More than just a place to sleep, this Hoxton hotel is betting everything on becoming a genuine platform for creatives.
Picture this: you walk into a hotel reception, but instead of corporate beige you’re met with explosions of colour. Comic book characters leer from the walls, neon sculptures hum overhead, and before you’ve reached the front desk, you know this isn’t your average place to kip for the night.
Welcome to art’otel London Hoxton, a 26-storey tower that’s landed on the site of The Foundry, the Shoreditch pub once at the heart of the Brit Art movement. The kind of place where Banksy hung out.
And rather than tiptoe around that legacy, art’otel has gone all in.
Ambitious vision
Two original Banksy pieces have been preserved and mounted outside the building for everyone to see. There’s a 135-square-metre gallery on the ground floor with rotating exhibitions, and D*Face’s work is everywhere, including a specially commissioned 5m bronze sculpture out front. The hotel even wants to feature on local art tours, which tells you something about its priorities.
But here’s the thing: plenty of hotels slap art on the walls and call it culture. art’otel is trying something more ambitious: positioning itself as a genuine creative hub for the community, not just a fancy stopover for tourists. We spoke to Laurence Markham, vice president of lifestyle brands at PPHE (the group behind art’otel), to find out what that actually means.
Creative philosophy
Most hotels in this price bracket would play it safe with luxury branding and fancy toiletries. So why gamble on becoming a creative hub instead? “Our entire philosophy at art’otel is that a hotel can be more than a place to sleep,” says Laurence. “It can be a cultural hub, a platform for creativity, and a space that inspires.”
Coming into Hoxton with a conventional luxury model, he argues, would have felt disconnected. “In East London, creativity is part of the DNA. We wanted to embrace what makes this part of the city unique: its artists, its energy, its constant reinvention.”
So how does art’otel prove it’s not just borrowing cool points from the postcode? Laurence points to the Banksy works as proof of intent. “It was about respecting the creative spirit that’s always lived here,” he says. “Authenticity can’t be manufactured, you have to root yourself in what’s already there.”
And they’ve been deliberate about not keeping everything locked away for guests only. “With the placement of the Banksy art, we wanted people outside the building to see it too,” notes Laurence. Similarly, walking art tours actually come through and into the hotel. “We believe art should be accessible to all,” he stresses.
Approach to curation
So how does art’otel decide which artists and events to work with? “We approach our programming like curators,” Laurence says. “We look for artists who spark conversation, push boundaries, and reflect the diversity of the community.”
Some are big names; others are emerging talents. Through its art’beat programme, the hotel runs artist-in-residence schemes, giving studio space to up-and-coming creatives. “What they share is a spirit of innovation and a desire to connect,” Laurence explains. “It’s about creating experiences that feel fresh and open to everyone.”
The collaboration with award-winning multimedia design duo VIN + OMI during London Fashion Week is a case in point. Their DYSPHORIANA show took over Panorama, the hotel’s 24th-floor event space, with a collection made from Royal Air Force waste, fabric created with King Charles III, and even material from the hotel’s own rubbish.
VIN + OMI now serve as the hotel’s creative and sustainable ambassadors, which involves repurposing hotel waste into art and fashion pieces, and advising on greener practices. “They embody what we stand for: bold creativity with a conscience,” says Laurence. When guests see waste literally transformed into catwalk fashion, sustainability stops being an abstract concept. It becomes tangible, inspiring, and a bit cheeky; much like Hoxton itself.
Global meets local
Here’s the tricky part, though. art’otel is an international brand, but East London’s art scene is fiercely local. So how does a global corporation fit into that?
“For us, being local is core to our brand,” says Laurence. That’s why D*Face—globally renowned yet deeply rooted in East London’s street art scene—became the hotel’s signature artist. “His work captures the edge of this neighbourhood, so having it woven into the building connects us instantly to the culture around us.”
art’otel also works with D*Face’s StolenSpace Gallery, collaborates with Hackney Council and nearby businesses, and hosts free public exhibitions. “The goal is that we feel like an extension of the creative ecosystem here,” Laurence says. “We’re championing the neighbourhood’s voice while offering a platform for it to evolve.”
We also need to talk about Panorama, the 24th-floor space with amazing 360-degree views across London. Most hotel conference rooms are painfully dull; this one aims to inspire rather than stifle. “We didn’t want sterile boardrooms,” says Laurence. “We wanted somewhere people would actually want to gather, brainstorm or celebrate.” And this seems to be working in practice. Artists, designers and entrepreneurs have already used the space for launches and events that feel worlds apart from the usual hotel conference scene.
The long game
So what’s the endgame here? “We want art’otel to be a first choice for artists, designers and creatives,” Laurence says. “A place where they feel at home; a genuine hub for collaboration.” Long term, the brand hopes to be recognised as a network that nurtures creativity locally and connects it globally. “Because art’otel is international, we can link what’s happening in London with other cities, creating a global network that’s still grounded in the neighbourhood,” stresses Laurence.
It’s an ambitious vision, but one that the hotel seems committed to. After all, preserving Banksy’s work, commissioning D*Face, running residencies, building sustainable partnerships and keeping the gallery public are all long-term plays, not quick wins. And in a city where rising rents and corporate takeovers constantly squeeze creative spaces, that kind of investment matters.
If art’otel stays the course, it could genuinely become a creative hub East London relies on. Not bad for a place that also happens to have very nice beds.
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