Hotels Go Green: Eco-Initiatives at 51 Buckingham Gate, London

Overlooking a beautiful courtyard garden in the heart of Westminster, 51 Buckingham Gate oozes luxury. Three townhouses, 84 spacious suites and apartments, a team of Ivor Spencer-trained personal butlers: this is central London's perfect five-star address. The flagship property in the West for Taj Hotels, Resorts, and Palaces, 51 Buckingham Gate is also the premier example of eco-friendly hotels raising the bar for the hospitality industry with impressive eco initiatives. The hotel embraces the corporate environmental policy-- Eco Taj-- which focuses on energy and water conservation, recycling projects, and the purchase of eco-products. The Spa at Fifty-One, included in Harpers and Queen's Worlds 100 Best Spas, is the only spa in England to offer pure and chemical-free Sodashi spa treatments. The courtyard garden is fully organic. And since 2005, the hotel has reduced energy consumption by more than 22 percent, cut natural gas consumption by more than 32 percent, and lowered water usage and costs by 25 percent. In 2004, 51 Buckingham Gate won two prestigious accolades for its continuing implementation of eco-friendly initiatives: The Considerate Hotel of the Year and the Environmentally Friendly Hotel of the Year for 2004.