Bed & Breakfasts: A Great Green Getaway

What better way to start the summer then to get away at a Bed and Breakfast.When choosing a get away for the weekend a B & B can transport you to an oasis in the midst of a multitude of high rise hotels or to a charming, historic Victorian near the water, a magnificent Manor or a friendly farmhouse–the choice is yours. Each type of lodging offers many elements to experience a home away from home. Bed and Breakfasts are focusing more on the environment and directing their efforts towards creating an eco-friendly weekend.

The range of offerings could be menus prepared from local fresh foods, vegan baked goods, organic bedding, recycling, connecting with nature, Energy Star appliances, donating amenities, bicycles on premises, energy efficient lighting, vegetable garden, green approved cleaning supplies and a laundry program. Some offer 5% off for not washing towels everyday, organic wines, herbal teas. Eco-Crown Hospitality offers individual inns green certification to ensure certain standards are met.

There are themed inns, weekends for couples, welcoming to singles, inviting for pets and also kid friendly. Create your own list of what’s important for your stay. Maybe they have a special Earth Day Weekend celebration to take advantage of. My priorities are food, food, food and location, location. Usually these kinds of places offer a full breakfast and snacks or Afternoon Tea (loosely translated)–one of my favorite times of day.

BnBFinder.com offers Bed & Breakfasts who are promoting Going Green Specials throughout the US. If you are going green, this list of eco-friendly lodging offers specials to get there. I like staying at a B & B in an area close to their downtown so you don’t have to drive and can possibly access public transportation. The B & B may offer bicycles so check to see if you need to reserve in advance.

When you stay at an eco-friendly inn, you may have the opportunity to talk to the innkeepers and learn first hand the care they take in presenting a green welcome mat.

Some B & B’s to check out: The Carriage House Inn Bed & Breakfast-Situated in the Daniels Hill Historic District in Virginia, the inn has the distinction of being the first certified “Green” lodging” facility in the city of Lynchburg!

The Inn at Woodhaven in Louisville, Kentucky offers a 20% discount for guests traveling 45 miles or less away at certain times of the year.

Paca de Paja Bed and Breakfast Voted “Best Eco-Friendly Accommodation” in the state of Arizona. They even have insulated straw bale walls and practice harvesting rainwater.