11-02-2025
Travel Tuesday: Gardens becoming a more important part of the hotel experience
(CBS NEWSPATH) — Gardens are becoming a more important part of the hotel experience. Not just to enjoy the greenery, but to eat fresh foods and take part in activities that give a taste of the relaxation gardening can bring.
The host of the Netflix show 'Instant Dream Home,' Nick Cutsumpas, led a gardening workshop at 1 Hotel Central Park this past fall, itself a green sanctuary in New York City.
'Especially post-pandemic when you saw so many people yearning for more greenery in their lives, I'm starting to see every hotel, no matter what their focus is, really starting to bring more green, in some kind of way, into their hotels experience,' Cutsumpas said.
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He partners with 1 Hotels nationwide for activities like pumpkin planting: Carving out the seeds and creating seasonal décor that's also therapeutic.
'For me, it's definitely my form of stress relief, and I think a lot of people see that too,' Cutsumpas said.
New Yorker Scott Kuraoka has signed up a couple times. 'It's fun to do these workshops, to be a little creative, get to do things I probably wouldn't get to do at home,' Kuraoka said.
The trend has also taken root at hotels with the space to create gardens on more land, like Kimpton Mas Olas Resort and Spa, north of Los Cabos, Mexico. Culinary director Sandro Falbo forages from his expansive gardens throughout the 25,000 square foot property where CBS News Correspondent Wendy Gillette stayed for a special rate, from vegetables to herbs and flowers.
'It's like for a kid in Toys R' Us more or less,' Falbo said. 'It's just the best.'
He calls himself the seeds keeper, choosing what's grown to create colorful dishes, like salads with more than 30 fresh ingredients.
'What I love for example is a tomato that has been just kissed by the sun and eaten by the guest,' he said.
Falbo also uses distillation to make herbal essence water, delivered to rooms every morning.
'People underestimate herbs,' he said. 'And people should put more herbs into the food because herbs are part of the medicine of plants.'
In the spa, guests can use dried flowers and herbs to create their own aromatherapy blend, another aspect of a resort where nature stars.
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