Young and fun urban hotel with a soft 70s look in London’s Shepherd’s Bush

Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush / London / Great Britain

Hoxton has, when writing this, 15 hotels and is steadily adding more and more properties in great cities. Next in line is the Austrian capital Vienna. Hoxton’s DNA is urban hotels with a vibrant and young energy. That doesn’t mean that this is only for people that are young. I would say the opposite. To me Hoxton hotels are attracting the Ace crowd as they have grown older (and their wallets a little thicker) but they still want to have a taste of trendy, vibrant city life where they can feel they are back in their carefree twenties. Ace could be the younger sibling, Palihotels the older one and Hoxton is the middle child.

This Hoxton is located in the western London suburb of Shepherd’s Bush. Made famous to my generation through classic British TV-show Absolutely Fabulous where the wannabe socialite Edina Monsoon objected when people said she lived in Shepherd’s Bush. She always furiously corrected them saying she lived in Holland Park. The reason is that Holland Park has since long been gentrified into an upmarket residential area while Shepherd’s Bush hasn’t (yet) met the same faith. This means that this area is full of independent shops, pubs, kebab joints and lavish wedding dress boutiques.

The building is purpose built for the hotel but has been made to look like a converted factory with exposed brick and giant factory style windows. And although the interior has that easily recognizable Hoxton look, this one is showcasing a very attractive 70s look. The first thing you meet when entering is the huge bar, built as the central focal point, and the reception is tucked away in the left corner of the huge lobby area. I like this a lot! It opens up the hotel so it feels welcoming to all, not only the hotel residents. The space is filled with mustard yellow chairs, moss green sofas, pink leather stools and a lot of greenery, This is a space where you want to linger and hang out.

There is a total of 237 rooms and they come in several different sizes. Although we booked one of Roomy ones it was fairly small, which has actually always been the case in the different Hoxtons I’ve stayed at. But this is all good considering how little time you usually spend in your room when in an exciting city such as London. You basically just come home when it is time to either drop off your shopping, shower and get ready for dinner or when it is time to call it a night. The design of the room was simple but elegant with dark hardwood floors, soft color tones and a massive factory style window with a typical view of the wonderfully chaotic London city scape. But who has time to stand there and enjoy that when that wonderfully chaotic city is waiting for you to explore it? I don’t!

The buildings is purpose built for Hoxton and made to look like a converted factory that would look right at home somewhere in Brooklyn.

The first thing you see upon entering is this magnificent bar. Love the soft 70s look. It feels like one of those bars where you park yourself in one of the tall stools, drink one too many drinks and spill your life’s story to the barman.

The lobby is spacious and very bright with light pouring in through the massive windows.

Heading to our room. Love a carpet with a print.

Simple and tasteful design with dark hardware floors, patterned textile headboard and terrazzo bed side tables.

This is my favorite photo from our stay at the Hoxton. Love the soft evening sun light through the sheer curtains.

In the lobby there is plenty of space to sit and read or where locals sit down with their laptops to work.

My favorite space was this bathroom, located at the far end of the lobby area. The tiles!!

One of my favorite breakfast places in London is Breakfast Club. They have several outlets across the city and well worth a visit or two.

My mouth is watering when I see this photo.

Another of my favorite breakfast spots, Granger & Co. The closest one is a short ride from the hotel, in swanky Notting Hill.

RG inside info

This place is perfect if you…

…are looking for a really cool hotel in an area of London that is still to be fully gentrified. If you want your hotel to have a young, fun vibe where locals and visitors mix, I am sure you are going to like Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush.

My favorite thing about this place…

…is the golden 70s vibe in the design. There is something with the pink leather chairs, the mustard chairs, the green sofas and generous use of green plants that makes me a very happy camper. I also like that the lobby area is built around the bar, like a watering hole in a desert oasis. It gives the hotel a very open and welcoming feeling.

What not to miss when staying here…

…is to get up early and walk around the area as the city wakes up. This is always my favorite thing to do when staying at city hotels. There is something that is so great with getting to see real people doing real things before us tourists fully take over.

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