A guest room at the new Good Hotel in San Francisco.
Note the chandelier made out of used Voss water bottles!
Photo: The Good Hotel

by Brook Wilkinson

The Good Hotel is the latest shabby-to-chic property in Joie de Vivre's stable of San Francisco hotels. Once the rundown Hotel Britton, this new hot spot is now a mecca for virtuousness. I attended the grand opening party last week, and my favorite part of the tour was the bathroom. Check out these toilets: When you flush, clean water comes out of the faucet. The water that you use to wash your hands here goes straight into the toilet tank to reduce waste. It takes a little getting used to, but what an ingenious way to save water.

My other favorite amenity is the volunteering hotline in the lobby. Got a free afternoon while you're in town? Head downstairs and pick up the phone that connects directly to One Brick, a nonprofit organization that will hook you up with one-shot volunteering opportunities around the city. There's already a whole wall of photos from guests who have taken advantage of this innovative partnership. Think of it as no-muss, no-fuss voluntourism.

In the words of our president-elect, let's be clear: The Good Hotel is not at the top tier of luxury. (For that, check out JDV's Hotel Vitale.) But rooms start at just $89--a steal in this city--and the green details are impressive: reclaimed wood beds, pillows made from the old hotel's bedspreads, and One Laptop per Child computers in the business center. The attached pizza parlor, however, is second to none. This is the best traditional thin-crust pizza I've had since leaving Manhattan last year. I love that they grow their own basil and oregano in one of the grittiest parts of the city, and that they use biodegradable and compostable packaging.

Further reading:
* Responsible Traveler: Making a difference
* San Francisco's newest museum