Eco-friendly stays in San Francisco

Declared as the green capital of North America, San Francisco has received a number of ecological awards for its environmental initiatives. With more and more visitors looking for eco-friendly places to stay, it’s no surprise the city has a number of fantastic ‘green’ stays.

Whether you’re in search of a family-friendly hotel or place to travel with your pet, these are 8 eco-friendly stays for your next visit.

The Orchard green Hotel

When it comes to multiple shades of “green” in the hotel business, The Orchard green Hotel makes it clear that their green is the deepest. This eco-friendly boutique hotel is San Francisco’s very first LEED-NC® (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified hotel by the U.S. Green Building Council and the fourth hotel in the United States with this LEED certification.

Orchard Garden is designed in a way to reduce heat, water and energy waste with a long list of environmentally responsible practices and Energy STAR appliances. Organic cleaning products, guest room key card energy control systems and carpets made of recycled materials are just some of the many features this hotel has included into their philosophy of what it truly means to go green.

(466 Bush Street San Francisco, CA)

Hotel Drisco

Located atop San Francisco’s charming Pacific Heights neighborhood and built in an elegant historic building dating back to 1903, this hotel offers a welcoming atmosphere and a break from the usual traffic of San Francisco.

Thanks to its central location, Hotel Drisco is a great starting point for those wishing to visit the city and for family stays. The hotel offers access to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marina District and is just a few blocks from playgrounds, ball fields, trails, monuments and other activities of Presidio Park.

Amongst its eco-conscious amenities, the hotel offers complimentary bikes to explore the city and organic and local eats. The hotel uses only ecological cleaning products, energy-saving lights and recycles more than 80% of its waste.

(2901 Pacific Avenue San Francisco, CA)

Argonaut Hotel

The Argonaut Hotel, an award-winning hotel housed within Fisherman’s Wharf is one of San Francisco’s most celebrated green hotels, having already earned four “Green Keys” from the Green Key Eco-Rating Program. 

This iconic hotel is leading the charge on “going green” and has implemented extensive eco-friendly practices such as LED lighting, water-saving systems, refillable bathroom amenities and environmentally-friendly cleaning products.

Guests can wake to views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge before venturing mere steps to next door Ghirardelli Square and Hyde Street Pier.

The signature dishes at the hotel’s famous restaurant, Blue Mermaid Restaurant & Bar, are all prepared in an Earth friendly fashion according to sustainable fisheries guidelines. Furthermore grease is recycled from the kitchen to create biofuel and compost.

(495 Jefferson Street San Francisco, CA)

Hotel Zoe Fisherman’s Wharf

A haven for the adventurer at heart, Hotel Zoe debuts as San Francisco’s newest sophisticated Fisherman’s Wharf hotel and an authentic hospitality experience for the wanderlust globetrotter.

The staff hand sorts all trash that goes through the hotel to ensure recycling measures are being followed and offers guests the choice to opt-out of housekeeping service for a $5 a day hotel credit towards their bill at check out.

Energy STAR appliances and equipment are used throughout the hotel and restaurant as well as EPEAT certified computers, laptops and monitors. The hotel participates in the “Spare the air” program and controls water and energy waste by using sink aerators, showerheds that meet federal EPA WaterSense criteria and placing sensors on vending machines and other lighting fixtures to reduce energy.

(425 North Point Street, San Francisco, CA)

Good Hotel

The Good Hotel is proof that living green and living well can go hand in hand. This unique and eco-friendly hotel is dedicated to the philosophy “Reduce, Reuse, Relax” The Hotel’s design was ranked #1 in California Home+Designs “Coolest Hotel Designs in California” with furnishings constructed almost exclusively from reclaimed and recycled materials, including bedding which has developed using recycled soda containers and chic bed frames made from reclaimed wood.

The hotel serves organic food and offers complimentary bicycles and free parking for hybrid cars. More green actions are the hotel’s eco-friendly toiletries, water-conserving toilet-top sinks and rooms featuring fun chalkboard walls for saving paper.

(112 Seventh Street San Francisco, CA)

Hotel Focus SFO

Located a mere 10 minute drive from San Francisco International airport, Hotel Focus SFO is a convenient and eco-friendly establishment complete with electric vehicle charging stations for guests. It’s drought tolerant courtyard, Desert Bloom, is one of the hotel’s most impressive features featuring fire pits, Nantucket tables and chairs and unique water-efficient xeriscape landscaping.

(111 Mitchell Avenue South San Francisco, CA)

Hotel Spero

This pet friendly hotel seeks to be a positive change in the world through its sustainable and philanthropic initiatives.

Guests are given a custom Hotel Spero reusable water bottle when checking in and are offered the choice to opt out of housekeeping services for a $5.00 voucher to the hotel’s on-site restaurant.

Hotel Spero uses energy efficient lighting and low-flow toilets, faucets and showerheads as well as Aguardio bathroom displays for guests to know how long the water runs during their showers.

Ozone infused water, Tersano, is used throughout the building to effectively eliminate germs, odors, mold and mildew. 

The hotel has also replaced single use toiletries with pumped topped bottles and BeeKind eco-friendly products, a part of whole sales support honey bees and sustainable pollination research.

(405 Taylor Street San Francisco, CA)

W San Francisco

This luxurious, urban hotel embodies the city’s unique energy and style placing guests right at the center of it all just steps away from SFMOMA, Chinatown and Oracle Park. A leader of sustainable initiatives and the first LEED-EB Platinum certified building in North America, W San Francisco boasts downtown views and modern comforts as well as a farm-to-table restaurant.

More than 70% of guest room lighting and 90% of back-of-house lighting is energy efficient, using CFL’s, LED’s, motion sensors and other key technologies. The hotel’s HVAC cooling towers save 300 KWH a year and each computer within the hotel powers off automatically after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Additionally, W San Francisco harvests beehives and an Aquaponics system on the hotel’s rooftop. The honey produced from the hives and the flowers grown from the Aquaponics are used in several dishes and cocktails at the hotel.

(181 3rd Street San Francisco, CA)