The Rokxy Townhouses & Residences - Kings Cross

The suite was amazing, the photos don’t do it justice as to how nicely decorated and clean the place is. Location was great, really easy access… the comfiest beds I’ve ever had in a hotel, everywhere was fresh and clean throughout.

Very nicely furnished, and amenities (great hairdryer, towels are nice and soft, the bed needs a second mention… so so good. Black out curtains were great too. Air con was a very nice addition.

Hosts were brilliant too, attentive and easily accessed via WhatsApp.

Booked direct on their website and got such a good deal.

Will definitely be staying again.

Chambre propre et très bien équipée (sèche cheveux, bouilloire, four), climatisation très efficace. Personnel attentionné et à écoute des demandes. Petites attentions appréciables, comme un thé servi le matin, des boissons offertes, ou un petit sandwich offert à l'arrivée.

I'll start by noting that this review is specific to my visit on a day when the temperature in London hit 30º C. Also, as it so happens, I was a professional hotel critic in the early 2000s before the internet killed most print journalism, and London was my core market: I reviewed 100+ hotels there over a five-year period, including a number of similar hotels to the Rokxy (London has quite a few townhouse-style hotels, particularly near Paddington).

Upon arrival – and after trudging up three flights of stairs (most townhouse hotels lack lifts) – I discovered the room I'd been assigned had no air conditioning. Since it was a late booking and I already knew about the unusually high heat, the only reason I reserved the room in the first place was because its Expedia listing plainly stated that it had A/C. (The room being in or near the building's attic also only made it hotter.) Suffice it to say I wasn't exactly pleased that the manager refused to move me – unless I agreed to a £15/night upcharge for an air-conditioned room – until I produced physical proof that I booked what I said I booked, namely a screenshot of their Expedia listing noting the A/C.

While the manager finally relented at that point, and moved me into a larger air-conditioned room, he made a snarky remark as I was moving that I got a "free upgrade." No, I got what I paid for: a room with badly needed aircon. It's in no way my own fault if the hotel screwed up its OTA (online travel agency) listing as claimed – which they blamed on Expedia, but hotels set up their own lists of room amenities on OTA sites, so I figured that wasn't accurate. (After I started writing this review, I needed to check something on the hotel's listing page here, and a guest there the week before me who left a review had an eerily similar issue, except with Booking.com instead of Expedia. Given that the two are rivals, there's no chance they both made the same mistake.)

Further, the least expensive room available with A/C during my visit was £240/night. I could've literally stayed at a five-star hotel even closer to Kings Cross or St Pancras – either The Standard down the block, or the Great Northern – for less than that. (Or the all-new Virgin Hotel in Shoreditch for £199, also a five-star. Or nearly any given four-star property.) That said, while they moved me to an air-conditioned room, it was a ground-floor room that sits almost literally next door to the front desk. While the surrounding neighborhood is quiet, I was awoken repeatedly by people entering & leaving the building itself. It also solidified my initial impression of the Rokxy: they focused nearly all of their efforts on "cool design & gadgetry" than practicalities. (Like, say, improved sound insulation: I could also hear people stomping around above me for much of the evening.)

I know there are limits to how much a mid-19th-century building can be upgraded in terms of practicality – also if it's Grade II-listed, though I don't know if that's the case here – but I'm frankly baffled why they'd waste money on frills few will use such as a Peloton bike or vintage gaming arcade, when adding mini-split aircon units into as many rooms as possible makes far more sense. I've stayed in quite a few such properties, which is likely why I was so taken aback that the owners didn't get the basic stuff right before focusing on the perks.

While on the subject of practicality: unfortunately it's a tell from an inexperienced interior designer when they focus on style, not substance. My room – which isn't shown in the pics anywhere on either their own website or this one – didn't even have any quirky wallpaper or great natural light. Rather, it was a large room with a dated-looking "sponge-paint" job and a cramped all-fibreglass-enclosed bathroom area, and despite having tall ceilings, the room was extremely dark even in the middle of the day (it had a full-size window, but Argyle Square has a large tree canopy). Worse still, seemingly no thought was given to practicalities like task lighting: aside from cold LED lights above, the room's ONLY lighting was a single desk lamp. The bed had no bedside or task lighting of any kind, making reading impossible except via backlit screen.

While I'm guessing this hotel would be mostly fine on a given mild-temperature day – a 4.6-star cumulative rating at this writing suggests it, and despite some oddness, the manager responded to my enquiries quickly each time (and included items like free bottled water & Pepsi in my Smeg fridge) – I would STRONGLY recommend staying in an air-conditioned room if you're visiting in the summer months, with the definite caveat of taking note of the hotel's quite-confusing room naming scheme before booking anything. Using the descriptions on their own website: the Townhouse Penthouse isn't what most would call a "penthouse" (it's a first-floor unit), and definitely lacks luxuries one typically associates with them (like, say, air-conditioning). The only townhouse rooms that have it are in their "Crash Pad" category, never mind that it sounds more like something you'd see at a hostel. (They also have quite-pricey apartment-style options available, but you can find those for a third to half of the price at many Staycity & Locke properties in London and the UK.)

I get that they're trying, but for lack of a better term: they're doing it wrong. As a case in point, this is a direct quote from one of their emails (including the odd emojis):

"Every morning, anytime from 7:30 AM until 9 AM, we will bring a delightful trolley 🛎️ or a room service tray 🧺 right to your door. Inside, you'll find a freshly brewed pot of English Breakfast tea 🫖, a small snack 🍪, creamy milk portions 🥛, and the day's newspaper 📰(No newspaper during weekends)."

Problem: I don't like tea, nor do most people under the age of 50 nowadays (and coffee apparently isn't an option); I needed a full breakfast versus a small snack; I usually sleep till 10am, so any warm drinks would be cold by then; and I don't think I've read a print newspaper in over a decade. This gesture is thus considerate and yet severely misguided IMO, at least in terms of what modern-day guests truly want. (I would've appreciated an in-room Nespresso machine far more. And a delivery window later than 9am. And a checkout later than 10:30am. Or how about an iPad with access to the Guardian, Independent and Times? Other hotels have it.)

I think this place has potential, but I'm baffled by its curious refusal to add aircon to so many of its rooms – especially since IIRC they own a half-dozen townhouse also in Argyle Square – and would strongly suggest asking what their guests *actually* like, as opposed to simply assuming. (I also think they need to be more realistic with their pricing, at least if they insist on keeping the rooms sans aircon the same.)

Location and staff were very helpful and accommodating.

Peter was an absolute doll. He made the check-in process seamless and warm. He was so kind and helpful. The rooms were eclectic and fun, with little touches that gave it character. There was a nice personal note upon arrival as well as free drinks and a delicious cucumber sandwich. The location was perfect and a short walk to Kings Cross making it super easy to hop on the train to the airport.

Property was gorgeous with lovely rooms. The staff were so friendly and helpful, piping cases in our room for us when we were out shopping. Perfect location and right next to kings X which was so useful and easy. Will definitely be staying here again our next trip to London.

Außergewöhnliches Hotel mit fantastischem Service!

​Ein rundum perfekter Aufenthalt! Das Haus ist wunderschön und sehr besonders eingerichtet. Zur Begrüßung wurden wir mit tollen Geschenken, Snacks und sogar einem kostenlosen Überraschungsfrühstück überrascht – einfach ein fantastischer Service! (Ein größeres Frühstück kann man gegen Aufpreis buchen).

​Alles war super sauber und die Lage optimal direkt zwischen zwei Bahnhöfen. Hinweis für Menschen mit mobilen Einschränkungen: Die Dusche in unserem Zimmer war etwas speziell und daher vielleicht nicht barrierefrei.

​Für uns war aber alles absolut stimmig und schön. Wir haben uns extrem wohlgefühlt und kommen definitiv wieder!

Good location.
Very nice present on arrival and even complimentary sandwiches.
Clean.

We booked the double room which was tiny and was not comfortable for two people with luggage it also didn’t have air conditioning which was horrible as it was so hot. Luckily they had a room available with air conditioning which we swapped to which was bigger so paid a bit extra to upgrade.

The staff were very friendly and the service and small extra touches were really good like the mini bar and the sandwich on arrival.

Location was great as so close to the station but also opposite a park with homeless people there so it felt a bit of a rough area.

This was perfect for a quick stopover- small but comfortable with everything required plus additional touches. Refreshments for arrival and a gorgeous pot of tea delivered to door in the morning. Staff terrific even though did not see face to face.

I had a great stay, a small capsule room with bathroom, spotlessly clean. Lots of much appreciated and unexpected treats. A 'very cool' vibe to the room with a fridge, coffee machine, kettle, microwave all available and sweet touch of a cuppa in the morning just before I checked out! Great service, felt personal and authentic! Thank you.

The location is great foe anyone needing to be in the Kings Cross area. The hotel was extremely clean and the the decor is lovely. The staff are friendly and helpful.We slept well as it was very quiet.

We arrived hot and tired having walked quite a way due to tubes being suspended. So we weren’t in the best frame of mind and were running short on time to get to a reservation. Google Maps took us to one of their buildings (it’s split across multiple properties) and it just had a phone number, which we called and called but took a while for anyone to pick up & direct us to the correct building as they were in a meeting.

We were shown to our room, only to find that we’d been downgraded. This was particularly irritating as I’d had a conversation at booking to ensure we had a queen room (and queen sized bed!) booked, not a double.

After some faffing, they moved us to a new room, and we quickly changed to go out. Only when we opened the en suite door, an overwhelming stench of sewage filled the room - like gag worthy levels. At this point we needed to leave to avoid losing our booking, so left our bags there and went back to reception to report the issue and request a new (third) room. We said we would be back in about an hour and were assured we’d have a new room and they would move our bags.

We got back, room as expected. However, our belongings? Not so. We were missing a reusable water bottle, and another water bottle we’d put aside and was IN one of our bags we left unzipped had gone. So we reported the missing items. One had been binned and the other mysteriously reappeared with someone at the door. What I take issue is with any hotel throwing away someone’s belongings without permission, and ‘losing’ something else in transit. Not cool. It’s not about the items themselves per se. It’s that it damages the trust you would expect as standard when it comes to personal property.

It’s a shame because the hotel itself is well located and the bed was unusually comfy - both criteria we value highly, so I’m left feeling somewhat conflicted about the experience.

Good location, like the decor.