The Good Hotel, London, is based in Docklands a short walk from Excel and Royal Victoria DLR station.
The hotel is floating on Royal Victoria Dock and has 148 rooms including 4 suites. Many rooms have views of the Docks, O2 and IFS Cable Cars. The hotel was actually built in Amsterdam on barges and towed over to its new home in London. The restaurant and bar serve simple food all day, with barista made coffee and sweet treats available too. During the warmer months the hotel has a rooftop bar on the dockside. There are a number of smaller meeting rooms suitable for training and boardroom meetings.
Good Hotels ethos is very simple – with Good Hotels, you can Sleep Good and Do Good.
Sleep Good
On the surface the hotel is relaxing, with a no frills design. There is a stripped back industrial feel in the open plan lobby, restaurant bar, and reception. The bedrooms, although not large, have everything you need for a one or two night stay. A comfy bed, a small desk, hooks and hangers for a few clothes, and a small shower room. There is no tv in the room, but I did not miss it I had my tablet to watch programmes on. I certainly did “Sleep Good”!
Do Good
It is when you look into The Do Good that you realise just how different this hotel is.
100% of Good Hotel profits are re-invested into educational projects in communities around the world. They operate as a Social Business – the Good Global Foundation distributes the money to provide education, skills, and training to those that really need it. So, for example 1 night’s sleep = 1 week of school for a child.
The group also operate The Good Hotel School, which offers an innovative in-house training programme. They work with local authorities to identify individuals who have been long-term unemployed and offer these people, regardless of their background, a fresh start. Of course, the team expect staff to be motivated and make the change to their life. Once in the programme, they are paid while they work and are fully trained. Learning skills that will give the confidence they need to continue in the working world long after the programme ends. All the staff I encountered were great, very friendly, and helpful. So they really do “Do Good” too.
The Good Hotel group is expanding, there are already hotels in Antigua, Guatemala City, and Amsterdam. Watch this space for more openings.
