The recently opened Montage Beverly Hills Hotel has snagged itself an LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Montage is the first certified ultra-luxury hotel in Southern California for LEED for New Construction, and one of just four Gold certified hotels worldwide. More details about the Montage Beverly Hills and it’s sustainability program here.

In a press statement, Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, U.S. Green Building Council, said that “Montage Beverly Hill’s LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership. The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and Montage Beverly Hills serves as a prime example with just how much we can accomplish.”

Alan J. Fuerstman is the Founder and CEO of Montage Hotels & Resorts, and the project was developed by Phoenix, AZ based Athens Group, which has previously developed notable properties such as the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay and the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, among others.

Speaking about eco-friendly landmarks in the Golden State, have you tried landmark snarfing? Head over to Markeroni (www.markeroni.com/), which helps you find historical markers and historic landmarks in your area.

You go visit it, take a picture of the landmark with you (or your mascot) in it, and then you can go back to Markeroni and log your visit. Of course, you can find your own landmarks which are not there as yet on the site, and create a new entry for it, thus enabling other people to check it out.

As of April 18, there were 122,175 landmarks in the database, with more being added every day by members. It’s all in good fun, it won’t harm the environment, it educates you about the places you’re visiting or might want to visit, and you can share and catalog your own awareness of your neighbourhood’s history and landmarks and historical markers.

For example, consider the sphere in Battery Park, New York City, snarfed by a Markeroni member called scribe, who added  a short description - “It was inititally located in the plaza of the World Trade Center. It suffered some damage in the terrorist attacks. It was packed up and later relocated a few blocks away in Battery Park to serve as a memorial to the victims of 9/11 and a symbol of the indestructible nature of this country.”

Adds more meaning to the place, doesn’t it? Makes you want to visit the place and see the sphere. This is what Linda Gentile, owner and driving force behind Markeroni, calls the ‘art of landmark-snarfing’.

Photo by Daniel Bonatto via flickr (creative commons).

Posted on April 18th, 2009 by PLing
Filed under: Sustainable Travel