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Hoxton Hotel is Cheap and Easy

Where: 81 Great Eastern Street,, London, United Kingdom, EC2A 3HU

The Hoxton Hotel in London has gotten much press since its opening last summer. Largely because its a budget hotel in an extremely expensive city that manages to stay hip without skimping on the amenities that we like in a hotel. Oh and offering an opening rate of one pound a night didn't hurt either.

Now the NY Times weighs in on the place. Heather Timmons has fairly good things to say about the hotel, keeping in mind that rooms are now going for less than $200. What we learned is that the hotel has picked up on minimalist hotel trends like voyeuristic bathrooms as a way of saving some cash:

Chaos struck when we tried to find the bathroom door -- after pulling and tugging on metal hinges and anything that seemed likely to slide or snap open, I called the front desk. "It's quite possible your room has no bathroom door," the receptionist told me. "They are mirrors, which break easily," she said. She asked me whether I was alone, and when I said no, murmured condolences but didn't offer another room with a bathroom door.

On the bright side, the linens are Frette, the mattresses are comfortable and the rooms overall are stylish and in no way resembling the budget hotel of yesteryear.

The Grille restaurant there has surprisingly good food and as for breakfast, the hotel drops off a Pret-a-Manger bag of OJ, banana and yogurt at your door and each room comes with hot-water kettle, free milk and mineral water in the in-room refrigerator.

The major downsides seem to be the lack of housekeeping unless it's requested and a large stain on the imitation leather headboard.

Hmm...maybe if there was housekeeping there wouldn't be any such stains.

Related Stories:
· Check In, Check Out: The Hoxton [NY Times]
· The Hoxton Grille: Cheap London hotel Has Surprisingly Good Food [HotelChatter]