Overview
First Impressions
The Hanbury Townhouse sits on a quiet residential street in Islington, and honestly, you might walk right past it if you’re not paying attention. The Victorian facade doesn’t scream “hotel” — which is exactly the point. This unique boutique hotel feels more like you’re staying at a well-connected friend’s gorgeous home than checking into a commercial property.
The Neighborhood Feel
What I love about this spot is how genuinely local it feels. You’re a five-minute walk from Upper Street’s buzzing restaurant scene, but the immediate area around the hotel is all tree-lined streets and charming Georgian houses. The Angel tube station is close enough (about 8 minutes on foot), but you’ll actually want to explore on foot — there’s a great little coffee shop just around the corner that locals queue up for every morning.
Inside the Townhouse
The interior design strikes this perfect balance between historic character and modern comfort. Each room feels individually crafted rather than cookie-cutter corporate. I mean, some still have original fireplaces and these gorgeous high ceilings with period moldings. The bathrooms are surprisingly spacious for London standards, and they’ve managed to fit proper walk-in showers without destroying the building’s character.
Dining and Common Spaces
There isn’t a formal restaurant, but that’s not really a drawback here. The ground floor has this lovely communal area where they serve a continental breakfast — nothing fancy, but good quality pastries and proper coffee. What’s brilliant is how they’ve kept the original dining room feel of the townhouse. You’ll often find other guests chatting over breakfast, which rarely happens at bigger hotels.
Why Guests Love It
The staff here actually know your name by the second day, and they’re genuinely helpful with local recommendations (not just the touristy stuff). The whole experience feels intimate and personal — you’re staying in a historic London home that happens to rent rooms, rather than a hotel that’s trying too hard to feel homey. Plus, the location gives you easy access to both central London attractions and the authentic local vibe that makes Islington such a sought-after neighborhood.
London’s apartments welcome long stays with terrace views, museum access, and bike routes to hidden mews streets.
Guest reviews
"Clean, comfortable, quiet and generally a good location."
Clean, modern, very pleasant and helpful staff.
What could be improved: We had tickets to see the New Year’s fireworks from the south side of the Thames, getting there and back was a bit tricky as most bridges over the Thames were closed.
1 January 2026
"Very pleasant stay, comfortable room and very helpful staff"
Clean, well maintained, very comfortable. Staff were very friendly and helpful
What could be improved: nothing
29 December 2025
"Excellent. Would certainly use it again and recommend it to others."
Location great - near to everything but quiet streets and felt very safe.
What could be improved: Nothing.
27 December 2025
"Our second visit, absolutely perfect for us when needing quiet, quality stay in town. Thank you"
So well looked after, fresh, good quality linen and furnishings. Lovely helpful staff. A very quiet area.
What could be improved: It was a bit cold on arrival. The shower only got to a warm temperature. No conditioner. All minor minor points
10 December 2025
"very pleasant - staff very helpful in particular Henry and Dianna"
N/A
What could be improved: a bit noisy on the first floor
10 December 2025
"Exceptional"
The staff were friendly and efficient and the stay short but very comfortable.
20 November 2025
"Very stylish clean property with everything you would need, defo would stop again"
Stylish and clean, defo one of the best stays I’ve had in London
What could be improved: I could hear next door
14 November 2025
"Superb"
The staff was really friendly and helpful and very welcoming. We had a meal at the pub and it was absolutely delishish and well recommend. We were staying as I had appointment at Moorfields and around the area the rooms were out of our price range but the Hanbury Townhhouse was reasonable priced and in a lovely area with the canal and moorfields in walk distance. Would highly recommend the hotel
What could be improved: Fan was dusty and there was no remote for the tv thought the staff did try and find one..this did distract for the pleasant stay
12 November 2025
"Superb"
Comfortable and well appointed accommodation and very quiet, at least on a weekday
What could be improved: It's a 10 min walk from public transport and Islington Central through back streets. It was fine for me but if you feel vulnerable walking streets at night.
8 November 2025
"100% recommendable, nice stay"
Lovely room and accomodation. Tidy and comfortable room, with everything you need: comfortable bed, new and complete bathroom,.coffee machine and tea, nice neighborhood. Well connected and central. Staff extremely friendly and nice.
What could be improved: The only "but" would be that it is not suitable for disabled people or people with limited mobility because the stairs are steppy and narrow, so it would be a problem for some people. But that's the only "but" :)
7 November 2025
