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Review: Hart Shoreditch, another impressive Hilton Curio Collection hotel

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This is our review of the Hart Shoreditch hotel, London.

It is part of Hilton’s Curio Collection of luxury independent hotels. These are properties which market themselves via Hilton and which allow you to earn and spend Hilton Honors points as well as enjoying your Hilton status benefits.

After reviewing Lost Property St Paul’s a few weeks ago I was keen to check out Hart Shoreditch. Whilst both hotels are part of Hilton’s independent and boutique Curio Collection, they differ in their design. Lost Property is more traditionally English whilst Hart Shoreditch features more latin-inspired post-industrial chic. Both are great options if you’re looking for new, design-led properties near the City of London.

The hotel offered us a room for review purposes.

The hotel website is here.

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London

Where is Hart Shoreditch?

Hart Shoreditch first opened in December 2019 but was forced to close soon after due to the pandemic. Fortunately, the hotel survived and now appears to be a popular option for those looking to be near either the City or Shoreditch.

The hotel is named after the previous tenants of the buildings, the Harts, a cabinet making company from the 19th century.

The Hart Shoreditch hotel is on Great Eastern Street. It is a short walk from Old Street tube station, heading towards Shoreditch. You are just seconds away from the core Shoreditch / Hoxton bars and clubs. Gloria, the restaurant, is just across the street.

Map Hart Shoreditch hotel London

If you know where the Nobu Hotel is, the Hart is literally 30 seconds away.

Inside the Hart Shoreditch hotel

First impressions of the hotel are good. The decor has changed slightly since I was last there, with the lobby bar and restaurant featuring a takeover from Argentinian chef Fernando Trocca. You could almost convince yourself you are in South America, rather than Shoreditch:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London bar

In fact, the lobby was buzzing when I checked in mid-afternoon with plenty of guests and locals using the seating for work or meetings. It definitely created a lively atmosphere which is much more pleasant than lobbies that are devoid of life.

The check-in desks are tucked away on the left:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London reception

Rooms at Hart Shoreditch

There are 126 rooms at Hart Shoreditch. I was given a Junior Suite at the hotel on 4th floor (there are five in total).

The only real difference between a Junior Suite and a standard room is the size, with the Junior Suite large enough to accommodate a two person sofa along with the bed.

Because the room is on a corner, I had a slightly unusually-shaped room with the bathroom right by the entrance:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London bathroom

It’s not huge, but you do get a good-sized shower, albeit no bath-tub. It looks good, with brass features and convincing marble effect tiling:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London shower

Toiletries are ‘Nordic Musk’ scented from the Muro Scent Co:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London toiletries

You then have the rest of the room:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London bedroom

Set into the wall you have a small mini bar area, with kettle, Nespresso machine and mini fridge (stocked with two complimentary bottles of water):

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London

The Nespresso machine is a feature only in Superior category rooms and above, I believe. Slightly bizarrely there is no plug socket for the kettle – you’ll need to plug it in elsewhere.

Of course, there is a king bed:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London junior suite

A Marshall bluetooth speaker is provided – very convenient. There are dual-gang sockets on both sides, both with two USB-A ports as well.

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London bed

Opposite the bed is a small console table underneath a wall-mounted TV:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London bedroom

I was initially excited to see a selection of over 100 films to watch on demand, including recent releases. However, it turns out these are pay-per-view – the one I wanted to watch (but didn’t) was £9.99 for a 24-hour period. I did manage to cast to the TV from the YouTube app, however.

Next to the bed you have a row of wardrobes. For some odd reason the very last door was locked in place and unusable:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London wardrobe

After the bed is the sofa:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London suite

Opposite is a floor-to-ceiling storage unit with zig-zag doors that open to reveal another TV.

In the window I had a small desk and stool with a vanity mirror:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London

This is the hotel’s one weakness, as the stool is hardly a comfortable seat to work from. (Long term readers may remember that Rob once booked the hotel during covid for a ‘work from hotel’ day but had to leave after seeing the stool!) I suppose it encourages you to head down to the lobby to work but it isn’t ideal if you need some privacy for calls.

I had a view of the City:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London view

You can’t fault the style of the rooms, which nod to the industrial history of the site through the widespread use of copper finishes.

Breakfast and dinner at Mostrador

Rather than offer a long-term dining concept, Hart Shoreditch appears to change things up by offering full take-overs of the dining facilities every year or so.

Currently, it’s the turn of Argentinian chef Fernando Trocca who operates Sucre in Soho. The lobby bar is a fun place to enjoy a cocktail or two before heading out to dinner:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London bar

The restaurant has also had a bit of a South American makeover, with fabric-tassle-bunting zigzagging across the ceiling:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London restaurant

The menu is quite interesting, although I was more taken by the starters and snacks than the main courses which were a bit more traditional. In the end, we decided to share a number of plates. Highlights included the ham hock & manchego croquettes and the chicken liver parfait:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London dinner

Meanwhile, the linguine with sardines and capers. It may not look like much, but it was by far my favourite dish of the evening:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London

Whilst I enjoy ceviche as much as anyone, the scallop sashimi was overpowered by lime juice and the sweetbread lollipops lacked a bit of flair.

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London dinner

The breakfast menu is much smaller. You get a choice of pastry, a main dish, plus a hot drink and juice. The main dishes include chia pudding, granola or sourdough toast and cream cheese. There are just two hot options, one of which is the fried egg muffin with avocado and bacon:

Review Hart Shoreditch hotel London breakfast

There is bad news for Full English breakfast lovers because it is not on the menu. Whilst the options fit in the typical Shoreditch vibe, it did seem quite restrictive given that the Hart is a relatively large hotel and could easily sustain a buffet.

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed my stay at the Hart Shoreditch hotel. It is a well-designed, characterful hotel in a good location for both work and pleasure.

Rooms are a little on the small side, although not out of the ordinary for London, and well appointed bar the lack of a bigger desk and actual chair. The Marshall speaker was a nice touch, and the tech aspects of the room (casting to the TV) worked well.

Dinner at Mostrador is good but I do think it struggles against the sheer number of excellent outside options in Shoreditch. On a Friday night it wasn’t as busy as I expected, although certainly not empty. The Hart Shoreditch is a hotel that would really work well with a destination restaurant that also appeals to non-guests.

If I had to pick a favourite between Hart Shoreditch and Lost Property St Pauls for a weekend stay in London it would probably be the Hart, thanks mainly to its post-industrial-latin-fusion design and Shoreditch location.

Rates at the Hart Shoreditch start at £180 per night in March, whilst a Hilton Honors redemption starts at 51,000 points per night.

You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.


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Comments (51)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • yorkieflyer says:

    Why oh why would I want to have a leisure stay in a room without a bath? Hate the trend to omit baths, even Premier Inns let me have a leisurely soak

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:

      Some hotels offer a choice of both. I know in the Hilton Bournemouth the standard and exec rooms have some with baths (with shower inside the bath) and others with just showers. They’re the same category rooms just trying to cater for different preferences. Unfortunately there’s no way to specify your preference (I’m sure there used to be) and the online check-in doesn’t tell you but the reception staff can see on their system which rooms have a bath+shower and which just a shower.

      There was a quirky Curio in Barcelona (Alexandra Hotel I think it was called) which upgraded me to a room with a bath… it was only the terrace! It was very private, I did check to see that nobody could see in but I opted for the shower that was in the usual place in the bathroom instead

    • JDB says:

      Why on earth would they waste premium London space putting in a bath? Hippos wallow, humans shower.

      • yorkieflyer says:

        Because a shower is a necessity and a bath is a luxury. If space is at such a premium I wonder why we don’t see more bunk beds? Its choice that is being removed, I recall very nice rooms in the Hilton being compromised with only a shower in my first experience of this plague a few years ago.

        • yorkieflyer says:

          Hilton Vienna Plaza

        • Tom says:

          Have not had a bath in maybe 30 years. Only showers.

          Hotels should b discouraging such profligate use of water and power.

        • DevonDiamond says:

          I’m happy to use the hotel’s hot water and save having to clean my own bath afterwards

        • JDB says:

          @yorkieflyer – What’s luxurious about sitting or lying in some chemically soapy soup blended with dirt?

          • yorkieflyer says:

            Though obviously content to sleep in a bed with pillows and duvets occupied by thousands before you?

    • BJ says:

      I prefer to have both bath and shower, but not shower over bath. I much prefer a large shower stall to a shower over bath. Detest any of them in hotels with poor housekeeping which are all too common in Europe and the Americas regardless of price point.

  • Harrier25 says:

    I’m staying at Lost Property next Monday, I hope not to be disappointed as I won’t be able to help myself comparing it with the Trafalgar which is the only Curio property I have stayed at to date, and what a fantastic hotel that is!

    • Mr Benjamin Murphy-Ryan says:

      I hope you booked a mid-size room as a minimum – I got an upgrade to a premium Queen at lost property and was tiny – was glad it was for one person that stay. Junior suite upgrade I had time before there was decent. That said, I like the hotel and location overall for the city/clerkenwell

  • Radiata says:

    As a recent Diamond the lack of a lounge mildly discourages Curio bookings. Have also found some (e.g. 100 Queens Gate) a little pernickety in respect to included breakfast. Staff were wonderful and even apologetic with respect to restrictions.

  • pauldb says:

    Not sure why I feel compelled to try solving the mystery but I imagine the false wardrobe door is hiding some of the hotel’s vertical plumbing – it has to go somewhere in a conversion.

  • BJ says:

    Thanks for the review. Wasn’t this hotel reviewed previously on HfP, ISTR the stool being called out before?

    Can any of those readers who stayed here please comment on whether the rooms and public areas were reasonably bright and airy? I’m not a fan of dull and dismal at all.

    • Rob says:

      It wasn’t really a review – as it says in the article, I tried to do a ‘work from hotel’ there during covid, but walked out and took a refund when I saw the stool.

      Still got HH points and elite night credit so wasn’t a total waste 🙂

    • Stu_N says:

      @BJ it is pretty bright from what I remember, the restaurant has big windows onto the main road and bar has floor to ceiling glass on the quiet lane side IIRC (you can see these in the pictures). Decor is limestone and brass which adds to airy feel.

      • BJ says:

        Thanks Stu, I thought the photos looked quite good but sometimes it can be hard to tell for sure from them.

  • ChrisM says:

    We stayed here 2 weeks before the lockdown but hadn’t realised it was so new. The signage is so understated that we couldn’t find the entrance and walked up and down a couple of times before finding it. Like another poster, no gold upgrade was forthcoming, but after a mild grumble, we were given a junior suite as featured. The hotel had a good atmosphere and IIRC, they were advertising a “work from the bar” package for £35 including lunch, wifi and coffees.

  • His Holyness says:

    How bad is Hilton Islington? Should I brace myself?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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