In town for a night of Diego Dogs and baseball with the San Diego Padres, I holed up at the chic Hotel Solamar, a Kimpton Hotel smack in the center of this laid-back South California city. Catering to the hip and young-at-heart, the hotel featured luxe, modern rooms; but what truly blew me away were Solamar’s (and Kimpton’s) environmental policies, the first that I’d seen displayed so prominently.

Sitting beside my trash can was an in-room “designer” recycling bin. A recycling bin – IN my room! (Really… how many times have you guiltily thrown your paper into a hotel room trash?) Towel and linen “change cards” were also nearby to notify housekeeping whether fresh sheets and towels were needed, not automatically freshened. My honor bar was stacked with organic snacks and drinks, and on hand was a note that listed Kimpton EarthCare’s efforts, including:

• All rooms cleaned with environmentally friendly cleaning products
• All property wide printing done on recycled paper, with corporate paperwork using only soy-based inks
• Complimentary lobby coffee is organic, shade grown and/or fair trade
• Low flow systems for faucets, toilets and showers
• Organic flowers decorating the lobby areas
• Instead of being thrown away, unused amenity bottles are donated and used by local charities

You can even shop Kimpton Style for eco-friendly products (featured in the hotels) like organic sheets and recycled glassware. Gotta love that.