Top 10 Eco-Friendly Hotels in San Francisco, CA

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Welcome to the beautiful city of San Francisco, also known as ‘The City by the Bay’! San Francisco takes great pride in leading the way when it comes to energy independence initiatives and embracing green building trends in the United States. The city’s compactness has allowed for the creation of an excellent mass transit system, thus reducing traffic-related carbon emissions.

But the green goodness doesn’t stop there! San Francisco offers a plethora of green and sustainable activities and attractions for you to enjoy. And when it comes to accommodations, you’ll be delighted to know that there are eco-friendly options available in the form of green hotels. In fact, by 2017, an impressive 27% of Bay area hotels in San Francisco were already part of TripAdvisor’s esteemed GreenLeaders program, which recognizes hotels with eco-friendly practices.

Now, let’s dive into the top green hotels in San Francisco, California, today.

1 Orchard Garden Hotel

Image of Orchard Garden Hotel

The Orchid Garden is San Francisco’s first LEED-certified hotel, known for its eco-friendly practices. The hotel’s regal building has a minimalistic design that aims to minimize heat, water, and energy waste. Orchid Garden incorporates environmentally responsible practices throughout its operations, including the use of Energy Star appliances, carpets made from recycled materials, organic cleaning products, low-flow faucets and toilets for water conservation, and energy-efficient lighting. Additionally, guests have the option to “turn off” their entire room when they leave to save energy.

Additional Information
  • Name: Orchard Garden Hotel
  • Rating: 4.0/5
  • Address: 466 Bush Street
  • Services:
    • Restaurant
    • Room service
    • Meeting/banquet facilities
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Fitness centre
    • Garden
    • Non-smoking rooms
    • Business centre

2 Hotel Zelos San Francisco

Image of Hotel Zelos San Francisco

Hotel Zelos, a luxury and boutique hotel in San Francisco’s SoMa district, holds a ‘Silver Level’ position on TripAdvisor’s esteemed Greenleaders program. The hotel’s central location allows easy access to Union Square, the Financial District, and Chinatown. Hotel Zelos prioritizes energy-saving measures such as occupancy sensors, energy-efficient lighting, employee incentives for using mass transport or carpooling, and the use of biodegradable cleaning products. Additionally, the bathrooms are equipped with eco-friendly Roil bath amenities.

Additional Information
  • Name: Hotel Zelos San Francisco
  • Rating: 4.0/5
  • Address: Hotel Zelos San Francisco
  • Services:
    • Parking
    • Restaurant
    • Pets allowed
    • Room service
    • Meeting/banquet facilities
    • Bar
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Fitness centre

3 Argonaut Hotel, a Noble House Hotel

Image of Argonaut Hotel, a Noble House Hotel

Introducing the award-winning Argonaut, located in Fisherman’s Wharf! This iconic San Francisco hotel is renowned for its commitment to sustainability, proudly earning four ‘Green Keys’ from the esteemed Green Key Eco-Rating Program. Not only does the Argonaut boast a rich historical background, but it also leads the charge in the city’s eco-friendly movement. By adopting practices such as LED lighting, utilizing environmentally-friendly cleaning products, implementing recycling initiatives, and incorporating water-saving systems, this hotel truly champions the ‘going green’ movement. Even the renowned Blue Mermaid Restaurant & Bar follows sustainable fisheries guidelines, ensuring all signature dishes are prepared in an ‘Earth-friendly’ manner. And that’s not all! The kitchen’s grease is ingeniously recycled to create compost and biofuel. Talk about a true eco-champion!

Additional Information
  • Name: Argonaut Hotel, a Noble House Hotel
  • Rating: 4.0/5
  • Address: 495 Jefferson Street
  • Services:
    • Parking
    • Restaurant
    • Pets allowed
    • Room service
    • Meeting/banquet facilities
    • Bar
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Fitness centre

4 Harbor Court Hotel

Image of Harbor Court Hotel

Located on downtown SFO’s scenic waterfront, the historic Harbor Court hotel is not only surrounded by Silicon Valley’s tech giants, but is also within walking distance of the Exploratorium, the Ferry building, Embarcadero, and many popular boutique restaurants and local farmers’ markets. What makes the Harbor Court particularly eco-friendly is that when you stay here, you can minimize your carbon footprint. This non-smoking hotel also has a gourmet honour bar stocked with healthy, organic eats, ‘Tuch Tablet’ digital directories promoting a green environment, and no minibar or entertainment centre.

Additional Information
  • Name: Harbor Court Hotel
  • Rating: 4.0/5
  • Address: 165 Steuart Street
  • Services:
    • Parking
    • Restaurant
    • Pets allowed
    • Room service
    • Bar
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Fitness centre
    • Non-smoking rooms

5 Hotel Spero

Image of Hotel Spero

When you stay at the restored landmark of Hotel Spero, you can be a part of something good. It is likely to be one of the most eco-friendly and sustainable practices. As a bonus, you will receive a custom Hotel Spero reusable water bottle when you check-in, and you can fill it up with water from the installed water stations. The rooms also feature environmentally friendly products from BeeKind, a part of whose sales are used to support honey bees and sustainable pollination research. Additionally, the hotel donates its soaps, shampoo, and conditioner bottles to ‘Clean the World’, an initiative that distributes these recycled products to less-developed countries. Hotel Spero also has low-flow showerheads, toilets, and faucets, sustainable cleaning products, and composts leftover food.

Additional Information
  • Name: Hotel Spero
  • Rating: 4.0/5
  • Address: 405 Taylor Street
  • Services:
    • Restaurant
    • Pets allowed
    • Meeting/banquet facilities
    • Bar
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Fitness centre
    • Non-smoking rooms
    • Business centre

6 Hotel Focus SFO

Image of Hotel Focus SFO

Welcome to Hotel Focus SFO, a completely smoke-free establishment conveniently located just a short 10-minute drive away from San Francisco International Airport. Not only is our hotel in close proximity to the airport, but it also prides itself on being an exceptional eco-friendly and green destination. As part of our commitment to sustainability, we offer electric vehicle charging stations for our guests and boast unique low-water-use landscaping throughout the property.

Step into our spacious and inviting lobby, which also embraces eco-friendly practices. However, the true highlight of our environmentally conscious features lies in our breathtaking ‘Desert Bloom’ courtyard. This oasis showcases stunning fire pits, Nantucket tables and chairs, and magnificent xeriscape landscaping that is not only beautiful but also water-efficient, embodying our dedication to conservation.

We can’t wait to welcome you to Hotel Focus SFO, where eco-friendliness and comfort go hand in hand.

Additional Information
  • Name: Hotel Focus SFO
  • Rating: 3.0/5
  • Address: 111 Mitchell Avenue
  • Services:
    • Parking
    • Pets allowed
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Fitness centre
    • Garden
    • Non-smoking rooms
    • Airport shuttle
    • Business centre

7 W San Francisco

Image of W San Francisco

The W San Francisco offers a truly satisfying experience with its LEED-EB certified ‘Platinum’ building and captivating interior. This stylish boutique hotel, situated in downtown, boasts energy-efficient lighting, low-watt cooling/heating systems, and measures to minimize energy waste. Additionally, motion sensors in guest rooms conserve energy by deactivating systems when unoccupied, and public computers automatically power off after 15 minutes of inactivity.

Additional Information
  • Name: W San Francisco
  • Rating: 4.0/5
  • Address: 181 Third Street
  • Services:
    • Parking
    • Restaurant
    • Pets allowed
    • Meeting/banquet facilities
    • Bar
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Fitness centre
    • Non-smoking rooms

8 The Marker San Francisco

Image of The Marker San Francisco

The Marker, San Francisco, offers so much more than its amazing location near Union Square in downtown San Francisco. This turn-of-the-century hotel is dedicated to maintaining a green and pristine environment, while simultaneously meeting safety, health, and cost-effectiveness goals. For example, the hotel has its own special generating system called PathoSans, used to disinfect and clean products. This has helped reduce the carbon footprint by eliminating the need to ship, store, and dispose of traditional cleaning chemicals, which are often not environmentally friendly. In their place, the hotel utilizes PathoCide and PathoClean, two green cleaning disinfectants and cleaners that leave surfaces spotlessly clean without any lingering odors or residues.

Additional Information
  • Name: The Marker San Francisco
  • Rating: 4.0/5
  • Address: 501 Geary Street

9 Hotel Del Sol, a Joie de Vivre Hotel

Image of Hotel Del Sol, a Joie de Vivre Hotel

When Hotel Del Sol, located in Marina, achieved its green certification, it became the sole certified hotel in the Marina area. As a Joie de Vivre hospitality property, this delightful and vibrant hotel prioritizes sourcing products from local, eco-friendly vendors whenever possible. For example, they choose to purchase their laundry and cleaning products from the esteemed Vaska, a leading producer of truly environmentally-friendly items. The hotel also implements a waste reduction program with the mantra of ‘reuse and recycle’, extending to their office supplies. They take extra care in watering their gardens by doing it manually, and they have implemented fill valves, new toilet flappers, and sink aerators to minimize water waste. Not only do they provide bus passes for their guests, but they also offer shower rooms and bike storage for their staff.

Additional Information
  • Name: Hotel Del Sol, a Joie de Vivre Hotel
  • Rating: 3.0/5
  • Address: 3100 Webster Street
  • Services:
    • Parking
    • Pets allowed
    • 24 -hour front desk
    • Non-smoking rooms
    • Facilities for disabled guests
    • Family rooms
    • Internet services
    • Lift

10 Good Hotel

Image of Good Hotel

The Good Hotel in San Francisco is an eco-friendly hotel like no other, bringing their own spin to green practices. They use nearly exclusively reclaimed and recycled materials for the furnishings, such as bedding made with recycled soda containers and stylish bed frames crafted from reclaimed wood. Furthermore, the toiletries are environmentally friendly and every bathroom has shower-mounted shampoo dispensers and water-saving toilet-top sinks. The rooms even have fun chalkboard walls in place of paper, while the hotel serves organic food. To further reduce their carbon footprint, The Good Hotel offers complimentary bicycles and free parking for hybrid cars.

Additional Information
  • Name: Good Hotel
  • Address: 112 Seventh Street
  • Services:
    • WiFi available in all areas
    • WiFi Available
    • Non-smoking throughout
    • Outdoor pool (all year)
    • On-site parking
    • Free WiFi
    • Non-smoking rooms
    • Parking

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