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Ecologically Friendly – But Upscale – In ManhattanThe Benjamin, North America’s Only Five-Globe EcotelBy Paul PenceBehind the Hotel Benjamin’s marble-clad lobby and the luxury expected from a four-star hotel, lies a special commitment to the environment. Special recycling and education programs ensure that this Manhattan hotel is environmentally friendly. In fact, there are only four certified five-globe Ecotels in the world – the Benjamin is the only one in the US.
From the early stages of renovation, energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction were important influences on the design specifications and equipment and product purchasing decisions. To meet these criteria, the Benjamin’s architects and engineers designed and selected plumbing fixtures, showerheads, computerized controls for air conditioning and heating systems, and even a custom-designed waste chute and compactor system to handle high-tech recycling machinery.
Since every room has its own fully-equipped “galley”, guests frequently prepare some of their own meals. This would ordinarily mean increased waste from the rooms. But not only are there recycling bins in each galley, the housekeeping staff is trained to sort the trash for recycling, especially the two-inch-thick Sunday edition of The New York Times. This training extends throughout the hotel, from the kitchen to the spa, with recyclables for the entire hotel brought to the basement for compressing and bundling. It’s a win-win situation for the hotel, with energy, water, and waste expenses 30% below budget in addition to reducing the hotel’s impact on the environment and offering visitors an environmentally friendly option when staying in Manhattan. Of course, much of what makes the four-star Benjamin luxurious is unrelated to being ecologically friendly. The hotel offers 11 different types of pillows, down-filled duvets, spa treatments, and morning newspapers. Staff are friendly and helpful, and the spa and restaurant are exactly what traveling executives demand.
And since no hotel is an island, even if it is on an island, there is Manhattan outside. With the Benjamin at 50th and Lexington, the bustling business and shopping districts of midtown Manhattan, along with being a stone’s throw from Broadway and the United Nations, meaning that you can walk to your midtown meetings and entertainment, saving fuel and further helping the environment. To visit the Benjamin, call them at 212/715-2500 or find them online at www.thebenjamin.com . Paul Pence is a freelance travel writer and managing editor of Rhode Island Roads magazine www.riroads.com All pictures by Paul Pence |
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In
1927, the hotel began as a creation of Emery Roth, the architect whose firm
went on to design the original World Trade Center towers along with dozens
of other Manhattan buildings. For seventy years the hotel was known as the
Beverly, and quietly went about business a stone’s throw away from larger
and larger hotels. What was once a jazz era landmark became run down and
ready for renovation. In 1997, the hotel changed hands and began a $30
million renovation.
In
many ways, this conservation adds to the feeling of luxury rather than
detracting from it. Making the each room’s air-conditioning and heating
systems individually controlled and programmable makes the room temperature
actually match what the visitor desires rather than overheating some rooms
because other rooms are too cool. When it came time to choose clock radios
for the room, the Benjamin chose Bose Wave radios in order to ensure luxury
in addition to energy savings.
For
business travelers, each room also comes with high-speed internet access, a
fax/printer/copier with a dedicated fax number, three telephones (including
one in the bathroom), an oversized executive desk to spread out on, an
ergonomic desk chair, voicemail, and a convenient desktop power strip for
plugging in laptops. There are even personal computers available upon
request. Being a “boutique hotel”, the Benjamin has not dedicated a huge
amount of space to ballrooms, but they do boast a 12-person executive
boardroom with dataports built into the table. There are also dataports in
the 110-person conference room and throughout the second-floor lounge.