In Downtown Napa, we invite visitors to sip on great wine, see interesting art, enjoy delicious food, stay at welcoming lodging properties and explore the relaxing outdoors. And with all of these activities, we try to have green, clean sustainable practices in mind. Because when it starts with our businesses, we know that it extends to our visitors who help preserve our great city and the Napa Valley at large.
Check out these activities and businesses that celebrate sustainability:
Car-Free Travel
Not only is Downtown Napa wine country’s most walkable destination, but visitors don’t even need a car to get here in the first place – an ideal way to reduce overall environmental impact. The Napa Valley Wine Train offers a car-free San Francisco Bay Area connection with the San Francisco Bay Ferry, so travelers can hop on, sit back and enjoy a traffic-free scenic ride to the train station in Downtown Napa.
Lodging
To eliminate plastic water bottles, Andaz Napa provides guests with reusable, BPA-free aluminum PathWater bottles that can be refilled at the property’s filtered water stations. The hotel also continues to focus on purchasing local and sustainable products for its food and beverage offerings. Additionally, the housekeeping staff is always on a mission to turn off electric devices in each unattended guest room.
Archer Hotel Napa provides access to local and regional wines and produce through its in-house sustainable food guidelines. The hotel follows low water consumption measures, recycling and reusing practices, utilizing an eco-friendly dry-cleaning service and more. The property also has an ongoing partnership with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization with a focus on global reforestation, and Proud Source Water, a Certified B Corporation spring water provider.
As the first Northern California bed-and-breakfast to be certified by the California Green Lodging Program, The Inn on First uses low-flow water sources, composts kitchen and garden waste, provides stainless steel water bottles and reusable glassware for guests. To reduce packaging and shipping, all food is also made from scratch. Each room features a personal air conditioning unit with an occupancy sensor, thermostat-controlled heat source and ceiling fans, among other eco-friendly amenities.
Napa River Inn located within the Historic Napa Mill is the original green building in town, which opted to build upon its historic roots keeping the original structure intact. Additionally, the bricks that make up much of the building were formed with clay from the Napa River. Embracing an eco-friendly way of life, Napa River Inn also sources bath amenities locally, recycles cooking oil into bio-diesel and offers charging pumps for electric vehicles on-site
The Westin Verasa Napa is part of the California Green Business network and features oxidizers in rooms, low flow showerheads, composting, food dehydrating practices and sustainable purchasing. They’ve also eliminated plastic straws and implemented bio-fuel recycling, repurposing of linens, LED high-efficiency lighting, recycling training and more.
Recently revealed Napa Valley Welcome Center at First Street Napa features lights operated on timers, a water-saving toilet and sinks. All information provided to tourists is now fully digital. Additionally, the mercantile shop makes an effort to source local, handmade items
Food, Wine & More
Angèle Restaurant & Bar attempts to only use local purveyors and farms to create its delicious French dishes. To eliminate plastics, the restaurant switched to paper and corn straws, as well as wooden or corn silverware. Additionally, the restaurant composts all food and paper waste.
The Dutch Door is a zero-plastic takeout cafe, dedicated to compostable containers, flatware and cups. The Dutch Door strives for zero food waste, choosing to sell out of items daily instead of discarding them. About half of the cafe’s menu is vegan, and they also order local produce and source meat from no-feed farms
Monday Bakery serves its treats and drinks in compostable packaging and also offers compost, recycle and garbage bins within the shop for customer use. The company was awarded the JD Fullner Recycling Leadership Award in 2019 by the City of Napa
Oenotri maintains a 5-acre culinary garden just a few miles from the restaurant where 80 percent of the menu is sourced during peak season. In addition to fresh produce, Oenotri serves more than 20 types of house-made salami, daily house-made bread, an array of handmade fresh and dry pasta and olive oil sourced exclusively from Napa Valley.
Oxbow Public Market and its merchants use compostable containers and food ware. The market employs an industry-leading recycling program which has received special recognition from local, state and U.S. governments for outstanding green business practices through its recycling efforts.
Shopping
Betty’s Girl Napa has been a green business since its launch in 2003 and offers 100 percent upcycled fashion, such as dresses made from vintage and recycled fabrics.
Napa Running Company is committed to keeping fitness environmentally friendly by offering green products such as Hydro Flask water bottles as well as recycled shoe packaging. Recently, the store introduced a new eco-friendly brand, Girlfriend Collective, whose products are made from recycled polyester and post-consumer recycled water bottles.
Sustainable practices may take extra effort, but we know keeping Napa green is well worth it. Visit Downtown Napa for a truly sustainable and relaxing getaway.
