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HOTEL GREEN |
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MASSACHUSETTS, USA
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New York shoe designer Vanessa Noel had her work cut out for her when she opened an eco-conscious inn on this quintessentially New England island: Nantucket is short on hippies, long on summering CEOs and its tradition-bound inhabitants were skittish about this project from the outset. But the success of Hotel Green says as much about the mainstreaming of eco-luxury as Noel's style savvy. The 'green' in the name extends beyond the jalapeņo-coloured floors, painted with milk-based paint: sustainable products used to couture effect include hemp beach towels, bamboo rugs and comfy beds with organic rubber mattresses and buckwheat-hull-and-millet pillows. And, in the marble and recycled-glass bathrooms, Ayurvedic shampoos and lotions from India.
Flat-screen TVs and Wi-Fi add to the 'Soho fabulous' mix. Design touches in the nine bedrooms and one suite include crunchy jute rugs, Frank Gehry's corrugated-cardboard chairs, rotary-dial Bakelite telephones, energy-saving light bulbs and Peter Gee's Warhol-like silkscreens, which also cover the walls of the communal rooms. Vanno, Noel's organic bar/restaurant adjacent to the hotel which opens for the summer, serves a delicious Bloody Mary made with organic vodka and can deliver meals to your room. Hotel Green is in the historic town centre and a 10-minute bicycle ride from the beaches; you can also shop for 'green' couture shoes at Noel's shoe store next door.
WHEN TO GO
If you want the full Nantucket experience: August; if you want peace and still-bathable seawater: September.
ROOM TO BOOK
Light-filled bedroom 10.
CONTACT
Nantucket, Massachusetts, USA (00 1 508 228 5300; www.vanessanoelhotelgreen.com).
COST
Doubles from $169
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