To kick off November, I booked a last minute flight to the United Kingdom for the first time. The trip had two distinct purposes: attend the World Travel Market in London and explore the Scottish Highlands with Ivan Olafsson.
I also knew I wanted to step outside my usual landscape niche and photograph key landmarks in London. It isn’t often I know a city’s landmarks – like Tower Bridge, Big Ben, and the London Eye – from memory, but the English metropolis has always been one of the few urban destinations on my nature-centric bucket list.
Thankfully, I was able to partner with Hotel Tonight to take care of my last-minute accommodation needs. It’s a kick-ass new app that rewards spontaneity. Booking a Hotels Tonight stay means saving money on unexpected travel plans, which is exactly how I ended up at the Hoxton Shoreditch in London rather than some outskirt hotel or hostel dormitory.
Booking the Hoxton Shoreditch with Hotel Tonight
When I first looked into accommodation in London, I was pretty shocked by the prices. To stay anywhere near City Centre was going to cost me a sum of pounds I simply wasn’t willing to spend. I looked at alternatives in Fulham and Ilford, but I needed to be closer to both the WTM conference and the iconic landmarks I wished to photograph.
After checking on the Hotel Tonight app, it was fast and easy to find a suitable room at a price I could afford. While my stay was ultimately complimentary, I was also keenly aware that I’d have saved huge money using the app. They guarantee the lowest prices online.
I also conveniently ended up in one of London’s trendiest neighborhoods in London and my hotel lobby doubled as a hip cocktail bar and restaurant.
Hoxton Shoreditch Review
When Hotel Tonight stepped forward to make my trip to London easier, I was thrilled to have some say in which hotel they’d select. The Hoxton Shoreditch isn’t just a great hotel, but a hub for London’s trendy nightlife. It’s also only a few steps from the Old Street tube station, which made it easy to catch sunrise along the Thames and return home after last call at the Gherkin.
I stayed in one of the Hoxton’s designer rooms. To be honest, the room was absolutely tiny. It’s probably less than half a standard North American room; however, plenty of creative uses and décor made the space feel comfortable rather than cramped.
The bed lay within a 3-sided padded booth, which converted it into the ultimate lounging area for working on a computer or watching TV. A small desk doubled as my workstation, while a giant red chair offered more character than comfort to my digs. Because I travel with plenty of valuables and valuable data, I was thrilled to find an in-room safe I could use to stash my backup hard drives, passport, and camera equipment.
As I was committed to photographing the morning golden hour at Tower Bridge, I was forced to ignore the glow-in-the-dark quote that clung to the ceiling above my bed:
“The perfect amount of sleep is five minutes more” – unknown.
I was thankful for the early-morning breakfast delivery. A continental to-go breakfast is included and I found it hanging outside my door each morning at 6AM. I ignored the in room coffee maker in favor of a double espresso at the hotel bar, where I also spent my evenings sharing a lager with fellow photographers amid London’s hipster scene.
The hotel is only a 5 minute walk from the Old Street tube line, which makes traveling through the city so much easier – and far cheaper – than dealing with a rental car or taxi service. Even getting to and from the airport with my usual over-packed duffle was possible in less than an hour.
Use Hotel Tonight and Save
I was super impressed with my first Hotel Tonight experience and I know I’ll be using the service to help with my seemingly endless last-minute travel plans again in the future.
If you’d like to do the same, download the app and use the checkout code JBMedia to save $25 off your first booking!
Very useful article. Very interesting to read this article. I would like to thank you for the
efforts you had made for writing this awesome article.
I have many friends in London but I have never been to London because prices . Your article help me very much , Maybe I can find one cheap small hotel too and I wiil can to see my friends and discover this amazing city , thank you !