The highest-rated green hotels in the United States are the two LEED Platinum properties we could confirm: Bardessono in California and the Proximity Hotel in North Carolina. This list ranks seven hotels by green certification level and sets aside the chain hotels we could not confirm.
| Rank | Hotel | Location | Green credential |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bardessono | Yountville, California | LEED Platinum |
| 2 | Proximity Hotel | Greensboro, North Carolina | LEED Platinum (2008) |
| 3 | ARIA Resort | Las Vegas, Nevada | LEED Gold (two certifications) |
| 4 | Montage Deer Valley | Park City, Utah | LEED Silver |
| 5 | Allison Inn & Spa | Newberg, Oregon | Living roof (self-reported) |
| 6 | The Lenox Hotel | Boston, Massachusetts | Linen-reuse pioneer |
| 7 | Cedar Glen Lodge | Tahoe Vista, California | Self-described eco-friendly |
Which are the highest-rated green hotels in the United States?
1. Bardessono, Yountville, California
Bardessono is a 62-room inn and spa on a 4.9-acre site in Napa Valley wine country. It holds LEED Platinum, and its heating and cooling come from 72 geothermal wells, each 300 feet deep. It is also a non-smoking property. We did not re-check current rates.
How we valued it: LEED Platinum, the top level, with a documented geothermal system.
2. Proximity Hotel, Greensboro, North Carolina
Proximity opened in 2007 and was LEED certified Platinum in October 2008, and it is described as the first US hotel to earn that level. It has 147 guest rooms, including ten suites, and reportedly uses about 41 percent less energy than a conventional hotel.
How we valued it: LEED Platinum, ranked second because the certification is older than Bardessono’s documented systems.
3. ARIA Resort, Las Vegas
ARIA, a 61-story resort at CityCenter, holds two LEED Gold certifications, one for its hotel tower and one for the convention center and theatre. Architects report that it saves more than 117,000 cubic meters of water a year, about 40 percent in the hotel and 60 percent in garden irrigation.
How we valued it: two LEED Gold certifications.
4. Montage Deer Valley, Park City, Utah
The slopeside resort in Deer Valley opened in December 2009 and is reported to have earned LEED Silver, the first LEED Silver resort in Utah. Sources differ on the level, so we show Silver as the most cited.
How we valued it: LEED Silver, with conflicting reports.
5. Allison Inn & Spa, Newberg, Oregon
The inn near Portland has 85 rooms and a living roof that insulates the building. We could not find a third-party certification this year, so we rank it by its own reported measures.
How we valued it: self-reported features, not certified.
6. The Lenox Hotel, Boston
The Lenox, opened in 1900 next to the Boston Public Library, belongs to the Saunders Hotel Group and was reportedly the first hotel in North America with a linen-reuse programme, in the 1980s. We found no current certification.
How we valued it: an early programme, not a certification.
7. Cedar Glen Lodge, Tahoe Vista, California
The lodge near Lake Tahoe has 31 accommodations, including 1950s-built cottages, and describes itself as eco-friendly. We found no third-party certification.
How we valued it: self-described only.
Which hotels from the earlier list could not be confirmed?
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Inverness, Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Brickell, Sleep Inn & Suites Miles City and Hilton Garden Inn Fayetteville: we could not confirm their current green certification.
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FAQ
What is the greenest hotel in the United States?
On certification level, Bardessono in Yountville, California, and the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina, both hold LEED Platinum, the top LEED level. Proximity is described as the first US hotel to earn Platinum.
What does LEED certified mean for a hotel?
LEED is a green building rating from the US Green Building Council. Levels run from Certified to Silver, Gold and Platinum.
Is ARIA in Las Vegas a green hotel?
Yes. ARIA has two LEED Gold certifications, for its hotel tower and for its convention center and theatre, and it reports saving about 31 million gallons of water a year.
How does Bardessono heat and cool its rooms?
Through a geothermal system of 72 wells, each 300 feet deep, according to a trade report from the hotel’s opening years.
Why did chain hotels leave the list?
We could not confirm current certification for the Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn, Sleep Inn and Hilton Garden Inn entries, so we moved them to an unconfirmed section.
How did Alux rank these hotels?
We ranked by certification level: Platinum, then Gold, then Silver, then hotels with self-described programmes.
How we put this list together
We ranked hotels by their green building certification level and marked hotels with only self-reported programmes. Room rates and current openings should be checked with each hotel.
Last updated: October 2026.
