Tag Archives: green B&Bs

Bath + Brindley’s = A Brilliant British B&B

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Brindley's boutique B&B, in Bath, England, is just 10 minutes' walk from the city center. Photo courtesy Brindley's

Having a charming, quiet place to stay while visiting a bustling city can really make a visit special, and Ken and I were lucky enough to get to spend our nights in the town of Bath at Brindley’s,  a boutique B&B with French flair.

Although this classy Victorian family house is an easy walk from the center of Bath, Brindley’s is in a residential neighborhood with old trees and gardens, so it’s a welcome retreat from traffic and tourists.

The bedrooms—there are just six, ranging from spacious to cozy—are furnished with an eclectic mix of French-style furnishings, and the beds are luxurious with fluffy duvets. We stayed in Room 5, a smaller third-floor room that had a king bed that could be separated into two twins. Our bathroom was compact, but efficient.

Breakfast at Brindley’s

Before a full day of sightseeing, a good breakfast is essential, and the fare at Brindley’s was delightful—and a welcome change. Yes, you can order the traditional English breakfast featuring local, free-range eggs and bacon and sausage from pigs raised on what I’m sure is a pastoral Wiltshire farm not many miles away. Yet it’s a bit radical to find smoked salmon with scrambled eggs or eggs on toast as alternative breakfast entrée choices.

Bon appétit! Photo courtesy Brindley's

Other delicious breakfast surprises: hot croissants and pain au chocolat instead of the obligatory toast, and fresh berries or other fruit.

With some Edith Piaf songs playing in the background and a few French decorating touches, breakfast was playful and invigorating…which was just what we needed before a full day of viewing Bath’s grand, but stoic, Georgian architecture.

Happy Home away from Home

If all this weren’t enough, Brindley’s is owned by two exceedingly friendly couples, who are also très helpful with offering sightseeing and dining advice. And the B&B is also eco-conscious. In addition to the usual policy of not changing the towels and sheets each day, they’re good about recycling, serving seasonal local foods, and providing REN toiletries (free from fragrances, synthetic colors, parabens, sulfates and other harmful ingredients).

We truly appreciated having a calm place to relax—one with character, and Brindley’s has that aplenty. This lovely B&B gave us the perfect excuse to come back for a restorative nap one afternoon when our feet were tired after visits to the Circus, the Assembly Rooms, Royal Crescent, the Museum of Fashion, and Bath Abbey.

—Laurel Kallenbach, freelance writer and editor

P.S. If you’ve stayed in a small B&B or hotel that made your trip special, share your find by clicking on “Reply” below.

For more information about visiting Bath, England, browse Visit Bath.

We loved staying in the residential neighborhood of Pulteney Gardens in the city of Bath. Photo courtesy Brindley's

 

Santa Fe Casita: A Southwestern Eco-Retreat

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Few cities capture the essence of a region like Santa Fe. This 500-plus-year-old small city displays its history, multiculturalism and artistic flair boldly, making it a thrilling destination year-round.

The living room in Casa Juniper has a lovely wood-burning fireplace. Photo courtesy Hacienda Nicholas

When you stroll the streets of Santa Fe, you absolutely know you’re in northern New Mexico. The sweet, piney smell of burning juniper fills the air; people dress in clothing influenced by Navajo and Pueblo tribal patterns. You encounter public art everywhere. And most unique to this part of the world: the buildings are adobe—an architectural style literally built from the land because adobe is a mixture of earth, clay and straw molded into bricks and dried in the desert sun.

Santa Fe has a number of fabulous hotels, but on our most recent stay, my husband and I discovered an outstanding option: a casita, or “little house.” Casa Juniper is part of the Alexander’s Inn Vacation Rentals—associated with two delightful eco-friendly B&Bs: the Madeleine Inn and Hacienda Nicholas.

Staying in a casita is such a great way to go in Santa Fe. We were about eight blocks from the central Plaza—a little farther than the pricey hotels—but we had a large, 100-year-old adobe home with a wood-burning horno fireplace and banks of panoramic windows all to ourselves. It was our home away from home.

The wood and windows at Casa Juniper increase its Santa Fe flavor.

We learned the benefits of having a spacious casita our very first day. An early November storm blew through the area, which made walking around town daunting. So, Ken and I bought some groceries at the Whole Foods and hunkered down at Casa Juniper. While the wind howled outside, we lit a fire and sipped fair-trade coffee and organic tea that was stocked in the casita’s fully equipped kitchen.

Sheltering from the storm, we felt so lucky we weren’t huddling in a generic hotel. Instead, we fully experienced Santa Fe’s aura without stepping into the frozen rain. Inside the sturdy adobe walls, we felt safe. And because our casita had a gorgeous living room, we invited friends to join us. Amid Southwestern rugs on the saltillo-tile floors, wood beamed ceiling, and art from native and New Mexican traditions, we sat out the storm in style and comfort. Best of all, we felt like locals.

Queen bedroom at eco-friendly Casa Juniper

Fortunately, the Southwestern sun came out the next day—and we had plenty of time to explore Canyon Road’s art treasures, the Georgia O’Keeffe museum, and the city’s world-famous restaurants. After days of exploring Santa Fe, Ken and I came home to our spacious bedroom—a split-level retreat with closable wooden doors and a queen-sized four-poster bed.

In addition to loving Casa Juniper, we felt good that our accommodations incorporated sustainable, earth-centered policies, such as:

  • Eco-cleaners with no chlorine bleach, dyes or perfumed detergents
  • Towel and linen program that reduces water consumption
  • Energy- and water-efficient appliances
  • Recycling program for glass, paper and plastic
  • Xeriscape gardening (irrigated with graywater) grown with nontoxic fertilizers
  • Stationary that’s printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink
  • Energy-saving compact-fluorescent light bulbs
  • Low-flow faucets, showers and toilets

    Casa Juniper's bathroom is decorated with Mexican tiles.

  • Soap, shower gel, lotion, shampoo and conditioner dispensers to eliminate the waste of small plastic amenity bottles
  • Filtered water rather than bottled
  • Reusable glass or plastic cups instead of paper cups
  • Rooms painted with no-VOC paints

In addition, the owner of the green Madeleine Inn and Hacienda Nicholas also runs the all-natural Absolute Nirvana spa. Its Indonesian décor is exquisite and relaxing.

—Laurel Kallenbach, freelance writer and editor