Sustainable hotel review: conscious hotels

Hello my green little beings!
I feel like I’m neglecting all of you through being so inconsistent with my posts but such is work life. We are nearing climate week in NY alongside the UN general assembly so there is a lot to do at the office.
But enough about that and more about this actual post which is dedicated the super awesome sustainable hotel chain Conscious Hotels. They kindly invited me to go visit and review one of their hotels in Amsterdam last week. Continue reading below ​

Before I go on to the review let’s have a little chat with the lovely Astrid who’s the PR manager for Conscious Hotels.

How long have you worked with the conscious hotels
Almost two years now
 
Is sustainability important to you?
I worked in several companies before I realised I wanted to help to change the world. I tried to work in a couple of NGOs but the process with them is very slow and I don't believe in working with politics either because I believe the change has to be done within the business market. So I found conscious hotels and here we are! Privately I try to use sustainable products such as detergents and washing up liquids at home and me and my boyfriend don't have a car we bicycle. It's about small things everyone can do to make a change. Even though sometimes it's the more expensive option it's a less selfish choice 
 
What makes the conscious hotels sustainable?
Almost 90 % is sustainable. Everything you can touch like our furniture is either recycled or certified sustainable. Our bar uses organic and sustainable alcohol. The electricity we use is green. We try to also seed implementations of our guests to become more sustainable through our little stickers around the hotel. We try to not be too serious when we do it and give tips with a little joke. 
 
What's the average room rate?
Average is around 120 but during peaks it can hit 250 per room. The best rates will be found on our website.
 
What's in the future for conscious hotels?
We're opening two more hotels here in Amsterdam! Then we're looking into opening one in Scandinavia because we think our concept fits well there. 


The Review

So as always I promise that my reviews are always honest and I try to point out the good and the bad with everything I test out.
At arrival this hotel located in VondelPark seemed not as central as I first thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong it will only a 15 min journey on the tram from the train station but for a small town you can tell that its more residential than city centre. That comes down to preference in what you want around you. The first impression of the hotel is that it’s very small, the reception is two desks with a lounge and café downstairs. Its clean and has a green feel to it with wooden details and wall made out of plants. The room itself was also small but clean and the bed was extremely comfortable. Amsterdam isn’t a place where you want to spend a lot of time in the hotel either way so apart from the essentials which it had (minus fridge) there wasn’t much else I was personally lacking. The transport links were easy and the staff were helpful to help us around. Even though I only spent one night in Amsterdam I feel that I sufficiently got to experience the city all whilst feeling good about my choice in hotel and contributing to helping the planet. All in all I hope to come back very soon and experience the hotel again either in Amsterdam or one of the ones they are planning to open in another European city.

The best bits - The little stickers all over the hotel giving you tips on how the hotel is sustainable, also the comfy beds. I recently stayed at a famous 5 star hotel which we won’t name and the beds there were like rocks.

The bad bits - There was no room service which I understand if it’s a 3 star hotel but there was no fridge either for those hoping to buy some groceries to store during your stay.

Conscious Hotel Vondelpark Street: Overtoom 519 Postcode & City: 1054 LH Amsterdam
Email: vondelpark@conscioushotels.com Telephone: +31(0)20 820 33 33