west london

Notting Hill Pretty Houses

- Vicki Leave a comment
Prety notting hill london

I always knew Notting Hill was a pretty part of London, but I’d forgotten just how lovely it is to grab a takeaway coffee and explore this area. Walking up and down all the streets and little mews, seeing all the painted houses, they are so bright and cheerful.

We visited just as KURO Coffee were opening up their new café (right beside their eatery) & it was lovely. It’s a small space, but they have a bench outside for nicer days and a few seats upstairs too. The matcha, coffee and pastries were 10/10. I highly recommend, and you can spy on all the people queuing to get in Egg break which is just across the street. I do hear that it is not worth the wait, have you been?


I loved this building, it is Hillgate House which was built in 1851 by James Betts of St Pancras and was originally a chapel but is now used as offices. The building is so charming and looks impressive on the street with its iron railings, red brick and mosaic tiled entrance. There are so many incredible buildings in this area.

The streets of Notting Hill are so charming and inspiring to explore, you can just walk up and down, taking in all the colours and the fun front doors. I know it costs millions to purchase one, but you can dream and be inspired. It inspires me, that’s for sure. Even when the sky is typically British grey and the weather wet and damp, Notting Hill is a happy place.

We did visit in October, so a few houses had their Halloween decorations up, which were fun to see. Compared to where I live they go all out & make quite the effort, it was cool to spot the houses with the pumpkins, skeletons and spooky scenes. If you can visit during Halloween, you have to, it’s such a vibe.

I also really liked the old Dunhill pipe and tobacco factory (1916–1946) on Uxbridge street which has since been converted to beautiful flats. What a slice of history to live in, it is such a beautiful building. There’s so much rich history in this area if you look closely, a real mix of modern and traditional and so many green spaces and rich cultural history. You can spend days just exploring this area.

What is your favourite part of London to explore? Let me know if you have any café / restaurant recommendations for the Notting Hill area, as I can’t wait to head back in the warmer months. You can see part one of my London trip here.

Hoxton Hotel Shepherds Bush

- Vicki Leave a comment
hoxton hotel shepherds bush

On our recent visit to London, we opted to stay a little out of the centre at the relatively new Hoxton in Shepherds Bush, West London. The hotel has a little over 200 rooms and the decor was quite typical of what you’d expect from the Hoxton, lovely rich colours and textures throughout and with a slight retro vibe. The entrance is great, very welcoming and comfortable, with a bar at the centre and the restaurant, café seating and lobby all around. There is plenty of space and seating, which I must admit has been an issue at some of the other Hoxton Hotels I have stayed at.

We are members of the Hoxton Disloyalty Club which gives you discounts off stays, flexible check-in and checkout, discount off food and drink, oh & my favourite perk is a free hot drink 365 days a year! We arrived at 11am and our room was just getting finished, so we had a drink in the lobby. The lobby is so calm, the seats are well spread out & very comfy and there are lots of options depending on whether you need somewhere to relax, work or accommodate a bigger group.

We opted for a ‘Cosy Park View‘ room, which had a huge window that spans the length of the entire room and let in so much light. It had a really nice view over the park and I could even see Westfield shopping centre, so if you love to shop or need somewhere to grab some food, it is literally across the street. The room was spacious, and the bathroom was too with a rainfall shower, nice products and good lighting. The bed was huge, very, very comfy and the curtains were completely blackout. We slept so well, every night. The room was silent, and we didn’t even hear anyone in the corridor or in their rooms, so peaceful. Once inside the hotel, you would not think it was on quite a busy park corner, there was no noise.

I just love the individual mugs for each hotel (which you can buy), they’re all different colours and have the hotel address embossed in the ceramic and a positive word / phrase inside. They remind me of the monopoly board, and the collector / geek in me wants to get them all, which might prove expensive. The Hoxton always have great quality coffee & tea in the room, as well as water in the fridge. They always put something in your room if you’re celebrating a special occasion, such a nice touch.

Although this hotel is not in central London it is a really cool part of West London, Shepherds Bush is vibrant and full of places to eat and drink, day & night. It has a busy market and access to two tube stations, Shepherds Bush Market tube is a 2-minute walk from the hotel and on the Circle and Hammersmith & City Lines and a 5-minute walk along the park gives you access to another Shepherds Bush station on the Central Line. So it is very well-connected.

The bar and lounge area are very nice with lots of different seating and plenty of room. We sat at the bar one evening for a drink, the prices are quite high (as you come to expect from a hotel bar) but the drinks were great, nice atmosphere and the staff were friendly.

So all in all, the Hoxton Shepherds Bush was 10/10. We thoroughly enjoyed our 4 nights here, loved the neighbourhood & the transport links right into central London. The hotel even without Disloyalty discount was very reasonable in price. The staff were so accommodating and friendly, the room was quiet and we loved the Park view. Just a reminder that if you do use your Disloyalty discount you can get a free coffee at any Hoxton every day, even a takeaway! Let me know which is your favourite Hox to stay in and if you have stayed here.