Green Escapes

Six Luxury Resorts That Tread Lightly On The West

By Bruce Greenlaw

Sundance Resort

Sundance, Utah

In 1961, Robert Redford paid $500 for a two-acre parcel at the base of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Mountains. Then he built a cabin on it to serve as his wilderness retreat. Over the following half century, his youthful venture has blossomed into Sundance Preserve, a sustainable 5,000-acre magnet for thoughtful people who seek collaboration, education, recreation and relaxation. At the hub of the preserve, Sundance Resort offers tasteful lodging, two restaurants, the private Owl Bar (moved from Thermopolis, Wyoming, where it was frequented by Butch Cassidy's Hole-In-The-Wall Gang), a spa, a fitness center, a general store, a nature center and art studios. Seasonal outdoor activities range from skiing to lift-serviced mountain biking. Sundance is committed to environmental stewardship throughout, from preserving wildlife habitat to favoring renewable building materials. It even stocks rooms with organic soaps made on site and has a glass-blowing facility for converting glass waste into functional and decorative objects. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Power's Blue Sky program, the resort is powered with wind-generated electricity, effectively reducing carbon-dioxide emissions by 2,312 tons per year. sundanceresort.com.

Terranea Resort

Rancho Palos Verdes, California

Due to open next June on prime oceanfront acreage once occupied by Marineland of the Pacific, Terranea Resort will offer a hotel, villas, casitas, bungalows, a spa, a nine-hole golf course, three saline swimming pools, three signature restaurants and a rich Mediterranean personality. Fourteen acres of native flora ring the site, and a diverse intertidal ecosystem below the bluffs inspires some of the best scuba diving in the world. Whales migrate just a few hundred feet offshore. With zero waste as the ultimate goal, green initiatives will range from the use of biodegradable golf tees to advanced storm-water management. terranea.com

Clayoquot Wilderness Resort

Tofino, British Columbia

Blanketing about 1,350 square miles on the west coast of Vancouver Island, the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve was created in 2000 to promote and demonstrate a balance between sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. The Clayoquot Wilderness Resort offers four-star camping in the reserve's transition area, serving up "a delicious irony of indulgent luxury and remote, untamed wilderness." The canvas enclave includes guest and suite tents, dining tents, spa tents and lounge tents, each perched on a wooden platform and exquisitely appointed. The overstuffed library lounge is, in fact, a satellite-internet café. An Environmental Sustainability Fee is charged to all guests for funding conservation and other good deeds. wildretreat.com

Fairmont Scottsdale

Scottsdale, Arizona

Offering more than 50 "authentically local" escapes around the world, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has developed a company-wide Green Partnership program that promotes waste reduction and recycling, resource conservation, community outreach and respect for natural and cultural heritage. Immersed in the Sonoran Desert, where winter is high season, the palatial Fairmont Scottsdale resort includes more than 800 rooms and suites, several restaurants, two golf courses, five swimming pools, seven tennis courts and a spa that features an earth-friendly Desert Purification treatment. Among its diverse local green initiatives, kitchen grease is collected for conversion to biodiesel fuel and the resort has adopted a threatened desert tortoise. Taliesin West-headquarters of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and a National Historic Landmark-is five miles away. fairmont.com/scottsdale

The Palazzo

Las Vegas, Nevada

Launched on The Strip in 2008 and offering 3,066 accommodations, The Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino is the largest LEED-certified building complex in the world. That signals a powerful commitment to sustainable site development, the use of responsible building materials, water conservation, energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. For example, 42,000 tons of construction waste were recycled, diverting the equivalent of a 23-mile-high stack of cars from the landfill. The steel framing has 95 percent recycled content, carpeting meets the Green Label Plus standard for indoor air quality and solar collectors heat the swimming pools. When you're not gaming, shopping at the resident Barneys New York or recharging at the spa, you might want to check out the latest home and hospitality furnishings at the state-of-the-art World Market Center downtown. palazzolasvegas.com

Devil's Thumb Ranch

Tabernash, Colorado

Occupying 5,000 acres at the foot of the Continental Divide, 65 miles west of Denver, the year-round Devil's Thumb Ranch features a new 52-room main lodge inspired by the western "Parkitecture" of the early 20^th century, 16 uniquely furnished log cabins, fine dining, an indoor-access outdoor pool, a new 12,000-square-foot spa, Wi-Fi and the conspicuous absence of TV. Seasonal activities range from cross-country skiing and sleigh rides to fly fishing and horseback riding. Among the ranch's many green attributes, more than 98 percent of the land is preserved for elk, moose, bears and other wildlife, interiors are warmed by the largest geothermal system in Colorado (which taps heat from an on-site lake) and the stone used throughout the lodge and spa came from a local landslide. devilsthumbranch.com