Floating former Dutch jail could become Royal Docks hotel
An artist's impression of how The Good Hotel will look in the Royal Docks - Credit: Archant
A former prison-turned-hotel floating on an Amsterdam canal could be setting sail for the Royal Docks later this year.
An artist's impression of how The Good Hotel will look in the Royal Docks - Credit: Archant
The 148-bed Good Hotel could be ready to open on the water off Western Gateway, in Royal Victoria Dock, in September after a planning application was handed to the council requesting a fiver-year stay.
The vessel will feature 144 cabin rooms and four accessible rooms alongside meeting rooms, offices, open-deck space and a restaurant and bar.
It would be the Docks’ second water-borne hotel following the arrival of the Sunborn superyacht in 2014.
Run by not-for-profit organisation The Good Hotel Group, the project was well-received by Dutch local authorities when it launched last year with the aim of providing employment training for 100 out-of-work locals.
An artist's impression of how The Good Hotel will look in the Royal Docks - Credit: Archant
At least 70 of those now have full-time jobs within the city’s catering industry and officials from Amsterdam have written to the council in support of the application.
“What deserves special mention, is the effort made by Good Hotel from the outset, to really reach out and involve the local community and neighbours of the proposed Good Hotel location,” they wrote.
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“We have been happy to say now, one year after the Good Hotel opened, that the municipality has not received any significant complaints. No noise and traffic incidents reported.”
However, the application has already received a number of online objections from Dockside residents, with issues ranging from the possible effects on the view across the docks, to litter and noise concerns.
Residents have until Wednesday, July 13 to have their say.
Visit newham.gov.uk for more information.
