Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort | Lake Placid New York
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Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort
2559 Main Street
Lake Placid, NY 12946
(800) 582-5540
(518) 523-3353
 
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An environmentally friendly resort for travelers


Why should we be environmentally friendly?

When you get here and take your first look out of the giant picture windows in the lobby, you will understand. The Adirondack Park is the largest protected area in the contiguous United States, greater in size than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier and Grand Canyon National Park combined. It encompasses approximately 6 million acres, nearly half of which belongs to all the people of New York State and is constitutionally protected to remain "forever wild" forest preserve.
 
Sustainable Hotel Lake Placid
 
That is 6 MILLION ACRES in which to explore, play & learn. That is not something you come across everywhere. In fact, the Adirondack Mountains are some of the oldest in North America. We think that is something worth protecting. As you are swimming in the clean clear waters of Mirror Lake or sipping coffee from the lake view balcony of your guest room, we think you will agree that it is worth it.
 
So here is a laundry list of some of the "Green Programs" going on at the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort. If you have any comments or suggestions we would love to hear them.
Please email us at info@golden-arrow.com or call us directly at (800) 582-5540.
 

Environmentally Friendly Programs


Green Roof Installation: Completed in June of 2008, the Green Roof is a 3400 square foot roof that guests will be able to enjoy from the deck of Generations Restaurant. Green Roofs have many benefits including creating energy savings by acting as a super insulator, keeping the building warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It also acts as a storm water management system, catching pollutants as they drain off the roof. This is especially important for us since we are located directly on the lake. The Oxygen released by the plants will help the hotel reduce its carbon footprint & hopefully provide a nice habitat for birds and insects.  The roof will also double the life of the roof underneath it by protecting it from the elements.
 
Private White Sand Beach: In addition to looking beautiful, the white sand on our beach has another purpose. It is made of crushed limestone which helps counteract the effects of acid rain: a big problem in the Adirondack Park. Every Spring we truck in tons of it to help keep Mirror Lake clean.
 
Retiring 132 tons of Carbon Credits: We accomplished this by working jointly with the Adirondack Council and their Cool Park/ Healthy Planet Carbon Retirement Program.  The program was created by the Adirondack Council to prevent thousands of tons of carbon dioxide from being emitted by power plants from Maine to Delaware. The Golden Arrow committed to retire enough carbon credits to offset the total number of occupied room nights for the month of December 2008.  We permanently retired 132 tons, which was almost one third more than our original goal. The objective was to make guests & the public understand that they can really help make a difference.

Gift Bags: Repeat guests often receive welcome back bags from us. Of course the bags themselves are have post consumer content and are recyclable themselves. However, we also think that the contents should be green as well. We put our recycled pens, locally made gifts such as wooden coasters, and soy chap stick. This year we were also pleased to include some note cards purchased from The Adirondack Council. Those moneys go directly to helping preserve the wild nature of the Adirondack Park. The Adirondack Council is the leading voice for Adirondack conservation. They are showing the world how people and nature can thrive together, keeping the Adirondack Park Forever Wild.
   
Green Meetings: All meetings & events held at the Golden Arrow are Green. What this means is that we use only "real" plate ware/glasses 7 cutlery to cut down on waste, any waste generated is properly recycled/disposed of, all of the paper goods (including the pens) are made of post consumer content & are recyclable. We have a paperless reservations system available for groups. We do not used bottled water, rather we serve it is carafes or pitchers. Our lighting is energy efficient. If meals are required we can count on Charlie's to supply organic, locally produced cuisine.
 
 
Guest Participation Required
In-Room Recycling Program: We give our guests the opportunity to actively participate in our sustainability programs during their stays. In each guest room is a recycling bag. We ask guest to place all of their recyclable materials into these bags so we can separate them and make sure they are properly disposed of. Since the programs inception in June of 2007, we have seen approximately 85% guest participation! THANKS! We could not do it without your help!
green hotel lake placid
We worked with Paul Smith College to figure out exactly how much waste we were diverting from the landfills.  We were shocked (in a good way) when we saw the visual they converted the number to.
 
The Green Quiz: All around the resort, there are beautiful picture frames made of reclaimed roof slate by an artist in Vermont. Each of these frames contains an "environmental fun facts" about the resort. Guests are given a quiz and are asked to go all around the resort finding the answers in the frames. Guests who correctly answer the questions get an earth prize to take home with them.
 
The Mr. Green Coloring Book: This one is for kids. One of our staff created "Mr. Green". He is our mascot. Each page has suggestions of things guests can do at home to be more earth friendly.
Green Hotel Lake Placid NY
 
Thanks for Bein' Green Gift Bag: Any guest who travels to the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort by foot, ski or hybrid car received a "Thanks for Bein' Green" gift bag upon arrival. Just show us your mode of transportation when you arrive and claim your prize.
 
Premier Hybrid Parking: We have created a permanent parking spot ONLY for guests who travel here in a hybrid vehicle.  The spot is prime parking right near the front door.
 
2007 Christmas Card: In Christmas of 2006 we sent a Christmas card to all of our repeat guests. For every card that was returned to us in 2007, we pledged to donate $5.00 to the Adirondack Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Thanks to your participation, we were able to donate $755 to this worthy cause.
 
Sheet/Towel Reuse Program: This is not very original, & thankfully many hotels have something similar in place. It is something that guests are very familiar with and are comfortable participating in. It is also an easy way for them to help conserve while they are visiting with us.
 
Housekeeping

Green Cleaning Agents: We are on a constant search for green alternatives for our cleaning agents. Over the past three years we have diligently tried and tested a myriad of green products. Some have been wonderful, but others have fallen short of our high standards for cleanliness. We are still on the hunt to replace some disinfecting agents that we use with greener alternatives. If you have any suggestions, please call our Head of Housekeeping at (800) 582-5540 or send an email to info@golden-arrow.com Attn: Michele
 
Energy Systems: We added 15 new guest rooms in 2008. Each of these has an in-room energy management system that automatically turns down the heat or A/C in an unoccupied room. We hope to install this system in all of our rooms over the next few years. Until then, we rely on our guests to be conscientious when leaving their guest rooms. In unoccupied rooms, it falls upon the housekeeping staff to monitor the energy management. They take pride in doing their part.
 
Laundry: We fill our washing machines & dryers with full loads. When possible we use cold water to wash instead of hot. The laundry soap contains no phosphorous. All of our Washers & Dryers are the most efficient on the market
 
Back of the House

Formation of a Green Team: We created a green team here at the resort. The team consists of Peter, Heidi & Jenn Holderied (owners & operators), our Executive Housekeeper, Michele, The Ordering Guru, Amanda. The purpose of the green team is to be environmental stewards & hold our suppliers responsible for providing us with the most sustainable products they can offer. We are proud to say that our entire staff of the resort continually look for new ways to improve our sustainability programs and often come up with our best ideas.
 
Light bulbs: Back in 2005 the local boy scout troop came to the hotel selling CFL Light bulbs for $1.00 each. (This is a program that is subsidized by Lake Placid). Their timing could not have been better. They showed up right after we formalized our mission to purchase green alternatives whenever possible. We told them we would be very interested in buying the CFLs from them. They asked up how many we wanted to purchase and we told them we wanted all of them! At this point the resort is about 95% converted (we only replace light bulbs as the old ones burn out). We buy all of our CFLs from the boy scouts every year.
 
Purchasing: In 2005 we switched all of our paper products (both back of the house and promotional materials) to 100% recycled content. Since then we have pledged to rank "greenness" of a product right up there with cost when we factor in which products to purchase. We are glad to report that it is getting easier every year to find the products that we need to run a resort. From the carpeting in our rooms to the pens we use at the desk, each item has been chosen based, at least in part, on how green it is.
 
Double Paned Windows, Low Flow Toilets & Shower heads: We have to be honest with you here. We have had these items installed for as long as we can remember. The initial motivation was not environmental concerns. It was monetary savings. Electricity in Lake Placid is relatively cheap, but water is very expensive. The low flow bathroom fixtures save us gallons of water each year. As to the double paned windows...anyone who has visited in the wintertime knows that in the Adirondacks, those are a necessity! It gets COLD up here! The good news is, all of these things are also good for the environment.
 
Incentive Program for Employees: We encourage our employees to conserve in their private lives as well as at the Resort.  In 2008 we began a transportation incentive program.  Any employee who lives more than 10 miles away and carpools to work at least 4 days per week receives a gas stipend once a month.  Employees who live within the 10 mile radius and either walk or bike to work have their lunch on us that day.
Since we went non smoking in 2002, we have offered a smoking cessation program to any member of our GALR family who chose to quit smoking.  The plan is a simple one.  The employee decides which method of smoking cessation would work best for them, and we cover the cost.  For us, there is no more precious resource than our staff.  We can not do enough to protect them.
 
Grounds & Maintenance

Complete Renovation of the Pool Area: Renovated in the fall of 2007, the plumbing in the pool was over 20 years old and not operating at its most efficient levels. We completely replaced the plumbing & heating systems to use both energy and water more efficiently. Instead of chlorine, we use bromine which is a less harsh but equally effective agent. We also replaced the decking with flagstone from a local quarry.
 
Lobby Renovation: The renovation involved purchasing renewable materials, such as bamboo flooring, & using non toxic materials (for example the wallpaper glue was non toxic). We were also able to use some wood paneling that was reclaimed from our 2006 reconstruction of the restaurant. The wood paneling in the lobby was formerly the backing of the booths in our old restaurant, Goldberries.
 
Storm Water Management System & Oil Separator: In an effort to keep Mirror Lake pristine, we installed an extensive storm water management system whose job it is to keep pollutants from the building parking garages and roads out of the lake.
 
Road Salt: We live in a climate that can have some pretty messy roads in the winter months. Salt is a fact of life up here. So we were delighted to discover Safe Step, a 100% soluble salt like product that contains no hazardous chemicals and is much safer for the environment.
 
Heat Recovery System: We have installed a heat recovery systems in 3 of the 4 hot water systems in the resort.  This is a bit technical, but basically if our town water comes into the building at 40 degrees fahrenheit, this system heats the water anywhere from 10 - 20 degrees by utilizing the heat from other water sources.  That means the water is 10 -20 degrees warmer before we need to use energy to heat it.
 
Community Service
Kids Earth Day Celebration: This Earth Day we honored the Earth by inviting the local kindergarten & preschool classes to participate in a free Earth Day program. Two of our Green-Minded crew organized & put on a huge event that included all kinds of sustainable crafts for the kids to participate in including planting mini versions of our green roof & creating windmills. The kids loved it & so did we! We hope to do it again next year!
 
E-Sweep: In conjunction with Earth Day, we began a community wide E-Sweep.  We invited local businesses & home owners to bring all of their E-Waste to the Golden Arrow in the days preceding Earth Day.  The on Earth Day we transported it to a recycling plant in Vermont to ensure that it did not end up in a landfill, but instead was properly recycled or disposed of.  We collected over 2.5 tons of E-Waste this year!
 
Eco-Fair: This fair, taking place the last weekend in May, will have vendors providing organic foods, workshops on green living, a magazine exchange & live music! The goal is to put together eco-minded individuals together with sustainable suppliers and tips on going green. Visit the website at
 
Village Clean-Up Day: The Golden Arrow was proud to have a team of employees participate in Lake Placid's annual Village Clean-Up Day. Don't worry; the staff did not labor for nothing. They were rewarded by being paid for their voluntarily donated time!
 
Formation of a Green Tourism Council for NY State: We have been diligently working with our state officials, including DEC, EPA, NYSERDA, I LOVE NY & the Governor's office in conjunction with NYSHTA towards the creation of a Green Tourism Council for NY State. Currently there is not a centralized resource for businesses in the tourism industry to turn to when looking for help on how to "green" their business. One of the goals of this council would be to achieve that & make it easy for businesses to operate more sustainable. We are pleased to report we have had amazing success & are working hard with these agencies on the formation of this council.
 
 
Generations Restaurant

 
Grease Capture: Generations actually collects the grease produced by his restaurant & donates it to a farm nearby where they are building an engine that runs on grease.
 
Organic Menu/Locally Grown Foods & Wines: There is an entire section of the menu dedicated to organic foods. In addition the drinks made in the Straight Shot Lounge are produced with the finest, locally grown fruits. This summer he will expand the wine list to include organic wines & some bio dynamic organic wines.
 
Local Purchasing: One of the most challenging parts on living in the Adirondacks is the supply chain. As we do here at the Hotel, Genearations buys as much as he can locally.
 
Sustainable Materials:  Many sustainable materials in the design of the restaurant were used including bamboo flooring in the dining area & recycled tires for the patio flooring. He also chose to reclaim & revamp much of the kitchen hardware.
 
Green Catering: Generations caters most of the functions that take place in the Golden Arrow. He has agreed to make these events as sustainable as possible by using real china (no disposable plates/cups) & using organic, locally produced food ingredients when requested.
 
Green Cleaning: They use the least toxic cleaners allowable by the Department of Health in the kitchen, restaurant & bar.




 
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