The Hoxton, Charlottenburg: Berlin’s latest hotel for ‘culture vultures’

Images courtesy of Ennismore

Amidst a string of vintage and antique stores, next door to destination restaurants, is Berlin’s hottest hotel opening: The Hoxton, Charlottenburg. A debut for the ‘open house hotel’ in Germany, 234 rooms are available for guests, next to café-cum-cocktail bar The Teahouse, north-Indian inspired restaurant House of Tandoor, and the fire-lit Winter Garden.  

Designed by Ennismore’s Aime Studios, the interiors present ‘rough nouveau’, a concept that reflects Charlottenburg’s golden era and the raw materiality of Brutalism. Layered, textural aesthetics are in abundance with unrefined plaster walls, art deco light fittings and vintage furnishings displayed next to exaggerated cornicing and emerald-green tiles. Locally sourced and commissioned artwork features on the walls, including a bespoke mural in the lobby by Berlin-artist, Stefanie Kägi.

Art Nouveau shapes and expressive design details take centre stage in the hotel guestrooms, inspired by Berlin’s architectural structures. A muted colour palette of desaturated pinks and greens form a backdrop for vintage-inspired furniture and scalloped headboards, with a recurring shell motif in striking rug patterns and elegant glass wall lights.  

Wall panelling and wooden herringbone flooring evokes contrast to the soft fluidity of the rooms, which extends to the bathroom where exposed metal shelving is set against mauve tiling. Rooms come in seven categories: Shoebox, Cosy, Cosy Neighbourhood, Roomy, Roomy Twin, Biggy and Biggy Up, all of which feature classic Hox touches.  

Elsewhere, the interiors throughout both The Teahouse and House of Tandoor have been designed to reflect Charlottenburg and the grand palaces and hotels found in Kolkata and Bombay throughout the 1920s. At The Teahouse, shell-patterned mosaic tiles accentuate the glamorous curved bar fitted with a green marble countertop, while the oversized windows flood the space with light. An open-plan copper and wood kitchen is the showstopper in House of Tandoor, surrounded by bench seating, Indian-inspired artwork and wooden accents to create a warm contrast to the rough lime wash plaster walls. A central sculpture of vintage-style gramophones nods to the Indian jazz era and represents the ultimate fusion of West meets East culture on the subcontinent.

Renowned for its open lobbies, The Hoxton in Charlottenburg is no different. Inside, blue and green tones form the basis of a bright and airy interior, accentuated with mid-century furniture, bespoke rugs and referential Bauhaus artwork. Guests can lounge on art nouveau-inspired sofas, armchairs and tables situated beneath Murano glass chandeliers and venture into the Winter Garden to unwind next to a Delft-inspired fireplace. 

Three meeting and event spaces are tucked under the eaves of the hotel and surround the communal Pantry Kitchen. The space in its entirety is – ‘The Apartment’ – a soon-to-be sought-after events venue featuring German dancer Mary Wigman-inspired interiors with fluid lines, soft tones, vintage lighting, and a touch of chintz for good measure.