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The 148-room floating Good Hotel was first launched in Amsterdam in 2015 and was the first Good Hotel to open worldwide.
After staying a year in Good Hotel’s hometown, the hotel continued its journey In October 2016 when the floating 8 million kilos concrete structure was transported by a submersible barge over the North Sea Canal, on the River Thames and through the King George V lock to its current location the Royal Victoria Docks, London.
Hotel Design
The design of the three-star hotel was undertaken by two young Dutch designers Remko Verhaagen, art director and Sikko Valk, lead designer. The hotel is designed to have a “pure premium” style. The Good Hotel finds luxury in simplicity and originality much like you would see in a Dutch home. The design features classics by Lensvelt and Moooi with everyday design from Hema and the items also designed by the Good Hotel themselves.
The design incorporates a blend of the industrial and the natural, showing the construction and sturdiness of the building. Unlike traditional luxury hotels in this day and age guest rooms come without TVs as the hotel claims that “conversations are better” with the design of its open plan living room downstairs allowing for lots of room and seating to encourage openness and sharing.
Social Responsibility
Good Hotel is not just a hospitality business, it is a social business with the aim of benefiting the local community of where it is situated. The Good Hotel reinvests its profits to support its NGO charity partner Niños de Guatemala and to further its in-house Good Training programme. Niños de Guatemala provides underprivileged children with an education, running two primary schools and a secondary school which house over 500 Guatemalan children that would otherwise not have been able to go to school.
Furthermore with its Good Training programme, the hotel takes in long-term unemployed individuals in the local community and help them to re-skill and reintegrate into society. Additionally the Good Hotel tries to support local tradespeople. Where possible, ingredients, materials and labour are all locally sourced from small business owners and craftsmen. The hotel also attempts to be sustainable and environmentally friendly.
