Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa launches major new environmental initiative

The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa Avon, Vail Valley – which was the first Colorado resort to earn Silver LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2008 – is expanding its efforts to become Ski Country’s most sustainable hotel with the creation of the new Westin Riverfront Eco Journey.

The first major Westin Riverfront Eco Journey initiative is to eliminate the use of all single-use plastic water and soda bottles by May 1st. To make this major change, The Westin Riverfront will offer glass bottles in its guest rooms that can be filled at the water stations on each floor and its Lift Café will sell only canned soda and box water. This will result in the Vail Valley resort using 133,000+ fewer plastic bottles each year.

The hotel is currently working to earn Actively Green Certification from Eagle County’s Walking Mountains Science Center.

The hotel is also expanding its Make a Green Choice Program so that guests who opt to not receive daily housekeeping services during stays of 2 nights or more can choose instead to have a tree planted for each day on their behalf by The Arbor Foundation.

Owned and managed by Colorado’s East West Hospitality, The Westin Riverfront already has an extensive list of eco-friendly initiatives in place, including:

• Eliminated the use of all plastic straws in 2019
• Energy efficient appliances and low-flow water fixtures in all 230 guest residences

• The Westin Riverfront’s outdoor pool & three infinity hot tubs use a saline-based filtration system, which reduces chemical consumption by 90 percent
• Recycling bins prominently placed throughout the resort
• Housekeeping uses only eco-friendly cleaning products and all of in-room paper products are made from recyclable materials
• The Westin Riverfront’s food & beverage outlets compost all fruit, vegetable and food scraps, coffee grounds and other waste. The organic materials are then used in the resort’s on-site Mountains of Wellness Garden, which grows herbs, lettuces and vegetables seasonally that are used in Maya
• Free public transportation access to Beaver Creek Mountain via the Riverfront Express Gondola
• Electric vehicle charging stations    
• The resort has adopted two miles of Highway 6 for continuous upkeep since 2008 and participates in

the annual Eagle River Clean-up Project

• Food & beverage outlets use organic and locally sourced menu items

The Westin Riverfront also celebrates Earth Hour annually. For Earth Hour 2020 on Saturday, March 28th, the resort will be dimming all of its lights from 8:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. MT and will encourage guests to turn off their lights & devices and enjoy an acoustic, candlelit set of live music in the lobby or a special candlelit yoga class in the Athletic Club, along with environmentally-focused craft hour for kids and green drink specials.

The Westin Riverfront supports Clean the World, a non-profit program that recycles and distributes discarded soap and shampoo products to impoverished people worldwide. In 2019, The Westin Riverfront donated more 1,532 bars of soap and 992 lbs. of plastic bottles for hygiene kits. Over the past decade, the resort has donated more than 21,600 bars of soap and 6,500 lbs. of plastic bottles.

Spa Anjali at The Westin Riverfront is dedicated to eco-friendly operations, using only 100% organic treatment products and linens. Eminence Skincare has planted more than 7,160 trees on behalf of products sold at Spa Anjali, which is equivalent to 119 acres of trees.

Named a “Top 10 Green Spa” by Organic Spa Magazine and a “Top Wellness Center” in the Green Spa Network Sustainability Awards, Spa Anjali offers a unique “Green Check-In” program, where guests receive a discount on their services if they come to the spa in the robe from their guest residence, reducing the need to launder a second robe.

“We are very excited to expand our commitment to operating this resort as a top sustainable destination,” said Westin Riverfront General Manager Kristen Pryor. “We expect our guests to embrace this change and hopefully implement it in their own daily lives.”

The Marriott brand has pledged to replace all single-use toiletry bottles of shampoo, conditioner and bath gel in guestroom showers with larger, pump-topped bottles by December 2020, including at The Westin Riverfront.

Located in the heart of the Vail Valley, The Westin Riverfront offers 230 guest residences, each featuring a custom kitchen, five-piece bathroom, gas fireplace and Westin Heavenly Bed. The Westin’s Athletic Club features 60+ group exercise classes each week, including Pilates Reformer & aerial yoga. The resort is home to Maya, a modern Mexican kitchen by Chef Richard Sandoval, which pours an extensive collection of more than 150 tequilas, the casual Lift Café, the Lookout Lobby Bar and a Starbucks. For more information, please visit www.westinriverfront.com or call 1-866-949-1616.