Earth Day travel: Stay ‘green’ at eco-friendly hotels

Looking for ways to stay green on Earth Day? Hotels around the world are offering some green options to get you thinking about your carbon footprint, and ways you can help protect Mother Earth. Here are a few U.S. hotel deals just for Earth Day. Grab a room and go green!

Kimpton’s new Hotel Palomar Chicago features a green roof, joining a city-wide eco-friendly initiation. The roof will be covered with grass and vegetation to improve air quality, clean and retain rainwater, and add beauty to the urban landscape. The Hotel Palomar Chicago was built with sustainability in mind, and operates with more than 70 eco-friendly practices as part of Kimpton’s brand-wide EarthCare program.

Eldorado Hotel & Spa in Santa Fe is rewarding green-minded travelers who book “Go Green, Save Your Green” with a 15 percent room discount, complimentary overnight parking for hybrid vehicles (an $18 value) and 20 percent savings on organic products at Nidah Spa. Valid throughout the month of April, nightly rates start at $149. The greenest part? The hotel is located within walking distance to the Santa Fe Plaza, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and more popular attractions so you can easily explore Santa Fe without use of a car. (Use promo code PROGG when booking.)

The New Orleans Marriott is in the process of implementing a hotel-wide recycling program and is partnering with the stars of TLC’s “Trashmen,” the property will be able to recycle all paper, plastic and cans using their new recycling center. At the hotel’s 5 Fifty 5 restaurant, the majority of menu items feature local ingredients and a variety of organic wine selections. You can give back while in New Orleans by volunteering at the hotel’s Voluntour Gumbo program.During the month of April, guests staying at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort & Golf Club in St. Petersburg Florida will receive free self parking for hybrid vehicles and complimentary bike rentals. The hotel’s Vinoy Day Spa also offers organic treatments such as the Rejuvenating Eye Treatment using HollyBeth’s natural products and the renowned Marchand’s Bar & Grill features all-natural lamb, free-range chicken and sustainable fish on the “1925 Classic Dining” menu.

Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort will be offering complimentary eco-education for kids and families April 10-24, 2010. The Tiki Tribe kids’ club attendants will host a daily free 30-60 minute activity focused on unique aspects of Marco Island’s native eco-system, i.e. Dolphin Mondays, Sea Turtle Tuesdays, etc. The majority of the Earth Day program will take place on the beach – a great way to keep participants engulfed in the local environment!

The Hard Rock Hotel San Diego (HRHSD) will plant a tree through the American Forests’ Global ReLeaf program for every guest checking in during the month of April. An estimated 5,000 trees will be planted through the hotel’s inaugural “Roots Rock” program to benefit Global ReLeaf, a program of American Forests that has planted more than 30 million trees in hundreds of projects across the United States and internationally since 1990.

Want more options? Travelocity is offering “40 Percent off 40 Green Hotels” in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. During the month of April, Travelocity is hosting an “Earth Day sale” tag and only hotels that are included in Travelocity’s Green Hotel Directory are eligible to participate. The Green Hotel Directory boasts more than 1,500 eco-friendly global hotels. Travelocity’s Travel for Good® program also rents hybrid cars, for those travelers wanting to do a little extra to reduce their carbon footprint while traveling.