COLORADO’S ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY LODGING
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A room at the eco-friendly Broadmoor in Colorado Springs - Photo courtesy of The Broadmoor
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Read About
Devil’s Thumb Ranch
Las Manos Bed & Breakfast
Kimpton Resorts
Vail Resorts
Colorado Lodging
It’s easy to stay in Colorado while promoting a healthy environment. In fact, at many of the state’s lodging options, it’s as easy as turning on a light switch or calling room service. Consider these, and the many other eco-friendly accommodation options, when visiting Colorado.
Devil’s Thumb Ranch
Located on 5,000 forested acres near the rustic town of Tabernash, Devil’s Thumb Ranch is an icon of green living. Its efforts to create sustainable practices have landed this all-encompassing resort on Travel & Leisure’s list of Top-20 Eco-friendly Resorts in the World.
Among its earth-friendly attributes is the resort’s heating system. Each of the ranch’s cabins and buildings are heated using naturally occurring geothermal energy, greatly reducing the property’s carbon footprint. Devil’s Thumb Ranch also employs a custom-built water-sand filtration system, removing the need for chemically treated water.
In addition, the food served at Devil Thumb’s Ranch House Restaurant comes from local farms that employ sustainable growth practices and raise hormone-free animals.
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Las Manos Bed & Breakfast
Ranked by ForbesTraveler.com as one of the Top 10 Greenest Hotels in 2007, Las Manos Bed & Breakfast helps set the standard for sustainable businesses. Parts of this intimate bed and breakfast were constructed of earthen clay dug up from its own front yard. In all, 45 tons of earth were used to build two floors and all of the interior walls. In addition, the structure-defining logs used to support the porch and veranda were cut from standing dead trees and harvested locally — the cabinetry, floors and doors were also carved out of the same wood. And to efficiently insulate their structures, the owners opted for a highly renewable resource: straw bale.
Las Manos Bed & Breakfast also uses what it playfully refers to as solar/wind clothes drying, better known as a clothesline to save on energy usage. Colorado’s average of 300 days of sunshine ensure ample drying time. While they cut back on energy consumption in general, the energy that they do use does not come from the typical fossil fuel sources. Instead, they’ve built a windmill powering 50 percent of their electrical needs. The other half of the bed and breakfast’s energy comes via their 1,400-watt solar array.
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Kimpton Resorts
Kimpton Resorts operates two hotels in Colorado — the Sky Hotel in Aspen and Hotel Monaco in downtown Denver. Each boutique hotel has committed to helping protect the environment and accomplishes this altruistic goal through the encouragement of its parent organization.
Kimpton has undertaken a number of eco-friendly activities, including the addition of designer recycling bins to many of its rooms. Even the coffee found in its lobby has a conscience; Kimpton uses organic coffee that is shade-grown and/or free trade. The cleaning products employed — usually associated with harmful chemical compounds — are environmentally friendly. Kimpton’s home office is also setting an example for its hotels and guests by printing with soy-based ink on recycled paper.
Kimpton’s efforts have garnered it numerous accolades; among them is the GeoToursim award for outstanding environmental achievements in the travel industry — a highly coveted award given out by the Travel Association of America and National Geographic Traveler magazine.
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Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts efforts to ensure Colorado’s environment stays beautiful are impressive. As one of Colorado’s largest lodging operations, this resort group has the ability to positively impact the environment in a substantial way. The company is dedicated to offsetting 100 percent of its electrical usage through wind power. This includes their five resorts, numerous lodging properties, 145 retail outlets and corporate headquarters in Broomfield, Colorado.
Among its properties’ individual accomplishments are Keystone’s composting program, through which they compost 500 pounds of kitchen waste every week. Composted material is then used for landscaping fertilizer.
Vail Mountain, which holds the distinction of having the largest on-mountain recycling program of all North American ski resorts, recycles roughly 70 percent of its waste — averaging 100 tons a month during ski season. Just two months’ worth of waste is equivalent to the weight of a full-grown blue whale. Vail Resorts also recognizes that recycling is only half of the conservation equation; buying recycled is the other half. The company has made it a priority to buy recycled material whenever possible, including napkins, paper and cups.
In what is perhaps its biggest commitment to a healthy planet, Vail Resorts has begun construction on Ever Vail, a resort that stands to be the most ecologically sound vacation destination in North America. Vail Resorts is injecting $1 billion dollars into a 9.5 acre site that in 2010 will be home to residences, a hotel, offices, retail shops, restaurants, mountain operations facilities, a public parking garage and a public park.
Many ecologically sound items are planned for Ever Vail such as green roofs — roofs covered with soil and planted with local grasses to reduce solar heat retention, insulate the building and aid in drainage. The use of water-generated power will also be utilized to provide electricity for much of the street lighting. In addition, the heating will be handled by geothermal means.
A stay at one of Rock Resorts’ Colorado properties — majority owned by Vail Resorts — such as the historic Hotel Jerome in Aspen, The Pines Lodge, The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera or The Lodge at Vail will help visitors save green by going green. These properties offer guests the opportunity to hike and participate in an environmental conservation project in the White River National Forest guided by U.S. Forest Service staff. In exchange for visitors’ time, Rock Resorts will provide them with discounted lodging, a durable hydration pack, protective work gloves and soothing hand lotion.
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