The rooms at the Hoxton Holborn Hotel in London, broadly, have a Brooklyn loft urban chic to them.Credit: Picasa
THE LOCATION
Holborn has traditionally been one of those not quite anything parts of London, a holding pen for office blocks. The cool new bars and specialist shops that are springing up suggest this is changing, however. There are currently some egregious and half-hearted attempts to rebrand the area as "Midtown" but it hasn't taken hold yet.
Getting there from Heathrow airport is a doddle – just sit on the Piccadilly Line for around an hour, get off at Holborn Station and walk a couple of minutes west down High Holborn to the hotel.
Hoxton Holborn Hotel London has a community hub vibe.
THE SPACE
The original Hoxton hotel in Shoreditch became a symbol of that area's self-absorbed hipsterism, but has always managed to retain impeccable cool credentials. This first branching out unashamedly goes for a similar market – but, crucially, it retains a sense of busy energy at all times. The lobby, bar and restaurant merge into one as an all-action open space, and people in circulation-threatening skinny jeans slink into the comfy seats in a tangle of wires between iMac and smartphone.
There's a genuine community hub feel though, and the huge events calendar includes photography-based treasure hunts, DJ sets, 70 per cent-off flash sales from local jewellery designers and magazine launch parties.
The Hoxton Holborn Hotel London.
THE KIT
A hotel pitching to people carrying around the latest electronic devices had better have plenty of plug sockets, and the rooms are thankfully swimming in them. Otherwise, though, the vibe isn't as high-tech as you might expect.
In many ways, it is the opposite, with kitsch faux antique radios on top of the fold-down work desk, and shelves full of well-thumbed Penguin Classic books that guests are invited to take away with them. Instead of needlessly complicated touchscreenery, a mightily handy little fold-up booklet highlights places worth poking your nose into within a few blocks' radius.
Hoxton Holborn Hotel London.
COMFORT FACTOR
The rooms, broadly, have a Brooklyn loft urban chic to them – although there's enough simple life homeliness to make you think you should grow a bushy beard and wear a plaid shirt. The headboard and chair leather has been deliberately given a well-worn aged look.
The bedsheets have a noticeably high "ooh that feels nice" thread count, although you'll get queen rather than king beds in all but the highest room category.
Hoxton Holborn Hotel London: Impeccably cool.
The trade-off for the cool is lack of space. There are four categories – Roomy, Cosy, Snug and Shoebox – and none of them are gigantic. At the squishier end of the scale, expect hangers dangling from wall hooks rather than wardrobes and dilemmas about where to stow your suitcase. The Shoebox rooms, in particular, are a good fit for people who don't plan on spending much time in them.
THE FOOD
There are three options – an espresso bar, the Chicken Shop specialising in rotisserie chicken and main restaurant Hubbard and Bell.
The latter leans towards American grill classics, with the odd touch of Europeanisation. It fills that gap between casual pub fare and fine dining, with just enough twists on the staples to make them rather exciting. The £25 bacon-wrapped filet mignon works tremendously with the £7 truffle fries, for instance.
The free breakfast consisting of granola, yoghurt, orange juice and a banana, delivered to the hook outside your door every morning, is a very nice touch too.
STEPPING OUT
There's an awful lot within walking distance. The hotel's on the cusp of the West End, with the theatre district a short stroll to the west, and literary Bloomsbury (including the British Museum) is just to the north. Interesting finds in the immediate vicinity include the Cartoon Museum (cartoonmuseum.org) and ale-lover heaven The Craft Beer Company (thecraftbeerco.com).
THE VERDICT
It's impossible not to love the energy, and the execution of the concept is about as good as it could have been. It's undoubtedly a horses-for-courses sort of place, but even the wrong horses should find themselves begrudgingly impressed. The value is superb for the style factor and close-to-everything location, but cat-swingers may be perturbed.
ESSENTIALS
Shoebox rooms start at £119 a night. 199-206 High Holborn, London, England. Phone 00 44 20 7661 3000, see thehoxton.com/London/holborn.
HIGHLIGHT The thoughtful little fold-up guides are genuinely handy for getting to know the best bits of the immediate area.
LOWLIGHT Anyone laden with bags and cases is going to have to do some creative stacking and stashing.
David Whitley was a guest of the hotel.
Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter
Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.