Anne Banas, Executive Editor of SmarterTravel.com, has a must-read piece with a highly specific plan for a green vacation in San Francisco, with recommendations for green businesses starting from airline flight bookings to green hotels, environment friendly restaurants and everything in between. And all this comes under a series she writes about escapes under $500.

San Francisco tops my list as an affordable and eco-friendly urban oasis. So, in honor of this month’s Earth Day, Escapes Under $500 is going green for a week. I’ve laid out a solid plan for remaining environmentally conscious while keeping under budget in the Golden (or should I say “Green”) Gate City. You can stay at a trendy hotel, ride iconic trolleys, and eat farm-fresh food, all while reducing your impact. Plus, you can even offset the carbon emissions from your flight and have some cash to spare.

Link - Escapes Under $500, Anne Banas, Exec. Editor, SmarterTravel.com

Highlights: Buy carbon offsets to compensate for your air travel and lodging at the Triton, a Kimpton Hotel which offers eco rooms with lower prices if you book way in advance and online. Tranportation to and from the airport via BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and a visit to the Ferry Building for a food market which offers local and sustainable produce.

San Francisco is obsessed with art and the environment, and the Triton hotel is more attuned to what makes San francisco tick than most other brand name hotels in the area. Enter the lobby and you’ll see a giant mural depicting San Francisco’s evolving art scene. Stunning photographs in the hallways, a creative zone and specially designed celebrity hotel suites add to the impression of the hotel focusing on art for art’s sake. It’s not just something to cover up the walls or make the place look good. The whole point is to focus on the art, and create a masterpiece. And that is exactly what makes San Francisco different.

The fact that the Triton gets this, along with their eco rooms which help you keep your vacation green and clean, makes the Triton a part of the definitive San Francisco experience, very much like Red Vic’s, only a bit more commercial and on a larger scale.

Not much of a point going into the amenities and hairdryers and stuff, except to add that this being a Kimpton Hotel, they do maintain a certain standard, and you won’t lack for anything, nor will your kids. Room rates start at $149 for a single room with one bed, $172 for a room with two double beds if you’re with family, and onwards upto $349 for a celebrity designer suite.

Info: Hotel Triton Union Square (www.hoteltriton.com) - 342 Grant Ave., San Francisco, CA 94108; Reservations: (800) 800-.1299;  Hotel: (415) 394-0500

Web links:-

• San Francisco family hotels
• Dining guide
• Green hotels
• Visitors (info center & trip planner)

Posted on April 4th, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Travel Tips