A Room at the Lenox — Photo courtesy of Lenox Hotel
Built in 1900, Boston's Lenox hotel was upscale from the start. This, original upscale hotel remains in Copley Square and is not only upscale, but hip to the times. Not to mention it is on the list for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. But being an original changes with the the times, and in 2007 The Lenox underwent major renovations that allowed it to become an original once again. Now considered an innovator in greener practices within hotels, the Lenox has introduced some environmentally friendly firsts within hotels across the globe. These include:
- First hotels in the world to endorse The Ceres Principles of Sustainability.
- Certified by The Climate Neutral Network as the first hotels in the world to offer Climate Neutral Rooms.
- First hotel company to offset the air pollution and carbon emissions of 100% of its electricity.
- SHG spearheaded CERES' Green Hotel Initiative's (GHI) Best Practice survey.
- First hotels in the United States to offer guests a towel and reuse program.
Along with these innovations, the Lenox Hotel added hybrid car service for hotel guests, filtered water stations, LED roof signs, waterless urinals, state-of-the-art insulated windows, low-VOC paints, and an entire hypo-allergenic floor. This did not go unnoticed, as in 2009, The Lenox was awarded the honor of being one of the top five green hotels by US News and World Reports. Since then, the Lenox has continued to improve its green offerings by adding complimentary electric vehicle charging stations for use to hotel guests and restaurant patrons.
With all this innovation in a luxury setting, it is no wonder the Lenox welcomes many of the world's rich and famous.