Review: Hart Shoreditch, another impressive Hilton Curio Collection hotel

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.

Where is Hart Shoreditch?

Hart Shoreditch first opened in February 2020 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.

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:

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:

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:

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:

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

You then have the rest of the room:

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):

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:

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

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

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:

After the bed is the sofa:

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:

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:

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:

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

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:

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

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.

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:

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.