The Hux Hotel

LONDON

Words: Matt Turner Photography: Courtesy of The Hux Hotel The entrance to The Hux Hotel may be discreet – tucked away behind an inconspicuous black door between a hair salon and an Italian chain restaurant on Kensington High Street – yet once inside, the decor is anything but.

Up the steps to the cocktail lounge-cumlobby, this 24-key, four-suite boutique hotel reveals itself in a dramatic riot of vibrant colour, accompanied by a curated collection of provocative artwork and stuffed animals. Mustard and aubergine-hued upholstery pops against the deep blue walls and atmospheric lighting, while extensive indoor foliage enhances the tropical aesthetic.

Owner Ben Patrick says he aimed to create an entirely different experience to any other property in the capital, and that the accommodation is almost secondary. “People come here for an experience – the music, the artwork, the bar,” he quips. “If they stay overnight, it’s a bonus.”

The hotel is equal parts late-night drinking den, live music venue and London bolthole. By day, it serves as a cosy spot for coffee or brunch, and by night, the spaces really come alive. The tiny reception desk converts to a bar counter, while the piano – impromptu jazz performances are a regular occurrence – doubles as a perch for more ornithological statuary.

In the bar, the concise nine-drink cocktail menu has been inspired by taxidermy as much as mixology. The hotel’s menagerie of resident animals is a veritable Noah’s Ark, with peacocks, monkeys and a towering giraffe watching down from staircases and darkened corners with beady their eyes. A pair of canoodling penguins at the end of the bar have influenced the Pingu & Flipper Nest, made with vanilla vodka, frangelico, Chartreuse and white cacao liqueur, while the Pigelou Pipe Show is smoky, rich in rum and infused with absinthe.

Art plays a central role too. At the top of the staircase, a graphic work proclaims in bold neon type against a London streetmap background, ‘It’s nice here innit’. And who are we to argue?