The Man Behind the ‘Greenest Luxury Hotel’ in the United States

Travel Blog  •  Joanna Kakissis  •  03.05.09 | 3:27 PM ET

Chris Colin has a glowing profile in SFGate about Phil Sherburne, the developer of the newly-opened Bardessono Inn and Spa in Yountville, California. Though Sherburne has opened his multimillion-dollar luxury resort in the Napa Valley during the worst economic stretch since the Great Depression, “Bardessono has emerged a working laboratory where best practices are developed for sustainable building,” Colin writes.

Sherburne has an interesting history, which includes facing down the CIA some 40 years ago as a young man and later building an acclaimed sustainable development in the San Juan islands. Will his latest project nab the coveted platinum LEED certification rating for top green building projects? He’s paid attention to environmental detail by installing 82,300-foot geothermal walls for temperature control and 900 photovoltaic solar panels for power, and recycling something like 93 percent of the construction waste.

Bardessono is definitely out of most people’s price range, but Robert Redford apparently loved his stay there.

I’m going to it add it to the list of places to visit when I’m rich and quietly famous.

Tags: Eco Travel, Hotels, North America, United States, California, News and Briefs

Joanna Kakissis's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, among other publications. A contributor to the World Hum blog, she's currently a Ted Scripps fellow in environmental journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder.


2 Comments for The Man Behind the ‘Greenest Luxury Hotel’ in the United States

Ling 03.06.09 | 12:23 PM ET

Have to admit it’s innovatively green. Read last week about the new 2010 Toyota Prious which was unveiled to the media at the Bardessono. This place is going to change the current standards for green hotels. But might take some time before it catches on. Maybe even 2-3 years.

Lisa S 03.10.09 | 3:34 AM ET

Being a real ‘green freak,’ I always use <a href =“http://www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com”>Environmentally Friendly Hotels </a> as my main hotel guide when traveling. I was glad to see this Bardessono Inn and Spa there with high ratings.

Lisa S.

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