Is Green Suites Boutique Hotel in Athens truly a sustainable hotel, like they claim to be? With all the greenwashing running rampage in the industry it’s hard to know what to believe. So, I went and checked them out myself!
For those, who do not know my background, I am a Digital Nomad and a Copywriter traveling and working around Europe. Instead of AirBnBs I prefer to stay in hotels because they provide full service. And most importantly, I don’t need to hire a sniffer dog to help me find the bloody key to my accommodation!
I should also mention that for the past few years I have spoiled myself rotten, which now means that I prefer to stay in 4 or 5 star hotels. And while many luxury hotels ride on the “green wave”, it’s unfortunate how few of them make any effort to actually integrate sustainable practices to their day-to-day operations.
Read also: The Editory Riverside Hotel Lisbon – Full Review
So, what’s the story with this one then, is Green Suites Boutique Hotel sustainable or not?
The Promise
As is explained on their website, Green Suites Boutique Hotel is a sustainable hotel due to their focus on eco-friendly materials and practices on all fronts. This is a bold claim for a luxury hotel, because as we know, luxury is often as far from being environmental as can be.
They continue by saying: “In Green Suites, we believe that luxury does not necessarily equal sacrificing the environment. Human living can go hand-in-hand with our planet.” I would definitely agree with this statement.
But are they being true to their word? Let’s see what I discovered in the 4 days that I stayed in Green Suites Boutique Hotel in Athens.
Green Suites Boutique Hotel – Sustainable Hotel in Athens, Greece
First of all, what constitutes a ‘sustainable hotel’? With sustainability itself being a rather complicated concept to pinpoint exactly, it’s important to understand what we should be looking for in a sustainable hotel:
Basically a hotel can call themselves ‘sustainable’ if they provenly reduce their environmental impact in every aspect of running a hotel. These aspects include maintenance, services, logistics, products and supplies. To make these aspects genuinely eco-friendly, they must revolve around reducing waste, saving energy, and cutting down on water usage.
So, with this in mind, is Green Suites Boutique Hotel a sustainable hotel?
The hotel building
First of all, I have to say that the Green Suites Boutique Hotel is a very stylish hotel. Already from the exterior of the hotel you can see that wood has been used in cladding it. As a Finn, I know this to be a positive sign, Finns are pioneers in wooden construction.
According to their website the hotel – that was opened in 2020 – has been designed and constructed in accordance to an energy performance directive, but I couldn’t find info on which directive this is (Greek or EU?)
On the practical side, the hotel attempts to reduce their ecological impact by
- using solar mirrors (similar to solar panels) to create energy
- using energy-saving glazing
- investing in proper insulation (so important!!)
- using solar tubes to bring light to the basement layers
- recovering rain water for reuse
- utilizing movement sensors.
These are just some examples of how they try to make the daily operations at Green Suites Boutique Hotel as sustainable as possible. These are not in any way unconventional or even that new technologies, so I can’t see why more hotels don’t utilize them!
The room
I booked the Deluxe Double Room, which came with a balcony. If you want a city view of Athens or Acropolis, you should go for the Superior Room options. The first thing you notice when you walk into your room is the spectacularly beautiful, shiny marble floor. But wait, is marble a sustainable material?
Why, yes it is! According to Aalto, “The environmental impact of marble is minimal compared to manufactured products. Preparing natural stone as a flooring material doesn’t emit the same carbon as human-made materials.” So, we’re already to a good start!
The next thing I always check is bathroom, and the bathroom products. Did you know that bar soaps are one of the most unsustainable parts of any hotel room? If you think about how little of a bar soap you manage to use during a week’s hotel stay, you’ll realize how much trash they create. Because yes, over 90% of hotels throw the leftover bars straight into trash.
The toiletry products provided at Green Suites Boutique Hotel were all from the same brand: Olive Tree. This is a Greek brand, and they create their beauty and toiletry products locally using traditional methods. Note, their body lotion (containing actual olive oil) smells delicious!
The shower gels are in containers that are attached to the wall. Despite being quite ugly, Green Suites Boutique Hotel is 100% sustainable in this regard; no plastic waste.
The rooms themselves are beautifully designed. Calm, earthy colours, mind-bogglingly beautiful shapes, and big windows bringing in loads of natural light; no need to have lights on. There’s even a plant in the room, but alas, it’s plastic… that was a bit of a downer, if I’m quite honest.
As a Digital Nomad one of the most important features in a hotel room is of course a practical work station. It doesn’t need to be anything more than a desk accompanied with a chair that allows me to sit high enough not to sprain my shoulders while typing. Too many hotels are still lacking in this, but Green Suites Boutique Hotel in Athens gets 10/10 for work stations in the rooms.
And obviously there’s the most important thing in any hotel room: bed. I’m happy to tell you that the beds in this particular establishment are very good indeed! Overall, in terms of the room, I think it’s safe to say that Green Suites Boutique Hotel is a sustainable hotel.
The Rooftop Bar & Pool
I must admit that I can only provide a review on the Rooftop Bar here. The reason being that I visited Green Suites Boutique Hotel in January, but the pool is only open during the season (which starts in April/May). To be honest, I quite liked it this way, though. The thought of people swimming and splashing right next to me while I’m munching on my burger or working is a bit meh.
Overall the rooftop bar area is stunning! Once again, very stylish and accessorized with a 180 degree view of Athens. There is a balcony facing the Acropolis hill and you can even see all the way to the sea. If you’re into perfect Instagram images, this rooftop bar is definitely worth a visit.
When it comes to the roof top bar at Green Suites Boutique Hotel being sustainable, it starts with menus. There are no printed menus, but QR codes with which you can see everything they have to offer. Firstly there’s a wide selection of drinks: coffee, tea, juices, beers, wine and cocktails.
In terms of food they have something for everyone! From salads to bao buns to pizzas and burgers, and you can find plenty of plant-based options. Although, there aren’t many options for full-on vegans, because since we are in Greece, there’s a lot of feta and other kinds of cheese on offer.
Services, like cleaning
One clear reason for Green Suites Boutique Hotel being a sustainable hotel for real is the fact that they ask you, if you need your room cleaned today. As we know, changing sheets and towels every day is a waste of resources (unless you’re a proper dirty bugger).
And not just from the sustainability point of view, for me this was also a very convenient practice. Since there’s a great working station in my room, I prefer to work from my room. It’s literally like working from home for a Digital Nomad! And the cleaners bursting in while I’m focusing on a client article isn’t something I find amusing.
In terms of service in the reception and the rooftop bar, service was – as you might expect – excellent. Even in January, even though there weren’t that many guests to entertain that far outside the season.
Green Suites Boutique Hotel – My Opinion
If you have a quick browse around the internet the Green Suites Boutque Hotel in Athens is rated as a 4,5 – 5 star hotel. And I can concede, it IS a 5-star hotel! This hotel is a sustainable experience that combines style, modern technology, comfort and convenience seasoned with incredible views all around Athens.
As I stayed in the hotel outside of the season (in January), there were some minor things that I couldn’t try out, like the roof top pool. But to keep things nice and simple, here are the main pros and cons that I encountered during my stay at this beautiful hotel:
Pros
- Stylish, modern and eco-conscious design and technology-wise
- Clean, beautiful and practical rooms that have everything needed for remote work
- Excellent staff and customer service on all levels
- Price/quality ratio was (in my opinion) excellent
- Covers all basic services: laundry, restaurant, gym, parking, etc.
- Stunning views all over Athens from the atmospheric rooftop bar.
Cons
- Located quite far from the city center and all sights
- There were no free water bottles provided in the room
- There were no regular coffee cups, spoons, bottle opener, coffee or coffee milk in the room, and the mini bar was empty (maybe because it was off season?)
- The service in the upstairs bar was sometimes lacking: with an empty glass in front of me I wasn’t asked if I’d like to order something more. Small but significant details.
So, what’s the answer to the big question then, is Green Suites Boutique Hotel a sustainable hotel? In my view, taking everything into account, yes it is! After reading this review, what do you think? Would you consider this a sustainable hotel? ♥
