The Hoxton

The Hoxton, Paris is a central Paris hotel that focuses on super-cool design (shabby-chic in the common areas, retro-contemporary in the guest rooms) and fostering a social environment with good energy. A series of cool hangout/work areas make up the labyrinthine ground floor and basement level. These include the indoor/outdoor cobblestoned entrance area presided by a spiral, vine-wrapped wood staircase from the 1700s, where locals and guests work, read, drink coffee, and take informal meetings, and an all-day brasserie/bar/lounge space, where even non-guests can set up shop for hours with their laptops, ordering food and drink if the urge strikes, but not from any pressure from the bartender or restaurant staff. Before the Hoxton breathed new life into it, the building was an abandoned 18th-century hotel particulier, originally built as a grand mansion for Etienne Rivie, a confidant of Louis XV. That airy, skylit entrance is where horse-drawn carriages used to enter the property, and the brasserie, which commands long lines for weekend brunch, is named after the mansion's original resident.
The Hoxton brand (which has other locations in London, Amsterdam, Portland, and Brooklyn) partnered with Soho House to design the common areas and local firm Humbert & Poyet for the guest rooms. The overall effect is a hotel that doesn't feel like a hotel, with a several floors of nooks for working and socializing and a reception set far from the front door. (You'll have to go through the entrance/coffee shop/work space, hang a left, and cut through a glassed-in lounge area around the first courtyard before finally landing at the front desk.) Just past the reception a gorgeous waiting room, with an original half-moon floor mosaic and wood staircase spiraling up to a tucked-away speakeasy bar where bespoke cocktails and DJ sets are on the menu. Original art and prints by artists such as Ben Slow and James Flames are arranged gallery-style throughout the hotel, especially in stairwells.
The Hoxton's mix of history (its Rococo facade is landmarked), contemporary design, and cool social vibe have kept it at near-full occupancy since its August 2017 opening. Its presence in a formerly industrial part of the 2nd arrondissement underscores the fact that the neighborhood is enjoying a creative renaissance. The hotel attracts scene-conscious millennials, from primarily France, the U.K., and the U.S.

Veer a half-block south down Rue du Sentier from Boulevard Poissonniere and you'll spot Hoxton's discreet entrance. The street is relatively quiet, though there is a cocktail bar and theater directly across from the hotel, and the commercial boulevard to the north is full of bars, bistros, creperies, theaters and cinemas (including Le Grand Rex, just around the corner from Hoxton). The area is known for its 19th-century covered shopping passages, such as Passage des Panoramas, a seven-minute walk away. Galeries Lafayette is about a 13-minute walk west and Palais Garnier a few minutes further. The area is up and coming, thanks to the openings of this hotel and the nearby Hotel des Grands Boulevards, which opened a few months later, in early 2018. Hoxton is a one-minute walk from both the Grands Boulevards and the Bonne Nouvelle metro stops (lines 8 and 9). Getting to/from Charles de Gaulle Airport takes about 35 minutes by car and 55 minutes by train.

The 172 rooms (no suites) come in categories commonly seen across the Hoxton brand: Shoebox, Cosy, Roomy, and Biggy. Though Shoebox rooms are the smallest (140 to 183 square feet), they are almost always booked, as their top-floor locations afford amazing views of Paris -- one has Eiffel Tower view. And the hotel has cleverly optimized the tight space by utilizing sliding doors and tucking writing desks under the rafters. Upgrading guarantees more space -- Cosys are between 183 to 205 square feet, Roomys between 205 and 323, and Biggys between 248 and 388 -- but no other perks, as amenities and design are the same in every category. The two upper categories do have room for sofas and chairs that aren't found in the Shoeboxes or Cosys.
All come with vintage-style Roberts radios, flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges, and, with the exception of the Shoeboxes, high ceilings (11.5 feet on the first floor). Coffee, tea, Wi-Fi, safe usage, international calls are free in every room. All have herringbone oak floors, molded walls and ceilings, and sleek minimalist furnishings, including Lampe Gras bedside and desk lights and extra-wide full-length mirrors. Books donated by locals are set on shelves and in the bedside tables. The retro-inspired bathrooms have walk-in rainfall showers (only 10 rooms have tubs) walled by frosted glass and old-fashioned bronze grating, as well as handsome trompe l'oeil floor tiling and white subway tiling with old-timey brass fixtures on the walls. Minimalist Blank toiletries and hairdryers are provided. Most rooms overlook the courtyard.
All rooms are designed for two people, though for parents traveling with a child under the age of 12, the hotel will provide a cot or extra bed for free.

The Hoxton's features are every bit as stylish as its rooms and overall vibe. Even the subterranean, windowless meeting rooms -- a series of vaulted nooks on the lower level -- have a cool, loungey vibe, with Persian rugs, cool art, leather and velvet seating, and shelves lined with books and vintage objects. One has a modern kitchen with a powder-blue Smeg fridge, a sink, an island with bar stools, and coffee, tea, and jars of candy, cookies, and snacks. The entire underground space can be rented out for up to 80 people, and several spaces throughout the hotel, including the restaurant-adjacent L'Orangerie and the two bars, can be privatized. Catering, printing, and other business services are available. The meeting rooms share the underground space with Hox Gallery; on our November 2018 visit, Hox Gallery was fully dedicated to French-born, NYC-based Arnand Montegard's photography of Williamsburg and other parts of Brooklyn.
Rivie is the hotel's trendy, all-day brasserie/bar/workspace. Popular with both guests and non-guests, Rivie serves French-inspired meals made from local and seasonal ingredients, such as beef tartare, risotto with winter squash, and house-smoked chicken with polenta. The restaurant serves all meals, as well as a Saturday and Sunday brunch (plan on long lines). Guests can choose to eat in the dining room, the bar, the terrace, the lobby, or the glass-enclosed L'Orangerie, if it's not booked for a private event. Like at all Hoxton hotels, guests receive free breakfast bags with granola, yogurt, bananas, and orange juice delivered to their doors in the morning. A full breakfast at Rivie (with pancakes with burnt caramel, avocado toast and poached eggs, et cetera) comes with a fee. Room service is also available throughout the day.
Jacques' Bar is a speakeasy-like space hidden above reception, up a staircase original to the building. The bar has a shabby-chic boudoir feel, with velvet pink poufs, floral wallpaper, a pressed tin ceiling, and reclaimed wood Versailles parquet floors. The drink list is inspired by Morocco and includes the Postcard from Marrakech, a citrusy floral gin drink, and the Mahatma Chai, a mixture of rum, sake, chai syrup, lime, and clarified butter. In addition to cocktails, the menu offers little snacks (hummus, baba ghanoush, Moroccan pastries). A DJ plays on weekends, and the bar can be rented out for private events. The hotel's wine bar, Planche, is open every night for cheese and charcuterie plates and red, white, sparking, and dessert wines by the glass or bottle.
There are no fitness/wellness facilities or dedicated concierge, though discount passes to local gyms are available at the front desk, which is open 24 hours a day. Laundry service is available for a fee and luggage storage and bike rentals can be arranged for free. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.