In the old days, hotels just used to open, people booked and stayed in them, and that was that. Now, innovation is the name of the game, especially at The Hoxton, just voted Guardian readers' favourite UK hotel for the second year running.
When Pret A Manger entrepreneur Sinclair Beecham opened his 205-room hotel in 2006, he decided to use no‑frills airlines as the model for setting room rates. The earlier you booked, the less you'd pay, with the added benefit of sales every quarter where a number of rooms would be released at £29 and even £1 a night.
This has proved a brilliant marketing ploy. Included in the room rate is a "Pret lite" breakfast – a bag with orange juice, banana and yoghurt left outside your door in the morning – Wi-Fi, water, and iPads in reception.
Now three new "designer" bedrooms have been added in previously unused top-floor space. Project Orange, Suzy Hoodless and The Formation have each been commissioned by The Hoxton to create room that fuse Shoreditch edginess with hotel comfort. Guest feedback will determine which style is best for any future expansion.
The good news is, these rooms are bookable at the same rates as the existing rooms. So tonight, I'm checking in to one of them. Room 640, designed by Adrian Kilby of Sussex-based creative consultancy The Formation. First though, since it is Friday and the bar's hopping, a few drinks and a catch-up with mates, followed by dinner in Hoxton Grill, the hotel restaurant at the rear of the industrial-chic ground floor.
Operated by the Soho House Group, which runs a tight ship, the Grill is heaving with after-work diners, but service is calm and we have no complaints about the bistro dishes – from soft, creamy mounds of breaded goat's cheese on roasted peppers to a necklace of brown shrimps around sea bream fillet, or juicy roast cod on a bed of kale.
My pals push off home and I head up to the sixth floor. Exposed brick, red leather and units made from black wood faced in lime green greet me – a smart, if unrelaxing, palette. The bed is the pièce de resistance. It occupies the entire width at one end of this narrow room, and has a padded leather "headboard" on three sides. Why hasn't anyone thought of doing that before? I can sleep in any direction I like, or arrange the cushions and pillows so I can lie back and watch a film on the wall‑mounted TV.
An oversized leather armchair is a comfy touch, a drawer slides out from a small unit to reveal a hairdryer and loads of fresh coffee. The simple red and white shower room is spacious.
Photographic images of ornate picture frames have been cut out and stuck on the wall. The telly is thus framed, and a mirror. When I switch out the lights, more wit and design details reveal themselves. The window has been printed with an image of a woman in sunglasses. Overhead, luminous lettering in a spiral on the ceiling says: "The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more – Wilson Mizener."
Almost everything I need is here (except hanging space for a dress) and in terms of best use of space, room 640 gets 10 out of 10. It's just a bit blokeish. In the end though, it comes down to price. For £1 this room is a steal, for £29, £59 and £79, ditto. Is it worth £199, the most you can pay to stay at the hotel? Very few hotel rooms are, in my opinion, and this one is no different.
