We are recycling more than ever. We are thinking about our impact on the environment from farming methods, how the things we buy are transported, and our carbon footprints are increasingly to the forefront of our decision making. In short, we care more than we used to. People are living more conscientious domestic lives, and when they go for a night out, there are bars and restaurants that share the same philosophies: locally-sourced ingredients, organically grown, with the use of reclaimed materials in the interior fit-outs ever-more prevalent.
Barry Sternlicht believes it’s time that the hotel industry caught up, and the Starwood Capital Group CEO has recently announced the first in a series of ecologically-minded hotels that offer on a grand scale what has previously only been available at small indie places. 1 Hotels has launched its debut property in Miami — 1 Hotel South Beach — and right up front it’s clear that the venue pays more than lip-service to its green claims — starting with 3,000 feet of living wall wrapped around the exterior, containing scores of local tropical plant varieties. This is just one example of 1 Hotels’ use of nature as art, and it’s a theme that runs throughout the 426 rooms which average a spacious 700 sqft. There are no paper or plastic products in any of those rooms, they use “low-flow” water conserving plumbing, the heating and lighting is similarly innovative to reduce the environmental impact. The list goes on. Two further 1 Hotels properties are due to open in New York this year.
Photography, Eric Laignel
