Photo by Matt McGee / Creative Commons
A recent trip to Seattle’s southerly sister — Portland, OR — has me very excited about the green lodging options that have popped up like mushrooms all over the stomping grounds of my youth.
Stumptown (or Portland, OR as it is better known today) originally earned its’ nickname during the big boom days of the mid-1800’s, when the city was growing so fast that laborers hurriedly left tree stumps behind in newly-cut roads. Folks in this frontier town used to hop between stumps to cross the muddy bi-ways.
Today, the stumps are gone, the streets are paved and modern visitors do not have to pitch prospectors’ tents in the muck in order to catch a bit of shut-eye.
In fact, Portland’s thriving eco-conscious culture and a host of sustainably-minded businesses, make it the perfect destination to get your green on.
Looking to keep it green while sawing some logs in Stumptown? Check out these establishments:
* The Heathman Hotel, offers swanky downtown digs with a self-professed commitment to going green. Their Go Green Package includes a tree planted on guests’ behalf.
* Also downtown, the Hotel Vintage Plaza and the Hotel Monaco, offer chic boutique lodging with eco-friendly practices, such as comprehensive recycling programs, paperless check-in and parking discounts for drivers of hybrid cars.
* The hip Ace Hotel, a haven in the trendy Pearl District, is housed in a LEED certified building and outfitted with reclaimed and recycled materials, crafted by local artisans into a work of minimalist art. The Ace keeps pollution down by offering bicycle rentals as one of its amenities.
* Travelers on a backpacker’s budget should head to the Portland Hawthorne Hostel, where guests take refuge under a living green roof, and those arriving by bike are rewarded with a discounted rate.
* Even business travelers can enjoy an eco-stay in Portland, thanks to the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center. Their lengthy brag book of eco-practices includes comprehensive recycling and food waste composting programs, as well as retrofits to power and water outlets that have decreased energy consumption by 32%.