Green Hotels

From a 5,280 square foot organic garden to an on-site recycling program that recycles 1.5 tons per month, Scottsdale hotels and resorts have made major strides to being green. Visit any of the below hotels and resorts, all of which have sustainable practices in place.

	The Boulders Resort, The Waldorf Astoria Collection: The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa is world-renowned for its beautiful architecture and environmentally sound landscape. At this nature lover’s paradise, the terrain and plant life have been left virtually untouched, allowing indigenous plant and wildlife to prosper.  To further lower its impact on the environment, The Boulders has implemented a number of green initiatives, including: a 5,280-square-foot organic garden; an organic menu at Latilla Restaurant; organic spa lotions, massage oils, and scrubs; use of non-toxic chemicals and much more!
	Carefree Resort & Villas: At Carefree Resort & Villas, caring for the environment is second nature. Set in the scenic Sonoran Desert foothills just north of Scottsdale, the resort has embraced a number of green initiatives, including: building reuse, habitat preservation, Xeriscaping, and lighting system controls.
	Fairmont Scottsdale: In 1990, several Canadian hotels pioneered The Fairmont Green Partnership, literally writing the book on sustainable practices in the lodging industry, while developing a comprehensive commitment to minimizing our hotels' impact on the planet. Today, the main goal of Fairmont's Green Partnership is to focus on improvements in the areas of energy and water conservation, waste management, and innovative community outreach programs involving local groups and partnerships. Some of the Fairmont Green Partnership initiatives include: waste management, energy and water conservation, Eco-Meet Program, green cuisine and much more!
	Hotel Valley Ho: Hotel Valley Ho, the urban resort and spa in downtown Scottsdale strives to be environmentally friendly and green.  The restoration of the hotel itself started their environmental efforts.  By restoring and not tearing down the Valley Ho in 2005, Westroc Hotels & Resorts saved 20,000 tons of landfill waste and debris.  Here are some of the ways the Valley Ho works at other green initiatives: using green-certified cleaning chemicals, conserving energy and water, using local food purveyors and ingredients wherever possible, recycling paper goods and more!
	Hyatt Regency Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch: Among the first resorts in the country to have an individual solely dedicated to environmental management, the Hyatt has enacted an environmental program that is an industry first and focuses on the areas of energy efficiency and waste minimization, environmental health and safety, environmental education, and community outreach programs.  Key components of Hyatt’s environmental program include: recycling, community involvement and guest education about the region, its people, plants, animals and environment.  The Hyatt has received multiple awards and certifications for their efforts.
	Royal Palms Resort and Spa: Royal Palms Resort and Spa is committed to implementing programs and practices that are respectful to their natural surroundings and the environment.  These efforts provide clean, healthy and safe working conditions for all associates and contribute to the exceptional experience provided to our guests.  Programs must continue to evolve and the responsibility for success belongs to everyone.  Current efforts include: low flow toilets and aeration, mulching green waste to create organic fertilizer, recycling cardboard, using green-certified cleaning chemicals and more.

Green Activities

Scottsdale's Sonoran Desert is one of the most intricate and delicate ecosystems in the world. Celebrate this breathtaking natural environment, including its flora, fauna and cultural history, and learn how the desert has inspired eco-minded artists and architects at these Scottsdale attractions:

Outdoor Adventure
In 1995, Scottsdale residents voted to preserve nearly one-third of the city's land area - 36,000 acres - as natural, public open space and taxed themselves to fund the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. To date, approximately 17,000 acres have been permanently protected, including expanses of desert and rolling foothills - called bajadas - on the western side of the McDowell Mountains. A network of scenic, public trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding are available within the Preserve. When the Preserve is complete, it will be one of the largest urban preserves in the nation.

In May of 2009, a new access area was opened to the McDowell Mountains named "The Gateway Access Area." The Gateway is located east of Thompson Peak Parkway, one-half mile north of Bell Road. This Access Area is the largest and most significant entry point to the Preserve. The facility has 200 parking spaces, restrooms, shade ramadas, a dog comfort station, water fountains, and an equestrian staging area with 16 trailer parking spaces, water troughs, hitching rails, and a shade ramada. The Gateway is designed to have a minimal impact on the fragile desert environment. Green building elements incorporated in the facility include solar power generation, rainwater harvesting, solar water heating, rammed earth walls constructed of native soil from on-site excavation, structural steel made of high recycled content, highly efficient mechanical equipment, native landscaping, and parking lot and path surfaces made of stabilized decomposed granite. This green building initiative allowed The Gateway Access Area to receive the LEED Platimun Certification by the U.S. Green Build Council.

Eco tours are a fun and family friendly way to learn more about the Sonoran Desert's delicate ecosystem. My Arizona Guide offers eco tours that cover such topics as Native American history and archaeology, desert flora and fauna, and area geology.

The Desert Botanical Garden houses one of the finest collections of arid-land plants from deserts around the world. More than 50,000 accessioned plants adorn the Garden's five thematic trails, which illustrate topics such as conservation, desert living, plants and people of the Sonoran Desert, and desert wildflowers. The Garden teaches the community sustainable environmental practices through educational programs and outreach and the Desert Landscaper School, which focuses on xeriscape and native plants.  The Garden acts with the environment as its priority and is continually implementing best practices to become more sustainable (current initiatives include renewable energy to meet 100% of electricity need, CFL lighting, recycling and more). 

Art and Architecture
The internationally acclaimed Heard Museum in Phoenix and its Scottsdale branch, the Heard Museum North, feature outstanding collections of Native American art and artifacts. Recognized for the quality of its collections and its educational programming, the Heard Museum also hosts a variety of special events and festivals throughout the year, including the World Championship Hoop Dance Contest in February and the Heard Museum Guild Indian Fair and Market in March.

Experience the harmonious blending of nature and architecture at Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West. Nestled on 600 acres of rugged Sonoran Desert in central Scottsdale, Taliesin West is an architectural wonder and a National Historic Landmark. Known for his brilliant ability to integrate indoor and outdoor spaces, Wright and his apprentices literally created Taliesin out of the desert by gathering rocks from the desert floor and sand from the washes to keep the design in balance with the surrounding environment.

At Cosanti, an Arizona Historic Site in central Scottsdale, you can explore a unique complex of desert-appropriate, experimental, concrete structures designed and constructed by acclaimed architect Paolo Soleri. In addition to being widely known for his melodic bronze windbells (poured and sold at Cosanti), Soleri is the originator of "arcology" (architecture + ecology), which holds that buildings be designed to interact with their human inhabitants much as organs would in a highly evolved being. This means many systems work together, with efficient circulation of people and resources, multi-use buildings and solar orientation for lighting, heating and cooling. Soleri's prototype town of Arcosanti, located approximately 70 miles north of Scottsdale, is open to the public and guided tours are offered daily.

The Scottsdale Public Art Program was established in 1985 and is dedicated to enhancing urban spaces by commissioning art that creates a sense of place and improves the built environment. More than fifty public artworks have been commissioned through the program, including the "Tributary Wall" on Goldwater Boulevard by Kevin Berry; Robert Indiana's famous iconic "LOVE" sculpture outside the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts; and the "Knight Rise" skyspace at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) by celebrated earth and light artist James Turrell. In 2007, Americans for Art named Scottsdale's public art program as one of two model programs in the entire country.

Golf
Enjoy a round of golf on one of Scottsdale's award-winning courses. Now, you may be thinking "But, golf courses waste water!" That might be the case elsewhere, but not here. For starters, many Scottsdale courses utilize treated effluent/non-potable water for irrigation. Second, new courses are required to supply with their permit package an assurance of meeting a 100-year water supply for both the course and community. Third, many courses are replacing traditional turf with new, more drought-tolerant grasses that require less water to thrive. Finally, improved weather monitoring systems and computerized irrigation controls mean very little water is wasted.

You can also enjoy Scottsdale's Sonoran Desert on horseback riding excursions, river rafting and kayaking trips, and hot-air balloon flights, as well as by admiring desert-inspired art at the galleries of the Downtown Scottsdale Arts District. When it comes to eco-friendly explorations in Scottsdale, the possibilities are endless!

Dining

From indigenous Southwestern ingredients to kitchen-side organic gardens and slow food, local chefs are giving guests a true taste of Scottsdale. Here a few suggestions to whet your appetite:

At Latilla, the signature restaurant at The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa, Executive Chef Michel Pieton creates culinary masterpieces using freshly picked produce from the property's 5,280-square-foot organic garden. The garden includes 14 raised beds in which a variety of seasonal produce is grown, including melons, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, squash, cabbage and even chocolate mint. Enhanced by a mesquite-burning fireplace, reflecting pool and two levels of outdoor dining areas, the garden also is a delightful setting for events and al fresco dining.

Chef Michael Rusconi has turned Lon's Restaurant at the historic Hermosa Inn into a veritable garden of eatin'. The property's on-site garden is seeded with everything from honeydew, yellow squash and Hopi-style watermelon to fresh herbs and tomatillos. And if you're in the mood for seafood, try Chef Rusconi's Arizona Shrimp & Butter Leaf Salad or the Grilled Flatbread Pizza with Arizona Shrimp - both dishes are made with tasty crustaceans from Desert Sweet Shrimp in nearby Gila Bend, Arizona.

For sumptuous slow food, head to North Scottsdale and visit Chef Deborah Knight at Mosaic. Featuring a menu Knight calls "Global Eclectic," this daring, vegetarian-friendly restaurant is one of only three stand-alone eateries in Arizona that have earned AAA Four-Diamond status.

Treat your sweet tooth to mouthwatering confections at several downtown restaurants, including Cowboy Ciao, Kazimierz World Wine Bar and Digestif. The restaurants incorporate into their desserts pecans and medjool dates from Scottsdale's own Sphinx Date Ranch, mesquite and wild pecan honey from nearby Black Canyon City, and goat cheese from Black Mesa Ranch in Snowflake, Arizona.

Ahnala Mesquite Room at the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino room is "Going Green" with its recent introduction of long time organic Singh Farms. 99 percent of Ahnala's menu is written from the seasonal offerings of local organic vendors such as Singh Farms. The chefs at Ahnala believe in using only local and sustainable proteins on their menus, which change throughout the year to use only the freshest, local ingredients.

Scottsdale and the surrounding land offer fresh Citrus, hand-picked olives, organically-grown fruit and much more! Be sure to check out the local produces offerings at the Downtown Scottsdale Farmer’s Market every Saturday or enjoy a locavore dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Planning a Gathering in Scottsdale?

Scottsdale is full of venues and hotels that incorporate sustainability practices into their everyday business practices. Host a party at a Taliesin West, where architecture is designed to be a natural extension of the Sonoran Desert or dine at Latilla, the signature restaurant at The Boulders Resort & Golden Door Spa, which uses freshly picked produce from the property's 5,280-square-foot organic garden.

Let the Scottsdale CVB help you plan your green party or meeting! Simply fill out the form below, contact us at 800.782.1117, or email at conventionsales@scottsdalecvb.com:

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