Virginia’s upcoming Salamander Resort and Spa to host meetings and events in green luxury

With construction underway for a scheduled 2011 debut, the luxury Salamander Resort & Spa has announced plans to a new, eco-friendly groups and meetings initiative called Meeting Green. With high ambition’s of LEED certification – focusing on extensive waste, water and energy management programs – the resort’s management company, Salamander Hospitality, is creating a practical program in which group attendees can participate in environmental sustainability.

“Our goal for Salamander Resort and Spa is to take a leadership role within the hospitality industry by continually looking for innovative ways to enhance our luxury resort guest experience, while maintaining sensitivity to our environment,” says Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hospitality.

Nestled in the beautiful and historic Village of Middleburg, the 168-room luxury resort sits on 340 acres in the midst of Virginia’s horse and wine country. However, it is only 35 minutes from Washington D.C.’s Dulles Airport and 30 minutes from Winchester Regional Airport.

According to Salamander Hospitality CEO and Founder Sheila C. Johnson, the intent is to create an environmentally sensitive resort by placing 252 of the resort’s acreage into a conservation easement, held jointly by the Potomac Conservancy and the Town of Middleburg.

In addition, commitments were secured to use native plants to minimize irrigation, and employ unobtrusive external lighting to preserve nocturnal views and minimize light pollution.

By establishing the Meeting Green program, the resort will offer Basic, Intermediate and Advanced plans for groups wanting to make sure their stay is as ecologically sound as possible. These programs go beyond the usual guest recycling programs, printing on recycled paper with soy based ink, and use of non-chemical housekeeping cleaners.

Some of these additional measures will include:

• Creation of all menus utilizing many sustainable and organic products produced within a 50-mile-radius, including the large on-site chef’ss garden, to minimize transportation and carbon footprint. Attendees will be able to cook with many of these ingredients at the resort’ss culinary studio.
• Special menus including a 50-percent reduction in animal proteins, supplemented by vegetable proteins at meal functions
• Use of potted plants instead of cut flower arrangements on banquet tables
• Use of specially filtered water served in pitchers
• Electronic meeting flyers and hand outs, accessed via a special Internet site or by e-mail
• Promotion of off-site events and tours that ingrain event attendees in the area’ss natural environment with minimal impact. In fact, there are 22 wineries within 30 minutes of the resort, and four less than ten minutes away.
• Utilization of energy saving horse-drawn carriages and bicycles to take hotel guests to and from the Village of Middleburg

The resort is also renovating the 100-year-old-plus Stallion Barn, which still stands on the grounds and is only a few hundred feet from the on-site equestrian center, and turning it into function space – part of 12,000 square feet available for group usage.

In addition, the resort will be home to two treehouse treatment rooms in the edge of the woods overlooking a creek. The resort’s spa features 14 additional treatment rooms inside the main building, seven of which include an outdoor treatment patio.

For more information, visit www.salamanderresort.com/ebrochure.