Alyssa Powell/Business Insider
- Hoxton Hotels just opened a new location in downtown Los Angeles in a stunningly updated 1922 beaux-arts building with a great rooftop.
- The rooms are small (European-style, this is a British brand after all), but the design-forward approach, buzzy dining scene, and picturesque rooftop pool are serious draws.
- I spent a night in a "Roomy" room, which starts at $215. Smaller options can be booked for as low as $179, which is a nice deal for style-minded travelers.
- Read all Insider Picks hotel reviews here.
As a Los Angeles native who treasures my 1936 home and makes every effort to lovingly maintain its vintage style, I just adore seeing other buildings that reflect the city's vibrant, aesthetically stunning history, updated for modern comfort.
So, I was eager to check out Hoxton Hotels' new location in downtown Los Angeles.
Opened in October, The Hoxton Downtown L.A. is the ninth hotel in the group (which also has relatively new locations in London, Europe, Brooklyn, Portland, and Chicago), which originated in London. It took over the 10-story Los Angeles Railway Building, a vintage beaux arts-style structure from 1922 that once housed the L.A. Railway Authority, and later, a garment manufacturer and candy shop.
The building is very much a part of the city's history. Downtown L.A.'s heyday really began in the 1920s and '30s and saw spectacular architectural and cultural development before starting a decline. The Hoxton's style feels like a throwback to those glory days. Which is, in contrast, to some of downtown's newer hotel towers, like the decade-old JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton. They're comfortable, amenity-rich, and glamorous, but not historically distinguished in the same way.
The Hoxton is located in the bustling heart of a revitalized downtown area bursting with dining, entertainment, and the nearby Los Angeles Convention Center. The collection of travelers I saw at the hotel when I visited appeared to include those mostly visiting for events or conferences that were buzzing around purposefully with lanyards and rolling bags. The crowd was mostly young and overtly stylish, but at least one elderly couple haunted the lobby spaces during a visit that overlapped with mine.
The Hoxton's new incarnation is fairly compact and intimate, though there are still a respectable 174 rooms in all. Rooms tend to be small. The entry-level type is dubbed "Snug," and starts at $179 for under 200 square feet on average. The category name is also an apt description.
I spent the night in the third tier, "Roomy," which was comped for review purposes but starts at $215 per night, and fills an average of 259 square feet. Reasonable, but not super spacious.
The largest type is "Biggy," which are only moderately larger at an average of 301 square feet, with rates starting at $233.
The smallish rooms are perhaps also a nod to the hotel brand's European roots, where rooms tend to be smaller. But communal spaces, dining, and drinking options are stylish and cool, intended to lure guests out of their rooms. Indeed, they're frequented by hip locals, and the rooftop pool has killer views of the downtown skyline - a slam dunk for the 'Gram.
The Hoxton Downtown Los Angeles is for those who eschew traditional, sometimes generic hotel chains, choosing a stay that's experiential and photogenic over the chance to earn loyalty points. I checked out the historic-meets-hip concept and found it delivered every bit on that promise.
Need more Los Angeles hotel suggestions? Read our list of the best hotels in Los Angeles.
- The first impression
- The room
- On-site amenities
- What's nearby
- What others say
- What you need to know
- The bottom line
- Book the Hoxton Downtown Los Angeles starting at $179 a night here
Keep reading to see why I was so impressed by the Hoxton Downtown Los Angeles
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