The hotel industry in China is absolutely exploding right now. Starwood and IHG are both poised to nearly double their number of hotels in the next 18 months. That's a lot of hotels! But are any of them any good? Do they stack up to the best of the rest of the world? That's what we want to find out. So City Weekend has selected our 25 favorite hotels in China and we're reporting one per issue. The list isn't reader-voted like Conde Nast Travelers, it's not based on reviews like TripAdvisor's. It's based on a lot of conversations we have had, formal and informal, with luxury travel agents, savvy travelers and industry insiders. Next on the list is the Westin Beijing Financial Street.

China—and the world for that matter—has precious few hotels genuinely embracing the green movement. The Westin Beijing Financial Street is a notable exception. They’ve gone well beyond slick marketing devices to embrace green as a way of life. And for that commitment they earn a spot on our Top 25 Hotel list.

Plenty of hotels talk about being environmentally friendly. They have those little cards you put out to tell housekeeping whether or not you want the linen changed. URBN Hotel in Shanghai runs a carbon offset program. But the Westin has gone way beyond that, turning two entire floors of their hotel—47 rooms in all—into exercises in sustainability.

Stay in one of their Green Rooms and some of the changes are obvious. Trash cans are divided into recyclables and non-recyclables. There are sensors in the rooms which flip lights on and off. A tablet computer tracks energy usage. High efficiency LED lights illuminate the room. But there’s a lot more tech behind the scenes, such as a clever water recycling system, an added layer of invisible insulation on the windows, low-flow faucet heads and bed linen change only every three days.

The numbers are there. Right now a single Green Room is saving on average 5 kw of electricity / hr / day / room, 154 liters of water / day and 6.5 kg linen per day. At the end of the stay, guests receive a report detailing their energy consumption. 5 kw / hr or less wins you Starwood Preferred Guest points. I came in at a respectable 6.3 (TV and the water kettle are big energy sucks apparently).

The Green Room concept dates back to the 2008 Olympics. “During the Olympics everyone was talking about green this and that,” says hotel General Manager Charlie Dang, “but afterwards nothing really happened.” So Dang took initiative, launching the Green Room project. They spent 2009 researching energy consumption patterns and then another six months outfitting the rooms. Dang, who’s been in the hotel industry for 25 years, is realistic about his green plan: “Change or no change—it has to be sustainable.” With an ROI of 1.5 years (Dang thinks that could be pushed down to less than a year), it’s looking very sustainable.

Dang is pleased with the progress and full of ideas for pushing the green concept further. He’s looking at installing low-energy TV sets and replacing those tiny bottles of complimentary soaps with dispensers. He envisions the day when all Westin rooms are Green Rooms. He encourages his staff to practice sustainability at home.

The Green Rooms may be money savers, but be assured they don’t skimp on luxury. After all, no one pays RMB3,500 a night (plus surcharge) to live like a monk. The Heavenly Bed is still divine. Green Rooms give you 40 sq. meters to stretch out in. And knowing that you did a little something for the rest of the world, well, that might be the biggest luxury of all these days.

Got a suggestion for our Top 25 list? Let us know at lee.mack@ringierasia.com (or in the comments below). If we use your suggestion we'll hook you up for a night in a luxury hotel somewhere in China!

The List So Far...
The Ritz-Carlton Sanya