A LEED Platinum Hotel
Progressive Visions
The Hotel at Oberlin and the Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center have earned a LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, making it one of only a handful of new hotels in the U.S. to achieve the highest standard of sustainability.
The Hotel at Oberlin is the first hotel in the nation to incorporate geothermal and radiant heating and cooling. Using locally sourced materials and provocative design, The Hotel at Oberlin is a celebration of the community's rich history and progressive vision toward the future.
Innovative Features
Innovative features include rainwater collection and reuse, exterior automated solar shading devices that respond to weather and sun exposure, a highly effective thermal envelope that uses rainscreen technology for long-term moisture control, and natural ventilation through automated window vents and skylights. The project also utilized natural, salvaged, or recycled materials wherever possible and sourced 50 percent of building materials from within 500 miles.
What is So Special About Our Hotel?
Sustainability Touches
We think lots! From our cool tree-house evocative architecture to wood features throughout the building hailing from a dismantled 19th-century farmhouse and incorporated by local Mennonite carpenters, there are stories of history, local-sourcing, and environmental sensitivity throughout The Hotel at Oberlin and the 1833 restaurant. There are some obvious sustainability touches including locally produced bathroom amenities in large format bottles to cut down on small plastic bottle waste so often associated with hotel accommodations, and guest room furniture locally crafted by Amish tradespeople. And there are some tucked away elements including a large geothermal well field and rainwater harvesting for landscape irrigation.
Commitment to New Technology
Perhaps one of the most significant parts of every guest experience is our hotel's commitment to new technology through the use of radiant sustainability heating and cooling. Radiant systems are different than traditional hotel air conditioning and might take a little adjustment. But they are more effective and healthier than the traditional approach that conditions space by circulating hot and cold air (and dust and germs) to change the ambient air temperature. Radiant sustainability systems change the surface temperature within the space by using infrared energy that travels from "hot" to "cold" throughout a space. A person can feel the effect of radiant panels regardless of the ambient air temperature, much like a person can feel the impact of a bonfire even when the surrounding air is cold. And in the reverse, radiant cooling allows us to feel more comfortable at warmer ambient temperatures because of the effects of cool surfaces. But for those guests who like the feel of a little breeze, each guestroom is appointed with a ceiling fan.
Earth Day, Every Day
Celebrate Earth Day, Every Day at The Hotel at Oberlin. You will be welcomed with your choice of a refreshing house-made green energy booster or "green" cocktail upon arrival before you retreat for the evening to your modernly appointed guest room featuring state-of-the-art geothermal sustainability technology. In an effort to engage the youth of today for the future of tomorrow, each night you stay with the "Earth Day, Every Day" Package, a donation of $20.00 per night will be made to Common Ground: The Cindy Nord Center for Renewal's Earth Camp.