The New Eastender: art’otel London Hoxton tells a tale of place

This article first appeared in Mix Interiors #234

Words: Harry McKinley
Images courtesy of art’otel

Just over two decades ago The Guardian newspaper was already pontificating on the so-called demise of Hoxton. ‘Popularity has killed personality’, it expressed; the artists ‘priced out’, the hipsters having ‘moved on’. This sounding of the death knell feels, in 2024, more than a tad premature. Granted, some of the neighbourhood’s more jagged edges have, in recent years, been polished down. But cities evolve, and just as the crime-ridden, faintly squalid Hoxton of the early and mid-80s evolved into a home for alternative culture in the 90s – becoming the ultimate hipster destination – so too has the district now developed into something new.

The Hoxton of today is a merging of the high and the low; swish fashion retailers sitting tooth-to-jowl with vintage emporia, independent coffee shops rubbing against familiar sandwich chains and eclectic street art flanked by contemporary construction in glass and steel. Hoxton is still cool, albeit in a different way. The arrival of various hotels is testament to the area’s transformed character, and its ever-growing popularity. The latest, the 357-key art’otel London Hoxton, encapsulates both the past and the present – with its emphasis on urban art and rendering of modern luxury.