They dropped out of school, couldn’t find a job for a long time, or had to take a career break as single mothers: almost half of the employees, whether chambermaids or waiters, have taken detours or returned to a regular working life and to a community. “Good Crew” is written on the back of their black T-shirts, and it’s true.
Even from the outside, the hotel impresses as a giant black floating shoebox that has been moored for five years on the shore of the Royal Victoria Dock, just under 30 minutes on the tube from the Tower. Black walls, gray screed floors with sisal carpets and lounge chairs by Moooi, the Dutch avant-garde design label, also greet you in the lobby.
The 148 rooms are simple, in line with the low price: in just 13 square meters there is a large bed, shower, air conditioning and a kettle, no telephone, no TV, no minibar.
View of skyline and airplanes
The initiator of the project is the Dutch businessman Martin Dresen. He successfully operated the project in the three-storey platform in Amsterdam for two years before the contracts for the laytime expired. So he had his hotel towed across the canal.
In London it got a roof terrace with a bar. From here you can look across the Thames to the skyline and the planes taking off and landing at the nearby City Airport. The weekend is recommended for those who are sensitive to noise: there is a ban on flying from Saturday 1 p.m. to Sunday noon.
In the meantime, many of the former unemployment benefit recipients have started their careers in the company: The three-month training program ends with a “graduation party” at which the graduates between the ages of 17 and 55 can be recruited. A young mother, whose passion is mixing cocktails, had a choice and stayed in her training company, “with my family”.
Info: Good Hotel London, United Kingdom, Royal Victoria Dock, West. Gateway, Tel. 0044-20-36 37 74 01, www.goodhotellondon.comdouble room from 85 €.
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