Comfort may be king, but at this California resort the environment will be served, too.

The new Terranea Resort, currently under construction for Destination Hotels & Resorts in Palos Verdes, has been designed not only to provide fresh towels for guests but to blend with the local landscape and minimize the development's impact on the environment.

The design and materials for Terranea take into account what is already available in the area: The design minimizes changes to the area and uses local and recycled materials. There are a number of abandoned buildings in Palos Verdes, and 40 percent of the materials from those abandoned structures are being reused in the construction of the new resort.

Even the rock excavated to allow for the construction of the building is being used in the process — it has been crushed and will be reborn in nearby roads and walkways.

Besides the land the company bought for Terranea, it purchased an additional 631,800 square feet of surrounding real estate that will be used to protect native habitat areas.

The resort has also made efforts to improve water sustainability, along with quality. Wet ponds, Bioswales and storm filters will be used to protect local water from pollutants. The pools at Terranea will use salt water instead of chlorine for purification.

The operators at Terranea are taking other steps to improve the resort's sustainability performance, including working towards an ultimate goal of zero waste. If plans pan out, within three years only 30 percent of the generated waste will go to a landfill. Food served at Terranea will be FLOSS: fresh, local, organic, seasonal and sustainable. Even Terranea staff will have sustainable uniforms, made from bamboo cotton or chemical-free organic cotton, wool or hemp.

As more hotels and resorts choose sustainable paths, that very sustainability is likely to become a marketing tool. Handling sustainability concerns for guests will be just another part of hospitality.

Until then, however, sustainability remains at something of a premium — Terranea is certainly a luxury resort. Room rates start at $300, and the impressive efforts Destination Hotels & Resorts have made towards sustainability are part of that luxury price. But is sustainability a luxury? Or is it actually a move towards a better-performing hospitality industry?

Image — Terranea Resort