The Hoxton, Holborn — Hotel in London

Stayed this past weekend. My 8th stay at this hotel where I’ve spent £2557 on rooms over the past 3 years (not including money I’ve spent at your restaurant and bar, which let’s face it, isn’t cheap, so probably have given close to 3 grand or more to your Hotel). ||I’ll cut to the point. The female receptionist that was working last night (January 6th) rang up my hotel room and threatened my girlfriend that if we wasn’t out of the room within 5 minutes that she’d send security up to throw us out. This phone call happened 2-3 minutes after your male colleague knocked on my door and I had told him we’re just about to leave, we’ll be out in no more than 5 minutes. So why on Earth the female receptionist deemed it necessary to ring up the room and threaten to have security throw us out like we’re criminals is beyond me. It completely ruined what was otherwise a nice anniversary weekend for me and my girlfriend, but unfortunately this had ruined it for the both of us. ||It was agreed between me and several of your employees and management, that I could check out between 11pm - midnight, as I have done in the past. So to make it seem like me and my girlfriend had done some sort of criminal activity is disgusting and shameful, especially to a loyal customer like myself who regularly stays at your hotel. It shows what kind of hotel you truly are, once you know you can’t get any more money out of people, you want them to get lost. ||Before I made my booking on Friday another employee told me that if I booked she’d be able to add my requested ‘flexy time’ hours to my stay on your system. After booking I spoke to the same employee, who after realising that what she told me wasn’t exactly true, passed me on to another employee, who told me they couldn’t guarantee those hours, and then tried upselling me to stay another night, which I refused as I wouldn’t need a room until after midnight, due to several different reservations I had on the Saturday. I had said to this employee that if possible I’d need to check out between 11pm - midnight, for which they said they could do as long as there was no other bookings. I arrive on the Saturday and it’s confirmed that I can have the ‘flexy times’ requested. ||I rang up your reception yesterday at around 4pm to just confirm that I could check out between 11pm - midnight, as had discussed with several of your employees, which was also again agreed. ||I booked a stay a week in advance last July, and had flexy time hours added to my stay. You tell me when I arrive, that I had to check out 9 hours earlier than I booked, which really ruined mine and my girlfriends plans for her birthday. Did I cause a scene? No. Did I ask for a refund? No. Did I complain or write a bad review? No. Should’ve I? Yes. When you pay £317 for a nights stay it should be as it is on the booking. I was compensated for a thing or given anything in return as a gesture of good will. So perhaps you should get rid of this ‘flexy time’ feature because you seem awfully inconsistent with it.||We was planning on coming back for Valentine’s weekend, but that’s been ruined, I’m not gonna put another penny into this Hotel. So you can thank your lovely female receptionist who finds it appropriate to threaten and intimidate paying customers. Being threatened to get thrown out of a hotel you’ve stayed at 8 times isn’t the end to the anniversary weekend my girlfriend and I had in mind. ||I suggest you give this employee some customer training lessons, because threatening customers on the phone like you’re in the mob or something isn’t my idea of good customer service. OR if it’s company policy to talk to paying customers this way (especially customers who have stayed at your hotel 8 times and would’ve stayed many more) then you should rethink how you run your business and how you treat your customers. ||I’ve recommended this hotel to friends and family over the past three years, but unfortunately now I wouldn’t recommend anyone spend a penny of your money here if this is the way you’re treated. ||Besides all of this, I had a terrible sleep. All I could hear all night was doors outside my room being slammed. And the air con coming on and off as it pleases, despite having turned it off. The radio in our room also didn’t work for whatever reason, and the small selection of channels on your television is pathetic, so make sure you bring your own form of entertainment if staying here. The shower also didn’t have a door so the bathroom would be completely soaked...

Stayed this past weekend. My 8th stay at this hotel where I’ve spent £2557 on rooms over the past 3 years (not including money I’ve spent at your restaurant and bar, which let’s face it, isn’t cheap, so probably have given close to 3 grand or more to your Hotel).

I’ll cut to the point. The female receptionist that was working last night (January 6th) rang up my hotel room and threatened my girlfriend that if we wasn’t out of the room within 5 minutes that she’d send security up to throw us out. This phone call happened 2-3 minutes after your male colleague knocked on my door and I had told him we’re just about to leave, we’ll be out in no more than 5 minutes. So why on Earth the female receptionist deemed it necessary to ring up the room and threaten to have security throw us out like we’re criminals is beyond me. It completely ruined what was otherwise a nice anniversary weekend for me and my girlfriend, but unfortunately this had ruined it for the both of us.

It was agreed between me and several of your employees and management, that I could check out between 11pm - midnight, as I have done in the past. So to make it seem like me and my girlfriend had done some sort of criminal activity is disgusting and shameful, especially to a loyal customer like myself who regularly stays at your hotel. It shows what kind of hotel you truly are, once you know you can’t get any more money out of people, you want them to get lost.

Before I made my booking on Friday another employee told me that if I booked she’d be able to add my requested ‘flexy time’ hours to my stay on your system. After booking I spoke to the same employee, who after realising that what she told me wasn’t exactly true, passed me on to another employee, who told me they couldn’t guarantee those hours, and then tried upselling me to stay another night, which I refused as I wouldn’t need a room until after midnight, due to several different reservations I had on the Saturday. I had said to this employee that if possible I’d need to check out between 11pm - midnight, for which they said they could do as long as there was no other bookings. I arrive on the Saturday and it’s confirmed that I can have the ‘flexy times’ requested.

I rang up your reception yesterday at around 4pm to just confirm that I could check out between 11pm - midnight, as had discussed with several of your employees, which was also again agreed.

I booked a stay a week in advance last July, and had flexy time hours added to my stay. You tell me when I arrive, that I had to check out 9 hours earlier than I booked, which really ruined mine and my girlfriends plans for her birthday. Did I cause a scene? No. Did I ask for a refund? No. Did I complain or write a bad review? No. Should’ve I? Yes. When you pay £317 for a nights stay it should be as it is on the booking. I wasn’t compensated for a thing or given anything in return as a gesture of good will. So perhaps you should get rid of this ‘flexy time’ feature because you seem awfully inconsistent with it.

We was planning on coming back for Valentine’s weekend, but that’s been ruined, I’m not gonna put another penny into this Hotel. So you can thank your lovely female receptionist who finds it appropriate to threaten and intimidate paying customers. Being threatened to get thrown out of a hotel you’ve stayed at 8 times isn’t the end to the anniversary weekend my girlfriend and I had in mind.

I suggest you give this employee some customer training lessons, because threatening customers on the phone like you’re in the mob or something isn’t my idea of good customer service. OR if it’s company policy to talk to paying customers this way (especially customers who have stayed at your hotel 8 times and would’ve stayed many more) then you should rethink how you run your business and how you treat your customers.

I’ve recommended this hotel to friends and family over the past three years, but unfortunately now I wouldn’t recommend anyone spend a penny of your money here if this is the way...

UPDATE: Just found out after further review that they gave us the 'Shoebox' room instead of the 'Snug' room that we reserved. 20 square feet difference isn't dramatic, though it's kind of a slap in the face that they DOWNGRADED us because they weren't ready, instead of maybe upgrading us for their mistake. What. A. Freaking. Joke!

Let me start with all the good before getting into the bad. First, the location is great. And that’s all the good there is here. The rest is big pile of overpriced blandness trying to pass as chic.

We were in a single queen room for 6 nights, which, after taxes and fees, came to shy of $400/night; and I honestly don’t know how this hotel is rated as high as they are. My guess is that a lot of the reviews come the “open lobby”, which in my candid opinion is the main focus of the service. Sure, it makes the lobby feel like it’s buzzing with activity which can be nice if you want to be part of it, but I couldn’t help but feel that the free/open WiFi (and attention) is being sucked up by these non-hotel guests and is why it’s difficult to even upload a video during peak hours. Also, that type of open WiFi would be a huge security concern to me, just saying.

Service: well, didn’t have a great start when they didn’t even have our check-in day correct and said we were checking in a day early despite our reservation confirmations. Maybe that’s why we got such a terrible room that made it felt like a joke that we paid as much as we did. We received poor advice on where to shop/eat (the stores they recommended didn’t even have the items we asked to be referred about), and they made it seem like a crazy request to have our rooms cleaned daily, like how dare we?

If you’ve ever wanted to use the toilet, wash your feet in the shower and brush your teeth in the sink all at once then this bathroom is perfect for you, otherwise it’s one of worst user friendly bathrooms I’ve ever used. Odd angles, an awkwardly placed toilet and a half glass shower door that causes water to get into every crevice of the bathroom floor as it splashes over your forever damp ‘floor mat’ is just ridiculous.

I could go on about the AC, the terrible decorating, not getting our room cleaned even once during our stay, and more, but the moral of the story is for this amount of money the value is severely lacking. Do yourself a favor and visit the open lounge and hang out because that’s the best part of the hotel, but stay somewhere else and save yourself the money...