Snapshots of people of London. Like camera shutters flickering, catching a specific moment in time. The reality is that even with close observation you never really know what’s going on with a person until you step into their shoes. There are so many different London lives lived. Travellers, locals, those rushing around on a business dime.
In Holborn you see an ample view of many of these contributors to the capital. Like a reality TV show but witnessed in real time. The Metro held over a trench-coated head as the rain begins to fall. The staggering bodies of two friends keeping each other warm on their way home from a night out. A silent observer lighting up a cigarette on a street corner.
Some of these London people are depicted on the side of the NYX hotel on Theobalds Road. A huge mural that befits this hotel’s unique urban style, its eye-catching colours painted by artist ‘DANK’ otherwise known as Dan Kitchener, drench one side of the building over 125ft, and is allegedly the tallest mural in London. Inside, the colour follows similarly, befitting the overall theme of this sub-brand of Leonardo hotels, when otherwise greyer scapes of local legal practice and awesome examples of academia, dominate.
The ground floor art collection for NYX Hotel London Holborn was commissioned and curated by Carrie Neely, Art Consultant and Director of Art Loves Art Consultancy. Beady eyes will spot the cute shiny black leopard (or could it be sphinx?) that guards the reception staff while you check in, an 1980s style Arcade game booth that flanks the foyer-meets-bar (and only makes me itch to go and see Back to The Future again, currently playing at The Adelphi in town – such are the throwback vibes). There’s also the lady lamp, if only I knew her real name, curated by Jimmie Martin, who monitors those entering and exiting the (standard issue hotel) lifts. Stripy in her wares, she blends into the background, camouflaged but no less simultaneously present in her attire.
Upstairs the bedroom are no less vivacious in their style. With a background black hue that is mirrored in the colour of the toiletries, ironically from The White Company, eliciting aromas of amber, mandarin and sandalwood, the sizeable double beds host eyemasks and ear plugs, providing sweet relief from any alternative distraction – perhaps best summarised as snacks found in the mini bar (mostly housed in a mini bright red smeg fridge), or the imposing artwork on the walls, watching your every move. Views overlook the perhaps less sparkling city, except that I am staying over Christmas, and so the street lights warm up in their festive glow as the sun cools down on another indelible London sky.
One of the additional boons of staying at the NYX, which other similarly priced-pointed hotels may not offer, is the Rena Spa – an almost secret swimming pool, sauna and steam room located in the basement of the building. Guests can also book a series of treatments, and whilst I didn’t try one myself, there are plenty of Google and TripAdvisor reviews to consider before booking. The chance to swim away a few knotty thoughts before dinner later that evening was definitely a welcome opportunity on my self-imposed stay-cay itinerary, quietly slotting in amongst another few other international guests of a similar disposition. The spa also offers day passes and packages for anyone looking for metropolitan respite.
A born and bred Londoner came to join me for dinner, but prior to our sitting down, we strolled the windy streets of welcomely deserted, low-key London. A chance to connect with where we find ourselves, when the crowds have run away. And remember that this is a place for ready and real reckoning. Vibrant Covent Garden is within a mere ten minute walk, while the charms of Lambs Conduit Street where history further unfolds to a tune of independent culinary and creative finesse, is another ten minutes in the other direction.
My friend and I choose a third route: brushing past hat shops and book shops and one selling beautiful ceramics, the illuminated columns of the British Museum and their elongated shadows remind us of all the capital has to offer, when not rushing around on a commuter’s loom. We pause to read the signs for the current ‘Picasso: Printmaker’ exhibition (on until the end of March 2025), before making our way back to NYX’s MidTown restaurant. Monikered more after Middle America or Middle East than Middle London, its clientele finding themselves somewhere betwixt.
After some significant cocktail conversation (mine a Amateur de Litchi involving Vodka, Kwai Feh, Elderflower and Ginger Beer) to a background of music that is described as ‘laidback pop mixed with triphop, rock and folktronica’, our food orders arrive from kind-footed hosts, sporting cheery attire that nods to the time of year. We dive into Gouda and Bacon doughnuts and Cauliflower Zatar, before two rounds of steak and chips arrive. Unfortunately the rooftop bar is closed when we visit, but being on the 10th floor, it would surely offer the best view for a handsome cityscape nightcap.
The final note on this stay in a colourful corner of the capital is breakfast. Papers await on the 1st floor desk for you to choose to shelter within once dining. A pretty good spread awaits hungry travellers, complete with omelette station where chief omelette creator barely bats an eyelid but offers a smile when asked how many eggs in her lifetime she has cracked.
If the bright hues of the Whitley Gin bottles behind the bar don’t appeal, or the double-take art on offer, the characters of life and residence might just paint this London staycation portrait. Because lively or intimate, when you get up close and personal, what matters is the devil in the detail.
For more information about The NYX Hotel London, including details of the Rena Spa and ‘After Hours at the NYX’, please visit www.nyx-hotels.co.uk.
