the Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush: A Hotel Review
Hey there.
Recently, I had the pleasure of staying at The Hoxton Shepherd's Bush, and let me tell you, it was an experience to remember! If you aren’t familiar, the Hoxton brand is a group of boutique hotels with locations in Europe and the USA. I stayed at The Hoxton’s Herengracht location in Amsterdam in 2021 and decided I’d like to repeat that experience.
The Hoxton Shepherd’s Bush is pretty conveniently located about a 3-minute walk from the Shepherd’s Bush Market tube station, which serves the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines. It’s also very close to the Westfield Shopping Centre, a huge mall that is one of the largest (if not THE largest) in Europe!
The hotel itself has a trendy and modern vibe, with stylish decor that feels almost hipster. Not a bad thing, I’m just still learning how to describe interior design. The staff was generally friendly and helpful, except on one occasion: the fire alarm. We’ll get to that later.
As with many London hotels, the rooms were a bit on the smaller side, but no less cozy. In fact, I actually stayed in the “Cozy – Neighbourhood” room, which had a decent view of… you guessed it, the neighborhood. I did have a pretty sick view of the Tube too, so I was happy. The bed was a King, and it was very nice, I slept like a rock.
Unfortunately, breakfast is not included in the room rate, which can be a downside for people traveling on a budget. But! There are plenty of cafes and restaurants nearby where you can grab something to eat. The hotel restaurant, Chet’s (they have Thai-Americana fare), was very popular most nights during my stay. It’s a good place to enjoy a few drinks after a day of sightseeing, I also saw quite a few locals meeting up with friends.
The hotel provided fast, complimentary Wi-Fi, which worked consistently. That’s something I don’t take for granted at all! I also appreciated that there was complimentary water and fresh milk provided in the room’s mini-fridge. It was wonderful to have that the first morning when I wanted to make myself some coffee.
I mentioned a fire alarm. On the last morning of my stay, the fire alarm went off at around 6:50 AM. I was already awake, but still lounging in bed, reading some internet goofiness on my phone. The alarm was SHRILL (which is obviously the point, no question about hearing it though), so I had a mini heart attack, rushed to grab clothes and shoes, and hurried down the stairs outside. I waited on a bench outside the hotel with one other woman who came out at the same time I did for about 10 minutes. Nobody else came outside, which I thought was odd. At that time, a couple came out of the emergency exit, the same as we did, and a member of staff came out of the lobby to tell them it was safe to come in but did not ask if we were also guests. It turns out that the kitchen got a little enthusiastic in their prep for the day (cool, fine) and it wasn’t something they could have prevented. The woman I was with was very offended, so I kind of got dragged to the front desk, where she told them that it was (I guess?) against code to not have someone at the emergency exit making sure people got out, regardless of the state of the emergency (or not, in this case). I just stood there quite embarrassed, but the staff were fairly apologetic and did give me a 20% discount on the last night of the stay to make up for the disruption.
All that said, it was overall a good experience. Other than that last morning, it was up to the expectations I had in my head, which is good enough for me! I’d still recommend it, but just be aware that sometimes the hospitality industry is only as hospitable as the people working the front lines. I’ll be staying at another Hoxton when I visit Brussels in September, so I’ll be sure to review that one as well.
Do you have any recommendations for places to stay in London that won’t cost a kidney? Put them in the comments below ;)
Stay safe, stay hydrated, and stay vigilant of fire alarms.
Kate
