Hotels and resorts love to appear on the Gold List of Conde Nast Traveler; to get the Travel & Leisure blessing of "Best." But in the 21st century the ultimate is Platinum and the acronym of choice is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) as administered by the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council. "Best" is earned by meeting an environmental challenge not redundant pampering.

LEED rates city halls and warehouses as well as hotels and convention centers, awarding Silver, Gold, and Platinum certifications. Other notable kudos include California's GEELA (Governor's Environmental and Economic Leadership Award) and the ENERGY STAR® label from the EPA, which means a building must use 40 percent less energy than average buildings and emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The State of Florida grants one, two or three palm leaves to a hotel entitled to be a "Green Lodging;" Orlando has its own additional "Green Certification" awarded by the International Organization of Standardization (IOS). In Oregon (which has passed a statewide sustainability act) Pacific Power's "Green Power" program has resulted in a waterfall (think: roof rain runoff and recirculated) in the Convention Center and designated it at an "Earth Advantage" building. Portland's Doubletree claims to be the largest hotel west of the Mississippi to receive a "Green Seal Lodging Sustainable" nod.

Eco-wise hotels embody the very details every traveler appreciates. They are most likely to be close to transportation (saving fuel and reducing pollution); they are cost-effective (you get your money's worth); they serve exemplary meals (fresh local produce tastes better and supports local farmers); they wonąt trigger allergies (chemical-free cleaning products and smoke-free rooms); they reduce waste (recycling means less trash in the landfill and whenever possible leftover food goes to local charities for distribution); they offer natural light, fresh air and gardens.

Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants garnered its GEELA for 20 years of green commitment from 1985 to 2005. Now it has launched "Great Meetings, Great Causes," an innovative program offering eco- and social responsibility incentives for meeting planners. Kimpton also partners with the national non-profit Trust for Public Land to help create and preserve parks in cities across America. In 2006, the chain received the National GeoTourism Award from National Geographic Traveler and the Travel Industry Association of America.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts was the first large luxury hotel group to address climate change by pledging to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and remains a leader with its company-wide Green Partnership Program. It has been joined in environmental action by such eco-friendly chains as Westin, Sonesta, Marriott, Hyatt and Rock Resorts. The Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington DC -- historic habitat of presidents and world leaders--now derives 100 percent of its power from wind while promising "sustainable luxury" and "social and ecological consciousness" in a program titled "The Next 100 Years." The InterContinental Hotels group has a Senior Vice President of Global Social Responsibility.

Marriott's Green Council integrates environmental sustainability into the company's business strategy. The Renaissance Hollywood Hotel is the most recent of the 250 Marriott hotels to earn the ENERGY STAR® Label for its efforts to conserve water, improve energy performance by at least 10 percent and protect the environment. Ten new Marriotts are being built to LEED standards.

Westin's posh Riverfront Resort & Spa in Avon, Colorado, deeded five of its 19 acres to the Town of Avon for protection of open space and the natural wetlands. The Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport is a national historic and nautical landmark as well as Maine's first and leading environmentally responsible hotel and a certified "U.S. Backyard Wildlife Habitat." California's Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa was built from timber approved by the Forest Stewardship Council and has a Gold LEED certification. The Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco was the first hotel totally built to LEED standards. At California Fairmonts, all hybrid cars get free parking. In Santa Fe the Absolut Nirvana Spa treats its guests with "Greenistics" and recycles its rose petal bath water. The Mauna Lani Resort in Hawaii has solar-powered golf carts.

Answering the call of "Small is Beautiful," the 12-room Inn at Round Barn Farm in Waitsfield, Vermont, has its own organic farm and an historic 3-level barn where the Green Mountain Cultural Center holds its events. The 4-room Inn at Folkston, a B&B in Folkston, Georgia, has a butterfly garden and is located in a bird sanctuary.

The Audubon Sanctuary Program has given its approval to the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Grande Lakes, Orlando, which includes the 584-room Ritz-Carlton and 1,000-room Marriott as well as an 18-hole championship course. The Audubon program certifies protection for the habitat for endangered/threatened species; naturalizes out-of-play property on the course; removes exotic invasive vegetation; implements comprehensive management programs to maintain healthy turf; and educates golfers with measures such as signage of safe zones for native animals.

RockResorts operates six championship courses, with five currently certified by Audubon. The Company intends to bring its remaining course into the program and look for other measures that to go beyond even the Audubon standards  including community stewardship projects; habitat restoration; integrating green practices into other course facilities; and, supporting environmental practices with neighboring courses.

Laurance Rockefeller founded RockResorts in 1955 with a strict policy to celebrate the natural environment. In addition to a continuous commitment by all its properties to the beauty and culture of the surrounding community, energy and water conservation, renewable energy and green construction, its restaurants are converting totally to organic and natural products, including meats, poultry, dairy, breads, produce and beverages including wines. Its $1.5 billion Ever Vail development, which will include a RockResorts hotel when completed, will be the largest LEED-certified resort project in North America. Since 2006 all properties have derived their electricity from wind power.

Green success stories have been told in books, magazines and newspapers; featured on TV and films; touted on Earth Day. Awareness zoomed after the release of the Oscar-winning film "An Inconvenient Truth." The travel industry -- ever aware of the bottom line -- noted that the Pittsburgh Convention & Visitors Bureau credits going green for 50,000 hotel room nights in two years. Florida now requires state agencies and departments to use only hotels with Green Lodging certification for conferences and meetings. Green Hotels Association has links for every state and price range; it also publishes a "Catalog of Environmental Products for the Lodging Industry."

Make your own difference by asking in advance whether a hotel meets socially responsible and environmental standards and when you fill out that little card asking whether you enjoyed your stay, tell them you appreciated the green.