely self-sustaining in terms of energy, and using only local food, the hotel is hard to fault on environmental grounds. Unsurprising, then, that it won LEED’s highest certification, awarded to only three hotels in the world.

Its list of building materials reads like a lesson in green construction practices: salvaged wood, including redwood wine casks, was used for doors, desks and tables, while stone reclaimed from an old wine store at the owner’s family home was reused on the exterior walls. Even the concrete and stainless steel have a high recycled content. The overall feel is modern and unfussy, yet warm.

Air temperature control comes from a geothermal pump, which also provides naturally-heated water – cooling is by automatically-lowered exterior blinds first, to keep the sun out (unusually rare in hotels, but so simple and effective), and by room thermostat second. Most of the hotel’s electricity is provided by nearly 1000 solar panels on the roof.

The best suites have bathrooms with their own treatment beds, for your in-room spa, and outdoor stone tubs; all of the 62 luxe-sized guest rooms have private patios or balconies (as they should, at this price). Take a dip in the rooftop pool, with views to tree-covered hills. As you’d expect, food and wine are both largely organic, with some grown on-site.

Apart from the knowledge that you’re treading so lightly on the planet, we like the free wine tastings and free yoga classes (I wonder if the two are connected, by any chance? Purge your Pinot with some hard-core sun salutations). Even better, go on a bike tour of nearby wineries and enjoy Napa Valley’s finest vintages, pedaling off the dizzying grapes between stops.

Rates start at $399/night plus tax. Clean conscience and shiny eco-halo included.

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.

The post Places & Spaces: Bardessono, Yountville, California appeared first on EcoSalon.

My Hawaii honeymoon was telling in terms of my husband’s shunning of the sun. Fair skinned and sensitized by a father who had been treated several times for melanoma, my better half sought out the biggest umbrellas and thatched huts available for taking shelter on the beach. I would have preferred he sported tropical jams instead of those baggy Brooks Brothers khaki pants and huaraches, rather than sensible saddle shoes, but he’s eccentric and not one to cave to convention.

Even so, 16 years later, I follow his lead in guarding my skin on our travels. Repenting for my baby oil-swathed summer tanning marathons in Malibu, and wary of sun cancer and wrinkling too fast, I can appreciate a resort environment without sacrificing my health and beauty. Here are some cool summer spots for a sun-screened getaway.

Indian Springs

This historic and ultra hip spa resort in Calistoga is a favorite weekend getaway among many of my friends in San Francisco. That’s because the lushly planted 16-acre property is both scenically soothing in a vintage Hollywood fashion and its famous Olympic-sized mineral pool is hugely restorative.

We were there on a rainy Easter weekend. It was sunny and clear when we arrived on Friday, and pouring like nobody’s business on Sunday. Either way, the setting offers diverse respite opps out of the sun, from the covered poolside veranda to a romantic indoor poolside lounge with a stone fireplace. There’s also shaded herb gardens for repose and an understated spa for receiving a mudbath with pure volcanish ash – a long practiced ritual to complement the mineral plunge. The Wapoo Indians settled in the site 8,000 years ago, followed by the Spanish who named the treasured plot Agua Caliente. Sure, the water is hot, but you can still keep your cool in the heat of the summer here. Just substitute the tan for a fan (which you will need in your room).  Soak up the mineral water with proper protection, then hide in the shade with a good read. You’ll  feel more relaxed than you have in months.

Four Seasons Punte Mita, Mexico

This stunning resort with a coral lined beach and extraordinary guacamole is just 25 minutes from the Puerto Vallarta International Airport and offers breaks on rooms during the heat of the summer (August is best) when being in the direct sun can fry your bass. But why not take advantage of the rates and simply enjoy the spectacular setting, spa treatments, covered patio areas, excellent snorkeling and scuba, gym workouts and amazingly healthy cuisine for a steal. The summer promotion includes a resort credit of $400-$1200 daily towards room rate or other activities. This can get you a usually high priced Four Seasons room for two for $250-$350. There are also third and fourth night free offers, which many resorts are doing during the summer.

One of my favorite water activities here where I won’t feel the burn: floating down the well-shaded Lazy River – a narrow pool with a current which encircles the Oasis complex. Kids ride it with an inner tube, but I like wading through it for the resistance exercise. And better yet, there is well stocked bar nearby. Cowabunga!

This is the second installment in a travel series by EcoSalon’s Senior Editor, Luanne Bradley.

Images: downing.amanda, Four seasons, Popofaddicus

The post Shady Lady: Summer Spots With Sun Protection appeared first on EcoSalon.

He’s one of Hollywood’s original environmentalists and was named an “environmental superhero” by Time magazine. But Robert Redford’s latest stance against the development of a new eco village in northern California’s Napa Valley is making his green credentials appear suspect.

Redford has joined the Save Rural Angwin, an action group hoping to block the development of an eco village consisting of 275 low-energy houses and a retirement home on 63 acres near Redford’s secluded wine-country estate. They are arguing that the development will destroy several fields and increase traffic in the area.

That might be true, but given the fact that thousands of new houses will be built in California in the next decade, a development that promises to do it sustainably – complete with solar power, electric car-sharing and recycled water – seems like the wrong kind of development to oppose.

Redford has been promoting renewable energy and eco-friendly design long before Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio became green superstars, so one has to wonder if this is a classic case of NIMBY.

In a statement, Redford said, -I believe that the citizens of Napa Valley care about preserving our beautiful agricultural and rural heritage. That is why I am happy to join Save Rural Angwin in its efforts to preserve this naturally carved land-basin from development.”

And yet Redford seemed perfectly happy to transform the natural landscape in Utah when he bought and developed 6,000 acres of mountainside and turned it into the Sundance ski resort. Do as I say, not as I do?

The post Redford Sees Eco-Village as Indecent Proposal appeared first on EcoSalon.