It was drizzling and there was a slight bluster in the air as I shuffled along the cobblestones of Copenhagen’s Latin Quarter one recent October afternoon – your quintessential Danish fall day, with leaden skies and people flitting by under oversize umbrellas.
Then I stepped inside my destination, the city’s newest hotel in one of its oldest neighborhoods: 1 Hotel Copenhagen. Instead of rain-slicked streets and ominous clouds, I was suddenly surrounded by a profusion of plants, granite boulders and flickering lanterns as I traipsed up the entry staircase and into the hotel’s central atrium.
1 Hotel Copenhagen occupies a heritage-listed building dating to 1928 that was originally a department store designed in the functionalist style by Danish modern architect Vilhelm Lauritzen. Hence the huge, open space with enormous windows to let that famous northern light stream in, and even several mature trees dotting the public areas that made the space feel like a chic greenhouse.
The hotel officially opened in September, and as I checked in, I heard other travelers conversing in accented English and a variety of other languages as they socialized over coffee in the lobby bar, Pære. They seemed to be a mix of in-the-know locals and international guests eager to experience the nature-inspired mini-chain’s newest international outpost.
I fell into the latter group – a longtime devotee of 1 Hotels’ greenery-filled hotels and whimsical eco-forward decor (think hourglasses in the showers so you can monitor your water usage … if you want to, that is) – and I was curious to see how this particular iteration would reflect its locale in one of the world’s most sustainable cities.
More than that, I was interested to see how the recently revamped 1 Hotels Mission Membership™ program would distill the company’s environmental credentials while also catering to loyal guests.
In both cases, I came away impressed with not just the experience of staying at the hotel, but also with how my stay and being part of Mission made me feel even better about my trip.
1 Hotels around the world
If you’re not familiar with 1 Hotels, the brand was founded in 2015 by hospitality icon Barry Sternlicht, who created the original Starwood Hotels brand and its popular Starwood Preferred Guest program.
That incarnation of Starwood was sold to Marriott in 2016, but Sternlicht revived the Starwood name for a new company encompassing lifestyle hotel brands, including 1 Hotels as well as Baccarat Hotels & Resorts and Treehouse Hotels. Today, there are 1 Hotels in 13 destinations including San Francisco, Brooklyn, West Hollywood, Nashville and Hanalei Bay on Kauai, plus newer international locations in Melbourne, and most recently, Copenhagen. There are several more currently in the pipeline, including locations in Tokyo and Austin.
The first 1 Hotel opened in Miami’s South Beach in 2015, but my own first stay with 1 Hotels came in 2016, when I visited 1 Hotel Central Park. I was immediately captivated by the brand’s enjoyable take on sustainably-minded hospitality, where environmentally friendly measures added to the fun of the stay rather than detracting from the comfort.
I loved the rustic-chic appeal of the living walls of plants throughout the hotel, the salvaged wood the hotel incorporated into its floors and the reclaimed oak beams used to fashion its ceilings. The hangers in the closets were made from recycled materials (that were listed right on them, in case you had any doubts). I was provided with in-room tumblers and carafes made from reclaimed wine bottles to refill with filtered water from a tap in the hallway whenever I liked, and nearly every tasty item in the minibar was produced locally with the goal of reducing the hotel’s carbon footprint from shipping and transportation.
Oh, and the hotel is LEED-certified thanks to its energy-efficiency measures. But while I certainly valued that, what I appreciated even more were the ultra-comfortable organic cotton linens on the bed, the spacious bathroom tiled in rough-hewn stone with nature-friendly skin and hair products and the seasonal gourmet menus created from locally-sourced ingredients in its restaurant, Jams.
“You can love nature and sustainability but still have a luxurious experience,” said Starwood Hotels chief marketing officer Toni Stoeckl, explaining the guiding principles behind 1 Hotels. “We want to show that sustainability and luxury can coexist in harmony, rather than being at odds with each other. Passion for nature does not mean our guests have to sacrifice anything.”
I can certainly attest that I haven’t had to sacrifice a single amenity on my subsequent 1 Hotel stays.
Since my Central Park experience, I’ve had the pleasure of checking into several of 1 Hotels’ other locations, including, most recently, 1 Hotel Nashville, where the dishes on chef Chris Crary’s menus at 1 Kitchen are created with ingredients from the hotel’s small partner farms, which are mostly located within a 100-mile radius.
Months before that, I visited 1 Hotel San Francisco, where the rooftop garden doubles as both a chef’s garden that produces herbs and vegetables for the main restaurant, Terrene, as well as an idyllic setting for treatments at the hotel’s Bamford Wellness Spa, which incorporate the brand’s organic skincare products.
Each hotel also offers a robust slate of activities in partnership with local businesses and personalities. At 1 Hotel San Francisco, for instance, guests could participate in sunrise HIIT classes and sunset yoga sessions taught by instructors from nearby fitness studios, or learn how to mend clothes in a workshop with a local designer, as well as enjoying evening sets by in-demand local DJs out on the restaurant patio.
Mission Membership is even launching a new perk in January where members will receive discounts on the purchase of vehicles at U.S. Audi dealerships. More details are coming soon.
“For us, it’s about creating buzz and energy that doesn’t just come from travelers, but by engaging the community,” said Stoeckl. Another way to connect with the community? Guests can borrow bikes at various 1 Hotels to explore destinations on two wheels and stop by various local partners, such as shopping for sustainable succulents potted in hand-painted terracotta ceramics at Kinka, a women-led business near 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, or participating in 1 Hotel Seattle’s “Quiet by Nature” weekly silent book club, where you can enjoy sips and bites as you thumb through tomes along with fellow book lovers.
“The world doesn’t need a new hotel brand, it needs a better one,” said Stoeckl, quoting 1 Hotels founder Barry Sternlicht, then continued, “One that brings to life a passion for the planet and for nature, and that is what 1 Hotels is designed to be.”
1 Hotels Mission Membership: Helping travel make the world a better place
To that end, 1 Hotels recently reconceived its loyalty program, called Mission Membership, so that guests can enjoy personalized benefits even while their stays benefit the planet.
Even signing up has an environmental benefit.
Thanks to 1 Hotels’ partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, a tree will be planted for each new member who joins the Mission Membership program. The brand has also committed to planting 100,000 trees in the areas impacted by the 2025 L.A. wildfires.
“Many traditional points-based programs have cumbersome tiers and benchmarks,” explained Stoeckl, who is one of the architects of the new Mission Membership program. “So we asked ourselves, ‘How do we think about loyalty not at scale, but at the individual level, so we can understand each guest’s preferences and hyperpersonalize their experience?’”
Instead of earning points to redeem for stays and elite status based on set qualification tiers, Mission members will instead be recognized with benefits tailored to their personal preferences, such as they are shared with the hotels. For instance, members who dub themselves night owls might be proactively offered guaranteed access to a special DJ performance for music lovers. Those who prioritize fitness might be offered free Alo Wellness Club workouts on the 1 Hotels app.
In fact, the 1 Hotels app is the best place for members to manage their stays – interacting directly with hotel team members, but also for sharing their interests and preferences ranging from pillow choices to favorite beverages and activities. The system logs those choices so that hotel staff can deliver on them during future stays.
You don’t have to stay dozens of nights or spend thousands of dollars to unlock that personalization and other perks, though.
“Our approach is that everyone qualifies for benefits from the start,” said Stoeckl. “If early check-in or late checkout is available, for instance, we will give it to you, but we will prioritize guests’ requests based on how often they stay.” Those who spend considerable time at various 1 Hotels might come to expect room upgrades based on availability and early access to special events hosted by the hotels as well as unique experiences like a private mixology class, or a kitchen tour followed by a bread- and hummus-making class at Aviv at 1 Hotel South Beach.
On top of that, 1% of what Mission members spend on qualifying nightly room rates will be donated to one of three Mission Membership partner organizations, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceanic Global, or Green Our Planet, and guests can choose which cause they wish to support.
“Whether you are passionate about the ocean or natural resources on land,” said Stoeckl, “you have the choice of taking care of the planet in your own way.”
Having a choice, giving back and feeling good are all central to how Mission Membership works, but also what 1 Hotels guests want, according to Stoeckl.
“Our guests aren’t a demographic, but a psychographic,” said Stoeckl. “They are passionate about the nature around them, but also about human nature, where taking care of oneself is paramount.”
And it makes sense that those same travelers who are attuned to personal wellness are also more keyed into sustainability when they travel. “Travelers who are interested in wellness – taking care of themselves, working out, eating healthfully – are interested in amplifying those same qualities into how they travel,” said Stoeckl. “They are interested not just in having a healthy stay, but also one that is healthy for the planet.”
On a Mission in Copenhagen
On my own recent stay at the 1 Hotel Copenhagen, I had the chance to see the Mission Membership program in action.
I arrived at the hotel at 1 p.m. and my Willow Suite was ready despite my early entrance, so I was immediately shown up to it and given a quick tour.
My favorite part of the suite was the huge terrace overlooking the city’s rooftops and monuments like the distinctive Rundetaarn, or “Round Tower,” 17th-century astronomical observatory that Czar Peter the Great is said to have ascended on horseback.
However, a welcome care package of Danish-themed treats left waiting for me on the dining room table, including “The Little Book of Hygge” and smoked trout smorrebrod open sandwich with bacon and pickled onions, came in a close second.
Of course, I found the usual 1 Hotels hallmarks I’ve come to expect, like live-edge wooden furnishings and comfortable sofas upholstered in all-natural textiles, where I settled in for an afternoon of work.
There were energy-saving automated drapes that close to help insulate the room when you depart, a filtered-water tap and an espresso machine provisioned with eco-friendly coffee capsules and geranium-scented Bamford products in the bathroom (plus that little shower hourglass).
But what truly stood out to me about this particular 1 Hotel was how seamlessly it had incorporated the brand’s identity into a historical, heritage-listed setting. The greenhouse-like feel of the central atrium, the cozy nooks with candles and faux fur-draped armchairs I found here and there while exploring the corridors, plus the neatly arranged line of hotel bikes out front all just felt so … Danish, but also so 1 Hotels at the same time.
“For us, the building was a great canvas to be able to take our passion for nature and pepper it throughout the hotel,” said Stoeckl. “Inside, there is nature all year round. You can feel the whole culture of hygge and coziness, and enjoy having a comfortable space to hang out in wintertime or step into our beautiful garden in summertime."
All the better to enjoy the cocktail selection at the hotel’s bar, Pære, which features an eponymous libation that was equal parts fruity and mellow, with carbon-negative Two Drifters pure white rum, pear liqueur, cardamom and chef Matt Orlando’s THIC chocolate alternative, which is produced by upcycling byproducts from the beer-brewing process and is planet-friendlier than traditional cacao.
It was the perfect lead-in to dinner at chef Chantelle Nicholson’s restaurant, Fjora. Nicholson garnered a Green Michelin star for her London restaurant, Apricity.At Fjora, though, I sampled distinctly Danish delicacies like a hearty North Sea cod tail in a sauce of smoked butter and locally-grown girolles mushrooms and a salad of beetroots grown at the nearby Kiselgaarden farm with roasted cashew cream, pickle granita and crispy onions.
The hotel offers Mission members a variety of unique, destination-specific experiences, though. Those seeking to explore Scandinavian sauna culture can hop in an electric car over to the revitalized former shipbuilding district of Refshaleøen right on the city’s waterfront. There, they can partake in a private sauna session at Little Siberia, CopenHot’s rooftop urban thermal garden, before taking a cold plunge. Upon their return to the hotel, the ritual continues in-room, where they are served warming bone broth infused with ginger, turmeric and other fresh herbs to complete the restorative and cleansing excursion.
Although I was not able to take advantage of that particular experience, the second morning of my stay, I strolled five minutes to the acclaimed April Coffee Roasters, a hotel partner, for a coffee-tasting experience that included small-batch brews from Panama, Guatemala and Kenya. Needless to say, after that, I was wired for a day out exploring the city, so I borrowed one of the hotel’s house bikes.
I stopped by Rosenborg Castle to see the Danish crown jewels and biked past the colorful houses lining Nyhavn and along the canal surrounding the state buildings on Slotsholmen before a jaunt to Tivoli to admire the autumn decorations.
I capped my day with smorrebrod – hearty slices of bread heaped with hand-peeled fresh shrimp and smoked salmon salad – at Hallernes Smorrebrod in the Torvehallerne food hall near the hotel. Then, I finished with a dusk cocktail made with Scandinavian flavors at Ruby, a swanky bar and lounge in a 1740 townhouse in the heart of historic Indre By.
Although I enjoyed the extensive breakfast buffet at the hotel, including local farm-fresh eggs made to order with house-baked sourdough toast, on my first morning, on my second and final day, I wandered over to the nearby Andersen & Maillard bakery for a cinnamon croissant and a cardamom bun. I brought them back to my Willow Suite to enjoy in the warmth of the Scandinavian sun (it was finally out!) on my private rooftop terrace.
It was an ideal final taste of Copenhagen, made all the more delicious by the knowledge that my stay would have a positive impact well beyond my departure. You see, for my Mission Membership contribution, I had selected Oceanic Global, inspired by the many pristine waterways surrounding the city.
Bottom line
In the decade since its launch 1 Hotels has blazed a trail toward melding luxury and sustainability, and continues to do so to this day with the advent of its new Mission Membership program.
Not only do members enjoy elite-like benefits just for joining, but their spending also helps fund efforts by well-respected environmental organizations, making Mission Membership a natural extension of 1 Hotels’ core principles.
Throughout my stay at the new 1 Hotel Copenhagen, I kept thinking of the famous line by Danish literary luminary Hans Christian Anderson: “To travel is to live.” It must follow, I thought to myself, that to travel better is also to live better.
Mission Membership helps travelers do just that by providing concrete ways to give back, making the experience of travel that much more enjoyable and impactful.
