Top Green Luxury Hotels in NYC

New York City is a hub for all things brilliant in travel, but beyond that, it's a place that relates well to the rest of the world. New York City will always be relevant, if only because of the innovative people who have come up with ways to integrate lifestyle with social responsibility. One of the best places to look for proof of this attitude: Places and spaces that are going green.

The next time you visit New York, it would be worthwhile to book your stay at one of the Top 5 hotels that captures this socially responsible edge with their best green practices.

1. New York Palace

The New York Palace has taken advantage of its iconic status by seizing the opportunity to innovate in green hotel programs.

When you step into your room at the New York Palace, you know that the lights you turn on and the glow of the gorgeous lobby and 100% of the other electrical usage in the building is offset by the renewable energy certificates that the hotel buys.

In addition, the hotel has a full-time green practices manager who oversees the hotel's environmental program, which includes making sure that its meetings are fully supplied with recycling programs.

One of the most impressive assets of the New York Palace is that it was the first New York hotel to partner with Clean the World. Clean the World is a global relief organization that takes 500 pounds of gently-used soap and amenities from New York Palace rooms and sanitizes them. Clean the World then redistributes them to homeless shelters and underprivileged people around the world.

For all of its efforts, the New York Palace belongs to the Green Key Eco-Rating program – through which it has a prestigious 4-key rating.

2. 70 Park Avenue

70 Park Avenue is a beautiful Manhattan hotel that not only stands for itself, but also represents a larger environmentally-conscious hotel chain: It belongs to the Kimpton brand, which runs the EarthCare program.

The best thing about 70 Park Avenue is that it has both visible and invisible earth friendliness. In every hotel room, there are recycle bins and organic snacks to replace the typical pre-packaged fare – plus yoga accessories and videos to keep guests in the healthy mindset during their stay. Ceramic mugs are available instead of paper cups, along with organic and fair-trade coffee and tea.

On the back end, 70 Park Avenue recycles everything from office paper, cups, and batteries to furniture in an attempt to make a real, palpable change to typical hotel operations. Rooms and linens are cleaned with eco-friendy cleaning products, a boon both for the environment and for guests that are allergic or sensitive to harsh chemical cleaning agents.

It also motivates its patrons to be environmentally-minded beyond their hotel stay – they offer a Green Road Warrior package, which gives guests discounts if they drive hybrid cars. In a city where the traffic is constantly zooming, just getting people to think about the carbon emissions problem is worthwhile.

3. The Benjamin

The Benjamin brings environmental awareness to Midtown as an example in the hotel field: It is one of five hotels to have earned ECOTEL® Five-Globe certification in the United States. The Five-Globe certification is a worldwide program that holds its hotels to strict criteria. These criteria fall under five categories, termed “globes”: energy conservation, water conservation, solid waste management, employee environmental education, and environmental commitment.

As a luxury hotel, the Benjamin has been able to demonstrate this commitment to sustainability through best practices like energy-efficient light switches and thermostats and its own water conservation program. The Benjamin, similarly to The New York Palace, also partners with Clean the World, an organization that provides recycled hotel guest soap to impoverished families around the world.

Another of The Benjamin's green decisions is to source local food for its hotel cuisine. They draw ingredients from local farms, demonstrating that the Eat Local trend does not only belong to those at home, or those in rural areas.

3. Ink48

As another Kimpton hotel, Ink48 has taken advantage of its aesthetic beauty to showcase green innovation. The hotel stays sparkling clean with toxic-free cleaning supplies and showcases its amenities with light from high-efficiency bulbs. Above this, you can expect your morning coffee to be from organic beans, with the same quality stamp applying to all of Ink48's food.

In a more stylish vein, the acclaimed Ink48 spa is also an eco-friendly wellness center, where guests can fully experience luxury through the angle of socially-responsible practices. Treatments such as the Spirulina Detox Wrap, an 80 minute treatment of sea salt exfoliation and a seaweed body mask, exemplify the natural-based, chemical-free nature of the spa menu.

5. The InterContinental New York Barclay

This InterContinental hotel has its environmental act together. When guests check in, they can do so knowing that their hotel is 100% powered by wind energy that InterContinental has purchased through energy certificates. They have also worked hard to develop a customized recycling and emissions program that manages the carbon footprint of this large luxury hotel.

I think the most interesting project that New York Barclay has undertaken is their rooftop garden that harbors four colonies of honey bees. Guests can see how a working bee colony operates and learn about sustainable honey production. Urban gardens are not only fashionable, but also a great way for people to experience sustainability on a small scale through thoughtful cultivation.

Another innovative program that sets the InterContinental apart is Green Engage, which is a global online sustainability management system that allows the hotel to track whether it is meeting its goal of cutting energy consumption by 15-25%.

This hotel has even laid out its “Triple Bottom Line” in a neat definition of its goals: “Economic prosperity, social responsibility, and environmental protection.”