Hunting out sustainable sleepovers in any capital is harder than you might think. I’ve kissed a lot of hotels in my time, from low-cost lodgings to upscale grand dames, in pursuit of the stays to celebrate for being environmentally kinder to nature, or economically sweeter for their communities.
It’s not easy being green when you’re a city slicker. But when you know London’s built environment accounts for nearly 70 per cent of its carbon emissions, you realise how helpful it is to make better booking choices. Praise be for the hotels aiming to do better in reducing waste and carbon emissions, or in their employment practices.
1. 1 Hotel Mayfair
For biophilia and adaptive design
This addition to Mayfair sets a new tone for those seeking organic luxury. The sleek wood-and-stone furnishings at this biophilia-stimulating bolthole speak to the senses about the importance of honouring nature. Greenery abounds from the living wall to the lobby’s plant chandelier and air-purifying planters in the rooms alive with native moss species framing 1 Hotel’s signature water-filter dispenser.
What makes it so sustainable?
Adaptive design ensured that more than 80 per cent of the existing structure was retained to minimise the negative impact of construction. Some of the flooring is timber from the Windsor Estate, the Great Park’s commercial forestry offshoot. Raw textures, living plants, and natural light dominate the design story. Double rooms from £500.
3 Berkeley St, London W1J 8DL1hotels.com/mayfair
2. Good Hotel — London, Royal Victoria Docks
For ethical employment
This former floating prison moored next to ExCel was brought here from Amsterdam. It’s more comfortable and chic than its utilitarian exterior hints. The Good Hotel has sister properties in Guatemala after founder Marten Dresen was inspired to set up the non-profit Good Group after going backpacking. He developed an enterprise supporting education in Central America.
What makes it sustainable?
Hyperlocal recruitment is a big halo earner when it comes to being an ethical establishment and Good Hotel provides work for the long-term unemployed of east London. Their in-house, three-month training programme, in partnership with Newham council, has trained hundreds to work in hospitality. Double rooms from £130.
Royal Victoria Dock,Western Gateway, London E16 1FAgoodhotel.co/london
3. One Aldwych, West End
For the chemical-free swimming pool
Having opened back in 1998, some of the original features are still forward thinking. Don’t be fooled by the Edwardian facade by London Ritz architects Mewès & Davis on the corner of the Strand — this is a thoroughly modern dwelling.
What makes it sustainable?
The innovative water-saving EVAC loos with vacuum drainage system (similar to planes) use only one litre of water per flush compared with typical toilets which use around seven. The spa and swimming pool are reason alone to stay — plus the pool is chemical-free thanks to PoolSan’s ionisation system. Double rooms from about £500.
1 Aldwych, WC2, onealdwych.com
4 . Marrable’s Hotel, Clerkenwell
For its water bore hole
Previously known as The Zetter, when this Clerkenwell hotel opened in 2004 it caused a stir for its contemporary cool — then its bijoux Georgian townhouse sibling did it again in the square next door with Victorian kitsch for The Zetter Townhouse. Marylebone also has a boutique outpost with a step-back-in-time vibe with eccentric curiosities.
What makes it sustainable?
The OG indie boutique hotel with a new name set the tone when its original founders were part of starting the Sustainable Restaurant Association. The 1,500ft-deep water borehole below is worth shouting about since it means they are self-sufficient. Retired bed sheets, blankets and pillowcases are given to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Double rooms from about £200.
49-50 St John’s Square, EC1marrableshotel.com
5. The Ham Yard Hotel, Piccadilly
For the birds and the bees
Kit Kemp’s interiors are, as ever, an uplifting mix of bold patterns, bright textiles and upcycled curios. Constructed on the last corner of Soho bombed in the Blitz not to be rebuilt, they dug deep to create a cinema, bowling alley and cute leafy, art-filled pedestrianised square.
What makes it sustainable?
New-builds are able to be more compliant with top-notch insulation measures and can tick all the boxes for more responsible running. This BREEAM Excellent-rated beauty also boasts a charming insect-friendly roof terrace and herb garden with beehives bringing a pocket of biodiversity to this intersection of Mayfair, Piccadilly and Soho.Double rooms from about £800.
1 Ham Yard, W1, firmdalehotels.com
6. Bankside Hotel, South Bank
For elevating artists
Art and soul awaits at this shiny six-storey Autograph Collection cutie-pie. The design team imagined a fantasy art school, then elevated that feel and finish to create a dynamic destination.
What makes it sustainable?
Their pro-bono studio space hosts artists and sculptors, meaning their makers-in-residence programme nurtures emerging talents — ever more appreciated in a city where rising rents have made it impossible for creatives to afford Central London spaces. Double rooms from about £380.
2 Blackfriars Rd, Upper Ground London SE1 9JU, banksidehotel.com
7. London Marriott Heathrow
For zero-waste dining
An airport hotel isn’t the obvious high-flier for sustainability values. Easy access to the terminals is the real point of this property, but hey, what a boon to take the edge off stopovers while going easy on your eco-conscience.
What makes it sustainable?
The zero-waste ways in a kitchen under Anna Pazdera, executive head chef, see these alchemists turn what would usually be binned into gastro deliciousness. Pazdera’s circular menu includes beetroot tartare, banana skin burgers, watermelon skin tzatziki, and coffee-grounds pizza toppings. Book the chef’s table to see their secrets revealed, up close. Double rooms from £199
Bath Road, Heathrow, Airport, Hayes UB3 5ANmarriott.com
8. Inhabit, Queen’s Gardens, Bayswater
For bleisure mindfulness
Soothing interiors and sensitive services chime with the mindfulness-promoting MO of this “workation”-worthy W2 retreat. This is the second outpost of Inhabit, with the original, around the corner near Paddington station, both of which are near Hyde Park.
What makes it sustainable?
The architects Holland & Harvey painstakingly reworked everything they could, carefully preserving the bones of the prior property. There is a spirit of well-being from organic Naturalmat beds to the Eco-Natural treadmills. Air and water filtration systems are in place and Social Supermarket stocks its minibars. Doubles from £230.
1-2 Queen’s Gardens, London W2 3BA, queensgardens.inhabithotels.com
9. The Corner London City, Whitechapel
For low-cost low-footprint
As dirt-cheap as one of these rooms in East Aldgate can be, they’re pristine. But don’t expect warm, welcoming service in this former office block — it’s an automated check-in for your soundproofed, pre-fab wipe-clean modular boudoir.
What makes it sustainable?
An all-in-one pod incorporates the bed and bathroom with an oversized youth-hostel-vibe photo of folks having fun on nearby Brick Lane. They proudly declare that the hotel uses eight per cent less electricity and has 67 per cent less CO2 emissions than the industry average. Double rooms from £95.
42 Adler St, London E1 1EEthecornerlondoncity.co.uk
10. room2 Chiswick Hometel
For net zero nous
The pretty Arts & Crafts-inspired suites with Granby Workshop and Maiden Marbling details and fishing-net-upcycled carpets are pleasing to the eye and ethics.
What makes it sustainable?
Powered by renewables is a big plus. Geek out on the specs of their ground-source heating and energy-saving triple glazing: a hub in the lobby invites us to poke at interactive screens to better understand every facet of their creds. Double rooms from about £125.
10 Windmill Rd, Chiswick, London W4 1SD, room2.com
HONOURABLE MENTIONS ALSO FOR…
Accessible design
With its wheelchair-ready lobby (at the touch of a button) Great Scotland Yard has verification from UK-based accessibility and inclusive-hospitality experts Inclucare. Their comprehensive assessment checks necessary information is available for all enquiries and staff receive training around facilities and to gain an understanding of all needs.
One Hundred Shoreditch has six restaurants and bars, and five event spaces which can all be accessed by a lift or ramp, winning Lore Group awards for its design and access. Features in bathrooms include lowered sinks and a roll-in shower with handrails inside and out.
Sustainable fine dining
Michelin-starred chef Mauro Colagreco is a master of haute cuisine cognisant of eco values. At Saison at Raffles London at The OWO, as the name of his signature restaurant suggests, he’s committed to showcasing inspired local, seasonal ingredients in a sitting-room-like dining room in which was once the former library of the Old War Office.
At Dinner by Heston Blumenthal in the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park the imaginative spin on circular dining includes off-cuts and food waste magically transformed into history stories for the Luncheon menu through Chef Adam Tooby-Desmond’s future-forward past-appreciating cunning.
Employment enablers
At a time when London is experiencing a shortage of waiting-staff labour, these initiatives turn social challenges into solutions. Hotel School works with refugee and homeless charities to train people experiencing homelessness to work in hospitality. Set up by The Goring Hotel, and The Passage, the capital's largest voluntary sector homeless resource centre, they upskill vulnerable people, match them to sustainable employment, and support them in their first steps into work. As expected during the pandemic, many graduates and alumni lost jobs but they were supported through a YouTube teaching channel and career guidance on Zoom. Employers, trainers and teachers lead the programme run by hotel legends, volunteer chefs, teachers, service professionals.
Non-profit Saira Hospitality partners with the hospitality industry to give long-term unemployed training and opportunities. Saira Connect+ is their invitation to hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars to refer their unsuccessful applicants to them, rather than rejecting
.
