Happy Holidays: Green Hotels Offering Responsible Vacation Packages

Responsible Vacation plans are trendy this year, and hotels have taken note. Hard Rock has declared that "green is the new white this holiday season". Maybe so: some forward-thinking lodges are waving green flags around, hoping to attract holiday vacationers with juicy environmentally-friendly offers.  A lot of the packages seem to involve trees and eco-cars…

Dreaming of a Green Christmas Package, Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego, CA

Hard Rock Hotel San Diego is offering a free Hybrid-rental car for one day, which you can pick up via the concierge. You get a one-night stay in the studio or suite of your choice, and VIP entry for two to the bars Float and 207. Also, the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel will plant a tree through Global ReLeaf in your honor. It's certainly a responsible vacation option, and it's especially appealing if you're feeling any "Christmas tree remorse".

Tread Lightly Package, Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, Canada

The Tread Lightly package includes a two-hour nature safari on the wild West Coast of Vancouver Island. A locally harvested welcome plate and apéritif will be served upon your arrival. You will also get gift copies of David Suzuki's Green Guide, and Trees of British Columbia. Also, a donation will be made in the your name to the Surfrider Foundation, dedicated to protecting the oceans and beaches. Visitors (with a Canadian License) will get to test-drive the Inn's Lexus RX 450h hybrid crossover vehicle for two hours. It's a pretty spot to explore, too, offering ocean, rocky shores and coastal rainforest. Clayoquot Sound was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations in 2000, and it's a beautiful responsible vacation destination.

Green Sky Package, Sky Hotel, Aspen, Colorado

Sky Hotel received a Green Seal - Silver Level earlier this year, and began offering a "Green Sky Package". If you drive an eco-friendly car, Sky Hotel with donate 5% of your room rate to the Aspen Valley Land Trust. In the summer, they plant a tree on your behalf but that doesn't seem to be the case in the winter. Instead, they give you a Green Seal Specialty cocktail.  Well, at least you can put a small green stamp on your responsible vacation, and receive a discounted rate. And, thanks to Kimpton Earthcare, Sky Hotel is pretty eco-friendly: recycled paper, organic coffee, soy inks, water conservation, environmentally friendly dry cleaners and all that good green stuff.

image credit: Andreas Rejbrand