Green lodging for pet and electric car owners

Photo: Kamala Bauers shows off the hotel’s car battery charger, which can charge an electric car in less than six hours. In the past chargers took up to 24 hours to charge, Bauers said.
Photo by Colleen Redman

by Colleen Redman

The first electric car charger in the county and maybe in the New River Valley is now located in the parking lot of the Hotel Floyd’s new addition. Kamala Bauers, one of the hotel owners, explained at the building’s recent Open House that the hotel will be listed on websites and in visitor guides as green lodging that can accommodate travelers with electric cars. “It’s a new model with a quick charge that charges in 4 to 6 hours,” she said.

The new building, adjacent to the hotel office building and down from the hotel’s 14 themed rooms also accommodates guests who travel with pets. Two pet friendly suites, which are more like efficiency apartments with complete kitchens, include dog beds and bowls and lawn space for animals.

The rooms, named the Humane Society Suite and the Local Foods Suite, have king-sized beds and pull-out queen sofas. The quilt-designed spreads in the bedrooms are also pet friendly, “easy to wash,” Bauers said.

The Local Foods suite is accented with photographs depicting local farming scenes. A notebook chronicles stories and photographs of Floyd’s local food initiatives, including the Floyd Farmers Market, Sweet Providence Farm, Good Food Good People, Seven Springs Community Supported Agriculture, and the King Brothers Farms and Orchards.

Animal décor, prints, photographs, and stories of rescued animals are featured in the Humane Society Suite. Details on the purpose and projects of the Humane Society have been collected in a notebook for reading. Some of the furniture in both rooms is recycled, purchased at Fancies and Follies and Finders Keepers. One-of-a-kind pieces made by Floyd furniture makers at Phoenix Hardwoods add to the décor.

In the light-filled Humane Society suite, designer and Humane Society member Diane Giessler was putting the finishing touches on the room as guests streamed in and out, enjoying refreshments as they toured the building.

Hotel manager Derek Wall said that the suites were already booked for the weekend and that the apartment below the suites is already rented. Hotel co-owner Jack Wall explained that the rooms in the main hotel, built in 2007 with the latest in green technologies and building materials, are allergen-free. Considering that some guests have animal allergies, it’s good that the new rooms are set apart.

“It’s a net zero energy usage building,” said Bauers. Renewable energy used in the building is produced with thermal water heaters, photovoltaic solar panels on the roof, and thick insulation, which also gives a degree of sound proofing. There is continuous fresh air entering the building that is heated and cooled through a heat exchange system. The building also has a cistern that collects rain water for watering plants and lawn.