SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL
California hotels certified 'green' by eco-design experts
Two hotels in California are the latest to meet the strict environmental standards set by the LEED Green Building Rating System.
The GAIA Napa Valley, in American Canyon, California, and the Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco are among just five hotels in the world to be certified as meeting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design code.
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a nationally recognized benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings, according to Ashley Katz, spokeswoman for the U.S. Green Buildings Council in Washington.
The other LEED-certified hotels are the Inn & Conference Center Addition, a Marriott in Adelphi, Md., part of the University of Maryland University College; the Kandalama Hotel, in Damulla, Sri Lanka, owned by Aitken Spence Hotels Ltd., and the Vancouver Conference Center and Hotel, a Hilton in Vancouver, Wash.
The Gaia Napa Valley was certified in June 2007 and the Orchard Garden was certified in May 2007.
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