Our first proper city break with little Evelyn was a two-night trip to London for my 33rd birthday and there was no place better to stay than at the Hoxton Southwark. I love this hotel and just had to show you all why!
Back in August 2022, we headed down to London for our first proper city break with our little six-month old girl, Evelyn. We’ve been pretty good at visiting different places with Evelyn and she’s always been so chilled but this time we wanted to push the boat out a little and try a two-night trip away involving train travel! I could probably write a whole post and then some on the positives and negatives of travelling with a baby, especially to London, but this one is reserved for my thoughts on our choice of hotel, The Hoxton Southwark, and what a hotel it was!
I’m always researching the best places to visit, eat and stay and have a master list of sorts that helps plan our travels. The Hoxton brand of hotels have been high up on the list of places I’ve been wanting to stay for a while and the time was right for us to book the Hoxton Southwark for our first trip to London since 2016. I must say that it does feel a bit like a crime in itself not having visited London since 2016 but since then we’ve been to Australia, South East Asia and had to deal with Covid-19 so I guess it’s not too bad.
There are three (soon to be four) Hoxton hotels in London; our choice on the south side of the River Thames in Southwark, the original in Shoreditch and one in Holborn. Whilst I will no doubt visit the original Hoxton in Shoreditch at some point, I settled on Southwark for its location being relatively pram friendly, being an area I hadn’t stayed in before as well as the price.
After successfully navigating from Durham to Lincoln to King’s Cross to Southwark, we were ready to drop our bags off and begin our three days of exploration. We didn’t plan on doing all of the touristy sites as, whilst they are definitely a must-do in the future, it’ll be when Evelyn is old enough to appreciate it. There were a few places we’d planned to visit including Dishoom for a birthday meal, Little Creatures Brewery for a beer, Borough Market for more food & Origin Coffee for, you guessed it, lots of coffee. Yes, I’m a coffee drinker now.
THE HOXTON SOUTHWARK
The Hotel
Located just a few minutes south of Blackfriars Bridge, the Hoxton Southwark is an ideal base for exploring the South Bank area from the Tate Modern to Borough Market. Those travelling with little ones can take advantage of the step-free access at Southwark Station to the Jubilee Line though you’ll have to take note of where you can get the tube to. The lift was out of order when we visited so we used our feet and it only took 20 minutes or so up to Covent Garden.
The hotel itself is 17 storeys high, covered in light grey brick and gives off a real Brooklyn vibe with the outdoor seating areas and luscious greenery either side of the front door. Across the ground floor you’ll find spaces for dining and drinking surrounded by plants and shelves filled with everything I wish I had in my own home.
The staff at reception were so welcoming and with standard check in at 2pm and check out at 12pm, it feels like this is a hotel that actually wants you to stay! If you book direct more than 72 hours in advance, you can choose your own check in and check out time which is really useful.
The Room
With five types of room to choose from and 192 on offer, there really is something for everyone here; Shoebox, Snug, Cosy, Roomy and Biggy. As we needed space for a travel cot (provided free of charge by the hotel), we settled on the Cosy at a cost of £443.70 for two nights. Certainly not cheap but my mindset is definitely ‘you get what you pay for’. Travel in a post-Covid world, especially here in the UK, is very expensive but I would happily pay the amount again to stay at one of the Hoxton hotels.
The Cosy Room at the Hoxton Southwark has an industrial style mixed with classic panelling on the walls, marble decor and a subway tiled bathroom. I’m honestly not an interior designer by any stretch of the imagination so my description is probably wrong but all I know is that I loved the style of the room. The velvet headboard, concrete ceiling and leather accents combined seamlessly. My Paytner jacket fitted right in. It was incredibly cool and, with Smooth Chill playing on the Roberts DAB radio, it was the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
Now, before I move on, I have to mention the mattress. Both Emma and I found that we slept incredibly at the Hoxton Southwark on probably the comfiest bed I’ve ever slept on. Whilst I forgot to have a peak at what was under those cotton sheets, I later found that the mattress was the Superb by Naturalmat. These mattresses are not only super comfy but are organic, made in Devon and sustainable. It may have been a bit of a spur of a moment decision but I have ordered the mattress for my bed at home...
This definitely isn’t your ordinary, bland hotel room. You’ll find personal little touches such as a little guide of cool places to visit nearby plus a few beers in the fridge for my birthday.
We were a little worried about staying over with Evelyn for two nights in the hotel as we’d only done single nights away in hotels before. The Hoxton hotels generally seem very kid-friendly; they offered to deliver a baby bath to our room for when we returned after a long day exploring (though I did spend far too long at Waterloo Station looking for baby soap) and the travel cot was provided free of charge. ‘Tiny Hox’ has just been launched too where the free cribs will come with an organic Naturalmat mattress and for those children aged 0-2, you’ll get a welcome tote bag including a colouring book and pencils. It seems that the Hoxton (both generally and here at the Hoxton Southwark) really are very child-friendly (in a cool way – if you’re travelling without children don’t worry about this being a creche!) and I can’t wait to return in the future; it really does make a difference!
Albie // Seabird
There are two places to eat within the Hoxton Southwark; Albie on the ground floor and Seabird on the roof.
We had breakfast at Albie on our last morning which I’d highly recommend. The ‘eggs your way’ were cooked to perfection on a slice of sourdough toast and Emma went with the buttermilk pancakes which were equally as good. Not that I’m all of a sudden a coffee connoisseur but I can vouch for the Flat White here; it set me up nicely for the long journey home.
We didn’t get chance to eat or drink at Seabird but we did sneak a few snaps of the most outrageous view across London. One side you’re looking across towards the Houses of Parliament and the other back towards the Shard. The restaurant specialises in seafood including a huge oyster bar with plenty of choice; from Cornwall to Jersey to Northumberland to Ireland. I can’t say that I’ve actually tried an oyster, I’m really not sure they’re for me, but the restaurant is very highly rated so if seafood is your thing – don’t miss out!
After a lovely two-night stay at the Hoxton Southwark, I can safely say that, alongside the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester, this is one of my favourite hotels ever! I will now purposefully seek out Hoxton hotels so I’m sure it won’t be long before I return to one.
See you soon Hoxton!
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