This all-suites property is probably the greenest budget hotel in town—and has been since 1991, when its owners made that their goal. From the beginning, they’ve recycled, conserved water, grown organic food, generated their own solar electricity, used only natural materials and cleaning products, and even allowed guests to cook for themselves—making this a lodging like none other in Austin. Each large, hypoallergenic suite has a full kitchen and a small outdoor seating area, most overlooking the nicely shaded pool; several have fireplaces. The furniture is basic and occasionally worn-looking; older pieces are sometimes reupholstered to avoid adding to the waste stream. The location is just 2 miles north of the UT Austin campus, but this is not a hotel for college students and partiers. It even has a “quiet time” between 9pm and 9am. Too bad it’s not a bit closer to downtown—and to the owners’ Casa de Luz macrobiotic restaurant in South Austin. That said, this hotel is on the Capital Metro Rail Red Line and Capital Metro bus routes, both of which go downtown.