Now there’s another reason to love the Willard InterContinental, the D.C. institution that has hosted almost every U.S. president since Franklin Pierce. I Spa may be sinfully luxurious, the Cafe du Parc may be divine, but the Willard, the epitome of world-class hospitality, is also a green hotel. The International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA) recently awarded the Willard and its General Manager with its Environmental Award for hospitality sustainable development for “Willard InterContinental- The Next 100 Years.” What’s in the plan? The conversion to 100 percent wind energy power, the first hotel in the nation’s capital to achieve this; Complete hotel retrofit for energy-savings including the use of compact florescent bulbs; The rehabilitation of Pershing Park across from the hotel; Water savings projects where the proceeds go to cleaning the local Anacostia River and the Chesapeake Bay. Bravo.

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