November 2006

Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat was recently presented with the 2006 Governor's Award for Pollution Prevention and Sustainable Practices. Governor Christine Gregoire presented the award to Sleeping Lady, along with four other businesses and a not-for-profit group, on October 4 in Olympia.

The 2006 award marks the second Governor's Award for Sleeping Lady, with their first win in 2001. This year's honor was the Continuing Excellence award, which recognizes the retreat's continued commitment to the high standards that garnered it the award five years ago.

We are obviously honored, and are grateful that this award exists, to help get the word out about sustainable business practices," said Paula Helsel, General Manager of Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat. "We have continued to work hard at consistently improving our environmentally responsible practices, while creating a uniquely enjoyable experience for our guests."

Since being awarded in 2005, Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat, a hotel and conference center near Leavenworth, has enacted several new steps to bump up their already impressive list of environmental features. Electricity has been reduced significantly through the installation of LEDs, which replaced the traditional path lights, installing ground source heat pumps to heat water as well as heat and cool most of the guest rooms. Sleeping Lady has also reduced the need for electricity through the use of solar panels to warm the site's woodland pools. Additionally, Sleeping Lady incorporated recycled plastic and wood chips when building the decking for the retreat center, avoiding the stains required for wood decks. Sleeping Lady has also adopted the use of recycled plastic pool furniture and is using non-toxic cleaning products and plant-based, cruelty free shampoos, cleaners and lotions in guest rooms.

The pool at Sleeping Lady has also been upgraded to reduce environmental impacts, with the addition of and electrolytic process that cycles salt into chlorine and back, allowing for the re-use of the material when sanitizing the pool.

Other steps include composting leftover food and using recycled building materials in such things as tabletops and bar counters.

About Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat

Harriet Bullitt started Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat 10 years ago to protect the natural beauty of a property near her Leavenworth home. Prior to her purchase, the site had been used as a base by the Civilian Conservation Corps (under the Roosevelt Administration during the 1930's and '40's), as a dude ranch for family vacations, and as a Camp for the Catholic Youth Organization. In 1991, Bullitt purchased all 67 acres to preserve the land; soon after, she started making plans to redevelop the property into a mountain retreat that would embrace the site's natural setting and attract visitors seeking an experience off the beaten path. Cross-country ski packages start at
$64.25 per person, downhill packages at $92.25 per person, and include lodging, gourmet dinner, breakfast and a trail pass or lift ticket.
For more information visit www.sleepinglady.com or contact Sleeping Lady Mountain Retreat at 1-800-574-2123.