Hotel Terra, Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA

One of the new watchwords in travel and hospitality these days is 'eco-tourism' and the demand for such a product has been on the increase over the last decade. Travellers are becoming more aware of their effect on the environment and want to take a vacation that is 'green'. One of the ways they can do this is by using an eco-friendly hotel.

One of the new offerings in this category is the Hotel Terra, situated on a half acre site in the Jackson Hole ski resort near Yellowstone National Park in Teton Village, Wyoming, US. It is located 12 miles from downtown Jackson and 22 miles from Jackson Hole Airport.

The hotel is due to open at the end of February 2008 and will feature a range of eco-aware facilities, as well as being constructed under US LEED certification and using recycled and renewable materials such as roof shingles, bamboo, marble, crushed glass, teak, seat belts and granite chips during construction; there are only five LEED-certified hotels in the US. The hotel is to be the first of around 12 eco-boutique resort hotels developed by the Terra Resort Group (TRG). The series of hotels are expected to be completed by 2015.

FACILITIES

The six storey hotel has 72 guest rooms with single guest rooms and one-, two-, or three-bedroom suites available. Facilities include a rooftop spa and fitness centre, 'Terra Living Room', outdoor rooftop hot tub, two restaurants (Terra café and coffee bar and the Osteria Restaurant, an Italian restaurant serving a range of Italian foods), a snowboard/ski rental shop (Rossignol, Ride snowboards, Forum snowboards) and a fire pit (for barbecuing and outdoor dining).

The hotel guest rooms which will be equipped with Bose speakers (surround sound), MP3 docking station, DVD player, hi-tech touch-screen video phone, in-room recycling, 42in LCD flat screen TV, in-floor heating, Zuma Airbath and 'rainshower' shower head, hot drinks set-up including fairtrade organic coffee, personal CFC free refrigerator and free wireless internet access.

The rooftop 'Chill' spa has six treatment rooms, with a couple's treatment room with Jacuzzi bath fireplace, and mountain views. There is also a Sky Lounge, for pre and post-treatment relaxation, with panoramic views, steam rooms, massages, facials, body wraps and body soaks.

GREEN FEATURES

LEED features used in the construction include recycled 'Eco Shake' roof shingles; the contractors have also used low-VOC (volatile organic) carpets, sealants, paints and adhesives. In addition, fly ash from burning coal was used to replace 50% of the cement used in the concrete for the building.

The hotel will also introduce a range of energy-saving features such as personal energy-efficient heating and cooling zones for guests. There will also be radiant heating in the floor of the underground car park to minimise heat loss and energy use. Air quality and moisture filtering technology are being used alongside energy-recovery technology to recover 81% of the heat from the exiting stale air and Energy Star windows with IR reflective low-E coating to save energy loss. There will also be innovative water-saving features such as dual-flush toilets, waterless urinals and rainwater capture.

The hotel will also use chemical-free cleaning and laundry products but guests will be asked to conserve towels. The hotel has been designed to maximise the use of natural lighting, has used around 80% recycled steel in the building structure and also around 50% of the construction waste generated has been reused or recycled. The hotel will use wind power for 35% of its electricity. Light pollution has also been eliminated to avoid affecting the wildlife.

ORGANIC TERRA BED

The Terra Bed was designed by the hotel to be environmentally friendly. The natural mattress was manufactured by Vivetique; it has a whipped natural latex core wrapped around recycled steel springs, and is encircled with 'green cotton' treated with a natural flame retardant. The bed also incorporates 100% organic cotton sheets, pillow cases and duvet covers from a fair trade Indian supplier.

CONTRACTORS

The design of the hotel was by Callison Architecture. The design elements include: steelwork, rough-sawn timber, granite stonework, flagstone fireplace and terracotta natural coloured plaster walls. DHS General Contracting Inc is the general contractor for the project.

Wheeler Electric Inc was also a part of the Hotel Terra design/build team, installing a 4,000-amp Square D main switch. Wheeler Electric also installed electric Comfort Cove radiant heaters from Radiant Systems Inc of Nebraska, in the guest units. Two systems have also been installed from Bylin Systems including a roof ice melt (RIM) system (continuous-heated aluminium and copper panels) and the WarmGlo electric radiant heat system as underfloor heating in guest rooms (self-regulating heating cable technology).

Telecommunications systems will include nonplenum cable by Superior Essex, system devices from Leviton, loop cable hangers from Arlington Industries and fibre optics cables by Corning terminated with 3M connectors. SimplexGrinnell certified the fire alarm system, which Wheeler installed. Wheeler also installed a GRAFIK Eye preset lighting control dimmer system by Lutron Electronics Co Inc of Coopersburg, Pennsylvania, in the Terra Café.