Eco hotel on Jekyll Island preserves the natural environment of the island

(05/03/2010)

The 138-room Hampton Inn & Suites Jekyll Island opened in January 2010, the first new hotel to be built on the island in 35 years.

New Castle Hotels & Resorts and co-developers Jekyll Ocean Oaks, LLC followed an extensive set of guidelines, adopted by the Jekyll Island Authority, that require development respect and preserve the unique natural environment and historic character of the island.

Developers applied a range of conservation practices throughout the building process, and incorporated sustainability practices into the hotel’s operation, including:
* Building the new hotel on the existing footprint of an older motel in order to avoid cutting old growth trees on the 5-acre site.
* Detailed mapping of tree locations and evaluation of their health and relative importance by a certified arborist.
* Planting of new live oak trees to replace a dozen trees removed to accommodate redevelopment of the site, and more than two dozen trees that were in poor health.
* Recycling materials like steel, copper, concrete and aluminum from the demolition of the older motel.
* Mounting elevated exterior downlighting on existing trees to avoid the cost and energy use related to manufacturing and installing aluminum poles for parking areas.

To provide hotel guests with beach access and still preserve the forest and dune area, developers built an elevated wooden walkway. Hotel operations employ a host of sustainable practices, including:
* Rainwater is collected from the 25,000-square-foot roof and stored in a cistern for irrigating landscaping.
* The hotel’s laundry system recaptures final rinse water moisture from the dryers for reuse as wash water, conserving both water and energy. The system also scavenges waste heat from the dryers and reuses it to preheat water for the washing machines, recovering up to 90 percent of the waste heat and reducing overall energy consumption in the laundry by more than 50 percent.
* Use of solar thermal panels on the south-facing roof to preheat water for hot water systems that service guestrooms, restrooms and kitchens. The system reduces the burning of propane, a fossil fuel, to produce heat, thus reducing the total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced by the property.
* Thorough insulation and cladding with cement board, as well as the four-story design, require less energy for HVAC systems. Motion sensors control bathroom ventilation fans, and ENERGY STAR rated appliances and equipment further reduce overall energy consumption.

Related categories:  Rainwater harvesting   Solar power and photovoltaics   Water conservation and supply