Kimpton's Hotel Rouge

Pets are allowed at this hotel.

The hotel has a green procurement program, ensuring purchases are as environmentally friendly as possible.

The hotel has a variety of programs of social and environmental benefit and impact.

This is a wild hotel, in a fun way. Red is a clear theme here, along with animal print bathrobes and interestingly shaped lamp shades. They had a wine/beer hour some nights, and Sunday morning saw the Bloody Mary cart come out. People clearly were having a good time any time of night or day when we saw them.

As far as being green, this hotel has done some things well, but missed the boat on others. ECOlab products, GreenSeal certified, were used, but ECOlab has a strong odor that I find objectionable; due to them using the air freshener as the last step of cleaning our room before our arrival we had to open the windows and air the room out for hours before we could be in there (hint: use air fresheners first, air while cleaning, and stop using them if that's not enough cleaning). The cotton sheets and towels were fine. And there were several signs not only around our room about their green actions, but also in the elevators.

The bathroom had one interesting fluoscent light that was behind the mirror and created a touch of artistry to the room, but that was the only light in our room that was energy efficient. One halogen bulb in a lamp left on for welcoming purposes, but the rest of the bulbs were incandescent. Changing to CFL would gratly reduce their energy consumption.

The wastebaskets weren't lined, saving landfills of trashbags and reducing our dependence on oil. The wastebaskets were a designer plastic that could be cleaned and reused with no waste (excuse the pun). Organic or shadegrown coffee was offered in the lobby but the coffee provided in the room wasn't either-too bad. Cups and mugs were durable. The shower curtains were fabric, not plastic -- again making a difference to air quality improvement and oil reliance.

The hotel is tired. The paint and wallpaper weren't applied well and were coming up in sections. Our toilet seat had a stain on the inside rim, making it look as if someone's pen had leaked and stained the seat. One lamp shade in the room kept falling off, making it a hassle to open and close curtains. The conversion to low-flow water fixtures isn't complete, based on the fact our water fixtures were old and not low-flow.

We had an option to decline receiving the newspaper delivery. We weren't verbally given that option but found it written in our key portfolio, so called the front desk we'd just left to make the request. Too many others hadn't seen or acted on the option.

Bathroom amenities were abundant. There were cotton balls and Q-tips in addition to shampoo, soap and conditioner. The cleaning amenities were earth friendly ones, but were individually offered; bulk amenities would be so much less wasteful.

Other thoughtful amenities include a safe, umbrella, an iron and ironing board, and ample wooden hangers. There was only one luggage rack, though a foot rest acted as one just fine. And there was adequate toiletry storage, something we don't see often in older hotels.

October 2006