The Hoxton Holborn

The Hoxton Holborn sits on High Holborn in a Grade II-listed former telephone exchange, and positions itself against Covent Garden, Bloomsbury and the West End simultaneously. At 220 rooms it is significantly larger than a conventional boutique property, and the Hoxton brand means it is not independent. What it is, however, is a consistently well-executed hotel with a genuinely good restaurant, an excellent lobby and a location that makes most of central London walkable.

The experience

The Hoxton does its best work in the lobby, which is a genuinely sociable space: two bars at either end, a coffee counter, wide sofas and the kind of open-plan energy that most hotels try to manufacture and few achieve. Rondo, the ground-floor restaurant, serves seasonal British food from a kitchen that takes its sourcing seriously and has built a loyal following that extends well beyond hotel guests. Rondo Le Cave in the basement operates as a rotating concept space: natural wines and new restaurant ideas tested before rolling out across the group, which gives the hotel a vibrant quality that keeps it interesting. Free bicycles for guests are a practical touch that reflects the Hoxton’s neighbourhood-first ethos.

The rooms

The 220 rooms run from Shoebox to Biggy, with most falling in the Cosy category at a comfortable mid-London size. All have parquet wooden floors, black-tiled bathrooms with walk-in rainfall showers, Blank toiletries, Roberts DAB radios, flat-screen TVs, tea and coffee facilities, and a fridge to stock from the lobby shop. Wallpaper in each room is designed by local artists, giving the interiors more individual character than the scale might suggest. Shoebox rooms are compact and honest about it; Biggy rooms at 30 square metres are genuinely spacious. Dogs are welcome in most rooms and throughout the public areas except the restaurant.

Food and drink

Rondo serves modern seasonal British food from breakfast through dinner seven days a week, with a natural wine focus and a £35 set menu that makes it accessible for a weekday dinner. Head Chef Tristan Downes’s cooking is noted for precise flavour combinations that feel familiar but considered. Rondo Le Cave in the basement cycles through rotating restaurant concepts before they go wider across the Hoxton group, so it’s worth checking what’s on during any given visit.

The neighbourhood

High Holborn sits between Covent Garden and Bloomsbury, with Holborn Underground two minutes on foot for the Central and Piccadilly lines. The British Museum is eight minutes north. Covent Garden piazza is ten minutes south. Lincoln’s Inn Fields, the Inns of Court and the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House are all within easy reach. The hotel is slightly better placed for Bloomsbury, legal London and the museum quarter than for the piazza and theatres — though those are still within 10-15 minutes walking distance.