US-based Starwood Capital Group chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht has launched new eco-conscious luxury lifestyle brand 1 hotels.
The brand reportedly is aimed at “changing industry standards”, with no paper or plastic in guest rooms, the use of nature as art, and lobby farmstands, which will provide guests with a daily offering of freshly sourced items in the lobby, with local farmers presenting their goods for purchase.
Sternlicht commented: "It's simple. We have an impact on nature and nature has an impact on us. I decided that if I was ever going to create another hotel, I wanted it to be more than a brand; I wanted it to be a cause. People are already living like this and are now looking for ways to travel in the same fashion.
"At first, our guests may simply notice the graceful twist of driftwood in the furnishings. However, what we are really offering is an evolution of the entire hotel experience, one that is more natural in regards to the way we arrive, sleep, eat, relax and do.
“By focusing on simple changes that make life better, we will encourage guests to stop, recalibrate and hopefully gain some inspiration from the small steps we have taken to protect nature at each property."
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The first property debuted yesterday in Miami, the 426-room1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, and following this will be a Manhattan and then a Brooklyn property in New York.
No plans for the Middle East have been announced.
Each hotel in the portfolio is designed in collaboration with eco-friendly architects and each property features high-design with low-impact, using reclaimed and natural materials where possible.
For example, at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, 3,000 feet of living wall is wrapped-around its exterior with 11,000 local tropical plant varieties and art as nature pieces, such as interactive hanging terrariums, and a plant laboratory from local Miami artisans Plant the Future.
Materials for construction and furnishings are regional, reclaimed, or repurposed, whenever possible.
This includes saving Colorado beetle kill pine to create headboards at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach.
Guestrooms and suites at every 1 Hotel feature custom hemp-blend Keetsa mattresses topped with organic linens.
1 Hotels has an ingredients-first approach to dining, with chef Tom Colicchio overseeing three F&B programmes at the South Beach property.
These will include Beachcraft, aimed at highlighting Florida’s best fishermen and farmers.
The properties will also provide wellness activities, for example at 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach, guests will be able to kayak through the mangroves in Oleta State Park, learn paddleboard yoga, or be provided with suggested bicycle routes around historic Art Deco South Beach.
There will be no phones or remote controls in rooms, and a mobile app will be used for reservations and in-hotel communications.
Rates for 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach begin at $699 and 1 Hotel Central Park at $525
Starwood Capital Group is the parent of SH Group, a lifestyle hotel brand management company which will manage the hotels.
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