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Fabulous grand opening party
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On Tuesday evening, October 28, the ribbons were cut marking the grand opening of the
Crown Plaza Glen Ellyn Hotel- a new hotel that is trying to better the world 119 guest rooms at a time with its remarkable amount of green efforts. The opening of this Crown Plaza adds to the other 4 hotels of its kind in the Chicago area, but is the first “green”
Crown Plaza, Chicago is proud to be first, setting a great trend for other cities to follow.
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Fabulous earth friendly decorations will slowly melt away
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The Grand Opening party was a wonderland of amazing food, tuxedo clad waiters with trays of futuristic neon green martinis, a dimly lit ballroom with beautiful ice sculptures, life-size snow globes featuring the characters from Wizard of Oz, as
well as the movie playing on giant screens throughout the downstairs ballroom. Tours of the hotel and its reconstructed green efforts were conducted throughout the night, and prizes were given away- with the grand prize being tickets to the Chicago Broadway hit play
Wicked. Even better, all of the attendees of the event went home a winner, each being given there very own baby Norway Spruce pine tree to plant at home and help spread the green effort.
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Delicious drinks take on the meaning of green
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The new 100% smoke free green hotel is a suburban oasis, and while saving the environment there are amenities for all to enjoy. For the business savvy there is free wireless internet throughout the entire hotel, free faxing and printing in the business center, and plenty of meeting space in the 7 business rooms. Video conferencing is also available. For the family looking for a place that children can enjoy, there is the LINX system in every room- offering unlimited television, movies, internet and anything else you can electronically imagine for only $10 a day. There are also refrigerators and microwaves in the suites, as well as purified water. For the fitness inclined, there are a huge indoor pool, and a great fitness center- offering cardio, weights and yoga mats. And, are you wondering how to get around town during your stay? The hotel also offers free (hybrid) guest shuttle service. Wondering where to eat? Attached to the hotel is the
Glen Prairie Restaurant, for great food and even better cocktails.
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This hotel has something for everyone
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Now, you are probably thinking- this doesn’t seem green at all. This is where you will be knocked off your feet.
To help with the climate change of the earth, the rooftops of the hotel are painted white to use energy from the sun. It is estimated that if less than 1% of the world’s rooftops and pavement were a light color, enough sunlight would be reflected to delay the greenhouse effect by about 11 years. White rooftops also cut air conditioning usage by about 20%. CFL (compact fluorescent light bulbs) are used throughout the hotel in place of regular light bulbs, using 50-80% less energy. And low-emissive windows replace regular windows, which reduce energy loss.
In each of the guest rooms, a recycling program is already set up for you. The refrigerators are not in fact refrigerators- they are cooling systems, which are a huge energy saver. And the filtered water provided for guests? On each floor there is a station offering filtered water and recycled cups- which cuts the average 100,000 plastic bottles a year that an average hotel sends to our earth’s landfills.
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We must save our landfills from plastic
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And of course, there’s the fitness center. The floors in the state of the art fitness center are made from 100% recycled material, and the filtered water station is offered here as well. The indoor pool, which used to be an outdoor pool, was converted using cedar as the indoor roof covering. This material can save 45% more energy in heating, and requires 20% less energy in cooling. Cork is the only other material that can compare to its insulating abilities.
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Fresh local foods make up the green friendly menu
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And last but not least- one of the hotels finest highlights-
Glen Prairie with local flavor and fine food and drink. This 60-seat restaurant that attaches to the hotel uses regional vendors and local foods, and supports natural and sustainable farming practices to prepare everything on its green focused menu. Daniel Ovanin, the executive chef of
Glen Prairie, shops farmers markets twice a week to keep up on his stock of fresh produce, and focuses on locally grown and seasonal ingredients. So not only is the food amazingly good, but it is good for your body, and contributes to the Earths’ sustainability.
For more information on
Crown Plaza Glen Ellyn (1250 Roosevelt Road, Glen Ellyn, IL) and their green efforts, go to: www.ichotelsgroup.com
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