The Ritz-Carlton's New Eco-conscious Charlotte Location

After falling head over heals for their Georgetown location, I've become completely distracted with the current directions of The Ritz Carlton. Today they've headed south and green with the launch of their newest location, designed to achieve LEED® Gold certification, in the heart of Charlotte’s thriving uptown district (corporate home to the likes of Bank of America, Wachovia, and likely the highest number of Bank SVPs per capita in the U.S.)
The sleekly contemporary, environmentally-friendly hotel features 146 technologically-advanced guest rooms, a 13,000 square-foot penthouse Wellness Center with Aqua Lounge and saline-treated swimming pool, a street-side BLT Steak restaurant, and more than 12,000 square-feet of meeting space utilizing recycled aluminum conference tables, on-property purified and bottled water, and green meetings as a standard. The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte is the first Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Carolinas, the 73rd Ritz-Carlton property worldwide, and the first domestic new Ritz-Carlton hotel to be unveiled in 2009. The Lobby Lounge offers sustainable organic cuisine; signature martinis, cocktails, wines, coffees and flavored iced teas; complimentary wireless Internet access; and boarding pass kiosk. Is there anything they haven't thought of?

A green roof vegetated with 18,000 plants insulating the building, slowing rain runoff and cooling the air through evaporation of water from leaves Select employee uniforms made of fabric derived from regenerated plastic bottles An in-house water purification and container system that will divert 73,000 plastic bottles from landfills, save more than 104 barrels of oil, eliminate nearly 49 tons of CO2 emissions and save almost 605,000,000 BTUs of electricity each year A state-of-the-art air transfer system which circulates outside air into guest rooms at 60 cubic-feet per minute A hotel Bike Valet, featuring 150 bicycle parking spaces, complimentary Trek Bikes for hotel guests to use, and bicycle maintenance and safety training for hotel staff Complimentary parking for Hybrid vehicles Complimentary weekday morning guest transportation via Hybrid vehicle

Frequent-Traveler Conveniences The Nook -- complimentary private offices for guests, offering computers, printers, office supplies, teleconferencing, wireless Internet, and copy/fax access Travel Lite, eliminating the hassle of having to pack toiletry essentials in TSA-approved plastic bags for airline carry-on purposes. With Travel Lite, hotel guests may pre-select from a menu of nominally-priced daily grooming essentials to be delivered to the room upon check-in Desktop-on-Demand, the technology version of Room Service. Guests may have printers, disks, phone chargers, surge protectors, cables, keyboards and office supplies delivered to their rooms, which are already pre-outfitted with business essentials and electronic jack-packs Guests who stay a minimum of four nights per month may enjoy Luggage-Less Travel, checking in their clothing and personal items and leaving them at the hotel at the end of each stay. Their items will be held for them until their next arrival or, for an optional added charge, their clothing can be cleaned and preferred personal toiletries replenished
The Wellness Center Aqua Lounge with saline-treated swimming pool and whirlpool, plus floor-to-ceiling windows and panoramic views of the Charlotte skyline Four treatment rooms with private shower, floor-to-ceiling windows, Tempur-Pedic® memory foam mattresses and all-organic products Specialties: Green Your Body Eco-Treatment, Lunch-Break Re-Nourish experience, Drift to Sleep for the sleep-deprived, Techno-Stress Relief for computer and PDA overuse, facials, massages, skin treatments Fitness Center, movement studio, yoga/Pilates classes Dining
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