« The Magnolia Hotel, Dallas | Main | Hilton Budapest »
February 14, 2005
The Doral Tesoro Hotel, Ft Worth, Texas
I chose the Doral Tesoro Hotel for a conference is February 2005 because it had a high speed internet connection, was a green hotel by practice, and with it's golf course had a park-like setting. It was a quiet location, but very remote from dining, shopping, and other businesses unless that business is at the raceway across the road. The hotel doesn't promote itself as a green hotel but is taking measures toward that end.
The green actions I saw at the Doral Tesoro were minimal but seemed consistent, something I find to be a plus. They had a sheet and towel re-use which they honored for me; ie, when I asked them to not change my sheets or towels they didn't. I found a few lights with compact fluorescent bulbs. I specifically requested durable service-ware and non-disposable napkins and got them. They had both durable and disposable cups in the guestrooms, the disposable cups being recyclable hot cups for to-go coffee. The shower head was a dual-headed so I feel it probably wasn't low-flow. There were Kohler low-flush toilets throughout the hotel and conference center. The had durable waste baskets that they wiped out or washed as needed. The shower curtain and liner was fabric. There were non-smoking rooms. There were green plants in the lobby and in the suites, a lovely touch.
However, it seemed to me that the guestroom glasses and coffee cups weren't refreshed with each new guest, merely wiped out each day; among the rooms in my conference group, some of the cups had a strong cleaning-chemical smell to them, some had a blue paste smear, and others had towel lint. To test my theory and concern I checked the cleaning carts and found no glasses or mugs.
There are several areas where they fall down in being green. Every guest got a newspaper every day. There was no visible recycling at the hotel. They had a guest refrigerator in each guestroom, which I love, but these refrigerators had a snack section in them that had a light burning 24/7. The bathroom amenities were individual rather than bulk. There was a strong cleaning or perfuming chemical smell in some guestrooms, requiring I change rooms to find one I could stay in without getting congested from my reaction to the smell/chemical.
The hotel has made some fine first steps in becoming a green hotel and I honor them for doing as much as they have. I�m hoping they take more steps as they go, thus helping both their bottom line and the environment.
Posted by Kit Cassingham
