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InterContinental Park Lane: free Boris bikes.
Head Concierge of the InterContinental Park Lane, Simon Rose, sits proudly on one of the "Boris Bikes" provided by the hotel as a free amenity
Since launching at the end of July 2010, the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme (more commonly referred to as “Boris Bikes” after the charismatic London Mayor) has proved extremely popular amongst Londoners, with over 500,000 trips made in the first six weeks alone.
Visitors to the capital can now also make use of the scheme’s 5,000+ bikes as InterContinental Park Lane becomes the first hotel to offer guests free access to the bikes – a critical step in broadening the scheme’s uptake.
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The hotel hopes the move will allow visitors to experience the city from a unique perspective that is both invigorating and environmentally friendly.
InterContinental Park Lane’s General Manager, Mr Alvaro Rey, commented that, “we share with our guests a common belief that the most enriching and rewarding travel comes through authentic experiences.”
The London bike hire scheme is sponsored by Barclays and managed by Transport for London. It currently has over 300 ‘docking stations’ covering a 17 square mile area within central London.
Bike users can pick up a bike from any docking station at any time of day or night and return it to any other station when they are finished.
Normally, the cycle hire is charged to the user’s account based on both an ‘access fee’ and a ‘usage fee’. But InterContinental Park Lane Hotel has taken the unprecedented step of signing up for a number of memberships, which it then provides for its guests’ benefit absolutely free of charge.
They’re also providing cycle helmets for their guests’ safety. With plenty of docking stations within walking distance, hotel guests are ideally-placed to make use of the scheme and explore London on two wheels.
“The hotel is surrounded by three of London’s finest parks; Green Park, St James’ Park and Hyde Park,” says Mr Rey, “We wanted to make it even easier for our guests to connect to the essence of the hotel’s location.”
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The InterContinental Park Lane is currently just outside the top 100 London hotels on TripAdvisor and near the intersection of 3 of London's best parks
The hotel announced its plans on InterContinental’s ‘Responsible Business Day’- a day intended to throw light upon green initiatives in tourism, as part of the group’s continuing partnership with National Geographic.
This most recent move ticks all the boxes in InterContinental’s ‘five principles’ of geotourism (integrity of place, destination appeal, community appeal, sharing local stories and minimising impact), proving it is prepared to act on its lofty intentions and make it easy for guests to be green.
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Certainly within a London context, the InterContinental on Park Lane now has an opportunity to take its place alongside London hotels with established green credentials like the eco-friendly Cavendish, the bee-cultivating Lancaster London and the surprisingly green new Savoy.
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London Mayor Boris Johnson meanwhile has been vocal in his wish for bikes to, “become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses.”
Do keep an eye out for our blogger Andrea’s first-hand review of a Boris bike – coming very soon to London Hotels Insight.
And if you are interested in eco-friendly London hotels, you may also like Base2stay Kensington’s environmentally-friendly electric car.
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Photo credits: InterContinental Park Lane Hotel.
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