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GUIDEBOOK SMACKDOWN

The Ecolodge Authority

What's the most reliable resource when you're seeking a low-impact, spotlessly responsible place to stay? We asked three environmental bloggers to be the judge.
April 2009 issue |

*Top pick!
A green star goes to the guidebook that our judges find most useful.

THE PANELISTS

From left: Fodor's Green Travel, Green Places to Stay, and The Eco-Travel Guide (Levi Brown) [enlarge photo]

IT PAYS TO TRAVEL GREEN
• Have a Green Stay
• Chopsticks With Scruples
• Born-Again Bags
• The Ecolodge Authority
• A Hybrid for a Day

Jessica Root
Blogs for the websites treehugger.com and planetgreen.com. She lives in Brooklyn.

Avital Binshtock
A resident of San Francisco, edits the Sierra Club's magazine and its Green Life blog.

Katharine Wroth
An editor for the eco-site grist.org. She telecommutes from her home outside Boston.

THE BOOKS

Fodor's Green Travel ($22)

Jessica Root: * The guide is a breeze to navigate and full of amazing photos. Plus, it has two things I love: a price key organizing hotels by "budget," "moderate," and "blow out," and an estimate of the amount of emissions it takes to fly to each one from New York.

Avital Binshtock: Some properties put more of a focus on social responsibility (hiring locals) than on environmental concerns—a bit secondary for a book purporting to list eco-hotels exclusively. Still, it does include some fantastic far-out spots, such as a yoga retreat in a Sri Lankan village.

Katharine Wroth: * The editors did their homework, with nice how-to-save details throughout. For instance, at the Bloomfield House in England, guests get a 10 percent discount if they arrive by bus or by train. It's the closest any of the three comes to being a bona fide travel guide.

Green Places to Stay ($22)

Jessica Root: Certain travel tips are stale: Minimize waste by reusing plastic bags! And the writing is far from smart—describing a hotel called Anna's House in Northern Ireland, the author gushes that "creative energy streams into their green crusade." Why pollute with mixed metaphors?

Note: This story was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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