Well, I just returned from my week in Portland-Vancouver area-I met the doctor I was studying with, got some Orgonomy treatments from him myself-and spent time eating lots of sushi and hiking mountains and ocean beaches-
Refreshing!! I am completely invigorated and renewed, bringing something into my own Michigan practice that is different and more powerful. I am prepared to start going back every couple months and making the west coast my new statelite home.
I stayed at the Avalon hotel, Portlands "Natural, Green" new hotel- it is a posh spa that offers many green amenities-This is my "Green Hotel" review.
The Avalon Hotel<Portland> Oregon:
The Good: Beautiful surroundings, on the Williamette river, walking and bike trails directly in front of the hotel, a terrific quality gym with punching bags and yoga (YAY!! and hi to my new friend Yoga Instructor Lesley), DELICIOUS restaurant adjacent called Aquariva- I recommend the spicy fried risotto and caesar salad-they also made me a fresh margarita with no fake and poisonous sweet and sour mix- to die for! Some organic, free range choices and very nice complimentary continental breakfast with yum yum Illy coffee.
The Bad: the hotel boasts its "green" policies- the biggest environmental problem is the overwhelming and sickening amount of fluorescent lighting- EVERYWHERE- I kept my hotel room lights off but I found it annoying and anti environmental- the EMFs, the mercury exposure, the inadequate color spectrum-was extremely disappointing, another disappointing green policy was the "Free wi-fi" so that means the entire hotel was being shot at with extremely poisonous, deadly and damaging microwaves 24 hours a day. The third green disappointment was the chlorine filled whirlpools- beautiful, awesome whirlpools- filled with skin, eye and nose irritating chlorine- I only went in once but was itching my skin and sneezing all night long. Lastly, the spa was not only outrageously priced-the help there was superficial and rude- I mulled over spa treatments but the inharmonious way I was treated by the spa chakra staff left me making my own spa with my Evan Healy products in my hotel bathtub! For instance, the spa closed at 9 and I arrived for the steam room at a little past 8:30- the woman gave me a fake smile and told me they were closed and to come back tomorrow....
With all of this- I give the Avalon 3 stars and will still go there again- I know any other hotel- "Green" or not will still offer fluorescent lighting, wi-fi, and chlorine laden pools- However- wouldn't it be nice to stay at a truly healthy and holistic green spa? Please let me know if you know of one!
The sad truth is, when I was in Portland I read in the newspaper that they are fully aware of the dangers of fluorescent lighting, at least in the mercurial aspects and quoted research that said even the tiniest amounts of mercury exposure is severely damaging and deadly- will the Avalon hotel read this article and go in a truly "green and healthy" direction? I hope so-
In Green Health,
Aurore Adamkiewicz, ND
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