Habitat Suites Hotel  Austin, Texas, United States |
Comments:
This hotel was name one of Forbes Traveler's 10 best green hotels in America for 2007.
Habitat Suites has been going green since 1991. They keep striving for more, and are glad to hear your suggestions for the "right action" to take.
There are organic gardens on this hotel's grounds. Their finishes are low VOC (volatile organic compounds), ensuring better air quality throughout the property.
They have the largest onsite solar installation of any hotel in the U.S., generating about 25% of their own electricity.
This hotel gives to the community by supporting the city's art projects. Visiting artists are hosted at the hotel, encouraging the expansion of art in the parks. They also support other green businesses in town by buying from them or participating in fund raisers with them.
The trash company handles all trash and recycling for this hotel, consequently the recycling bins in the guestrooms are thrown in with the trash as housekeepers clean the rooms. And the trash can liners are recyclable, saving water and time in cleaning the trash cans.
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Review:
This is a wonderfully green hotel. It's tucked away among some trees which provide shade and habitat for birds. The buildings are nicely nested to give an efficient use of the land, easy access to the lobby and pool, and at the same time give each guest a sense of privacy. And the parking area surrounds the hotel, helping isolate the rooms from surrounding noise sources.
While impressed with many things the hotel has to offer, there are a few areas I see there's room for improvement. For example, there are several plastic waste baskets around the suite, including one for recycling, but they are lined with plastic bags (not the recycling bin though). Why add to the landfill problems or the resource drain with all of those plastic bags?
I was disappointed to see non-green dish soap in the kitchenette because there are green products on the market that are easier on the environment and less scented too. Speaking of scents, my pillow smelled faintly like bleach, so I slept on my travel pillow.
Though the towels are cotton, the sheets are a poly/cotton blend. They look great but were rough to sleep on. And the bed was made badly -- the flat bottom sheet was shifted too far to the foot so that the top of the bed wasn't tucked in. And because it was a flat sheet I had to retuck it when I went to bed because everything came untucked when I pulled back the covers.
Well, despite the signs telling you how to hang the towels if you want to use them again and to not worry about your sheets being changed if you don't put the card on your bed -- they didn't follow their environmental plan. I got fresh sheets and towels despite wanting to uses both again.
The furnishings are nice, the blinds in the living room give privacy and the curtains in the bedroom were perfect giving privacy and blocking light. I really like the way they provide newspapers; if you want one, the front desk has them.
CR, April 2007
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