The Hoxton comes to Holborn
As the days get shorter and Christmas beckons (it’s a scary two months away) it was great to discover that the Hoxton Group has just opened a new hotel in Holborn.
I couldn’t wait to try it and was thrilled to discover that it’s every bit as good as its Shoreditch sibling and a lot more central. The Hoxton in High Holborn is a two-minute walk from Holborn tube station and just round the corner from Covent Garden. We walked to the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Place to see the brilliant Northern Soul and it only took us 12 minutes.
The Hoxton sensibly hasn’t messed around with the formula either. The 174 rooms at the Holborn outpost are simple but stylish and come in four sizes – shoebox, snug, comfy and roomy. Prices start at a reasonable £99 for the shoebox and £139 for the snug, although they vary according to demand and when you book.
We booked a snug room and it certainly was snug. But it had all the Hoxton favourites – a Roberts radio, mini fridge with mineral water and proper milk (included), chic black and white shower room, stylish Toile du Jouy wallpaper, a shelf full of old Penguin books and a fold-out desk with a kettle, mugs and teabags at the ready.
We were so thrilled with it that we didn’t want to venture out for supper. Instead the charming staff at Hubbard and Bell, the restaurant on the ground floor, managed to squeeze us in at the last minute. When my daughter arrived she was mega-impressed to find her parents sitting in a cool restaurant with a DJ working the decks behind us (if that’s the right expression).
Like the original, the new Hoxton delivers breakfast in a carrier bag at whatever time you want – orange juice, a banana and a pot of granola. If you’re after something more substantial you can breakfast at Hubbard and Bell or in the Holborn Grind, the café next door where smiley staff serve a great flat white.
After that we were spoiled for choice, popping into the Germany exhibition at the British Museum and strolling down Lamb’s Conduit Street in the autumn sunshine.
I’ll definitely be back.