The Hoxton Holborn opened last year and marks a move west in the capital for the company, which already has a hotel in Shoreditch.

Arriving at lunchtime you are greeted by the delicious smells wafting from the hotel’s American grill-style Hubbard & Bell, which uses the ground floor.

The lobby area’s sofas were filled with people enjoying brunch or lunch and provided a much warmer welcome than the usual hotel reception area.

There are 174 rooms, in four sizes – from the smallest, Shoebox, through Snug and Cosy to the biggest, Roomy.

All have the same urban style with a bold, retro feel to the furnishings – metal arm lamps, leather armchairs, copper tables and old Penguin paperbacks and a 50s-looking digital radio. The TV, however, is thoroughly modern.

We were in a Cosy room and, although it’s the second largest, you weren’t overwhelmed with space.

The wardrobe is a narrow, black hanging unit, with the fridge hidden in a cupboard underneath.

Although the rooms sleep two, there’s only one armchair, with the other seat being an office chair by the bureau.

But the functionality is softened by luxury touches. The bed and pillows are gloriously soft, as are the large, fluffy, white towels provided for the striking shower cubicle with its powerful showerhead.

All rooms offer free Wi-fi and an hour’s free landline calls, plus there’s free milk and water in the fridge and coffee and tea-making facilities on the bureau.

Then there’s the wake-up call for your tastebuds, the breakfast bag drop – orange juice, granola, and a banana.

If you need something a little more substantial to start your day, Hubbard & Bell offers a breakfast and brunch menu as well as an all-day and Sunday roast menu.

Then there’s the Chicken Shop in the basement, offering succulent, spit-roasted free range chicken and The Grind, an espresso and cocktail bar next door with snacks and light seasonal food.

We ate dinner at Hubbard & Bell. The food was delicious – I had melt-in-your-mouth halibut, caramel and pretzel cheesecake and the house wine – and all was provided with the same efficient, no-fuss service I’d come to realise was the trademark of the Hoxton.

So the next time you’re looking for a forward-thinking ‘no rip-off’ (their words not mine) kind of a hotel in London, right in the centre of things, can I recommend a room at the Hoxton Holborn?

Factfile

The Hoxton Holborn is in High Holborn, WC1, near Holborn tube station, which is on the Central and Piccadilly lines.
For further details and to book see www.thehoxton.com/london/holborn or call 0207 661 3000.
The website also offers links to Hubbard & Bell, The Chicken Shop and The Grind as well as the Hoxton Cheapside.
Hoxton Holborn is within walking distance of Covent Garden, Soho and West End theatres, as well as the British Museum.