The Old Ship Inn Hackney

United Kingdom , London
london, Sylvester Path, 2
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75 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

15 Mar 2026

William

Great room, lovely staff, comfy bed.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

15 Feb 2026

Deborah

Stairs were dirty

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

04 Feb 2026

Phillippa

The room was tidy and cosy, staff were really welcoming and helpful.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

10 Dec 2025

Dawn

Lovely room. Very clean. Nice staff. Good find

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

04 Aug 2025

Kathy

Great room, friendly pub

We paid a bit extra for the room & I was glad we did - it was lovely, bed was comfy & everything was clean. Food in the pub was good & we liked the ambiance, staff were very friendly too.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Jun 2025

Emma

We arrived early and had something to eat. The food was discounted as we were staying guests.
Quirky and fun little room.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jun 2025

Lenka

Fantastic

10/10

Exceptional

15 May 2025

Nathalie

Great 1-night stay for event at the Hackney Empire

Really comfortable stay. We were there for an event at the Hackney Empire and it’s right next door, so great location. The food in the bar was lovely too. A few interesting characters on the way from the station to the hotel, so make sure you walk with someone and be careful at night.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 May 2025

Kristine

Very cute hotel and the pub had great food and drinks!

10/10

Exceptional

16 Mar 2025

Yvonne

Lovely 1 night stay, central to al amenities, fabulous transport links.

Pub and food on your doorstep or use room service

Self

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jan 2025

Vineeta

Perfect for a little get away in Hackney

Really lovely hotel with nice staff. Great location! Quiet as compared to being above the pub.

Business Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Jan 2025

Joaquin

The Jolly Old Ship

Friendly and attentive staff, extremely cozy pub downstairs with great food. Have come back multiple times now, always a good stay!

10/10

Exceptional

11 Dec 2024

Kara

Great find

Great property. Very cute and comfortable room. Located in a lively neighborhood 5-10 minutes on foot from an Overground stop. Lots to do nearby. I sadly did not get a chance to go to the pub below the hotel, but it looked so cute. I stayed over a weekend and my room was a bit loud with the din of the pub…did not bother me but if you are a light sleeper, it might.

8/10

Excellent

24 Nov 2024

Charlotte

Excellent stay but squeaky floorboards

We chose the Old Ship as we went to an event in Oslo. It was in a perfect location and had 24 hour room access after you had checked in. Upon arrival we went to our room and found it clean and better than more expensive hotels we have stayed in. The only problem was the squeaky floorboards which you would expect in a old building but it did make sleeping a little hard as you could hear everybody walking around. Apart from the squeaky floorboards, our stay was perfect.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Oct 2024

Jacqueline

Our Stay at The Old Ship, Hackney.

This is the second time we have stayed here and it is a good place for The Hackney Empire. We enjoyed our stay. Dinner is available on site but not breakfast. There are available places to have breakfast on the high street. There are no lifts in The Old Ship just stairs and there are two flights. The staff are very helpful and informative. Nothing is too much trouble. The Old Ship caters for all age groups. We will definately stay here again.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

25 Oct 2024

Verified traveler

Fine hotel, shame about the manager

Really convenient location, room was clean and contained the standard amenities. In general, the staff were friendly and helpful, with the exception of the manager who was rude, unhelpful and quite patronising.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

14 Oct 2024

Terry

Friendly staff. Small shower. Loved the location.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

25 Sep 2024

Nancy

Great stay!

Great staff and the room was very comfortable. We ended our day in the bar and enjoyed the people and atmosphere. Added several songs to our playlist. We will definitely come back

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Aug 2024

Stuart

Great

Friendly and helpful staff, nice room, good food

Partner

8/10

Excellent

23 Jul 2024

Andrew

Hotel with lots of character

Check in was quick and easy. Whilst the pub is on a busy main road the rooms are located at the back, so there were no concerns about noise. Access to the 1st floor rooms is via a steep winding staircase, so extra care was needed when using it. There was a smell on the stairs, probably from the adjacent food takeaway, but this had dissipated before we got to the room.

The room was OK, with hanging storage and large low level shelf. There was also a safe, which we used. There was a 2-seater sofa, a small round table and a chair, which was probably a bit too much for the size of room.

Unfortunately the blinds did not fully cover the windows, which meant that the daylight woke us up early.

The bathroom was clean but we needed to be careful when using the shower as the water sprayed onto the shelf when our toiletries were placed (and spare toilet roll, which got wet).

Bed was made on Day 2 (we kept same towels) but wasn't made on Day 3 (and we needed to ask for clean towels.

The rooms would benefit from having air-con units as the vertical fan did very little in keeping the room cool.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

18 Jul 2024

Anthony

Nice Pub/Hotel

Nice little Pub/Hotel. Very friendly staff. Only downside is that they don’t server breakfast. Fortunately there are plenty of places outside to have breakfast.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2024

steven

Having a pub right downstairs from your room is all I ever ask for. Limited, but flavorful menu options, Great smashburger & caesar salad. Comfortable bed, but those nasty foam pillows (they are everywhere) means your head will get very warm while sleeping. The food in the area is very tasty & offer many ethnicities.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 Mar 2024

Graham

All good.

10/10

Exceptional

08 Dec 2023

John

Favourite place to stay in Hackney

I travel to London 2-3 times a year, and always stay at The Old Ship. It's proximity to London Fields can't be beat, and the rooms are lovely and cozy. Staff has always been very kind and helpful.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

02 Dec 2023

Caila

Such a cute room! Lots of room compared to other places in this price range. Love the area too.

Business_and_leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

11 Oct 2023

Elizabeth

Great place to stay if you're attending a show at hackney empire.

Room was clean and nicely decorated. Comfortable bed. Can be a little noisy with customers and pub music depending on where your room is. We were on 1st floor, looking over the outside seating. All quiet after 11pm though so not an issue for sleeping.

Lots of nice cafes nearby for breakfast.

No lift and narrow winding stairs, so if you have mobility issues take this into consideration.

Overall a great night's stay and would definitely use again if attending a show.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Sep 2022

Steven

It is a great location. Inexpensive, clean and with friendly staff.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

01 Aug 2022

Verified traveler

Brilliant

Nice little room above bar, fan provided and quiet location. Only slight issue was bathroom door not shutting fully but otherwise perfect

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jun 2022

Rob

Fantastic stay!

Excellent stay, the staff were extremely helpful and friendly. The food and beer was top notch and as a guest you get 20% discount the room I was in was smallish with a single bed, but it was very modern and nicely decorated. Breakfast was perfectly presented, down to chopped spring onion and red chillis as a garnish on the eggs. I would definitely stay again and have recommended it to the rest of the staff at work.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2022

Alma

Great staff, very helpful. We just loved the old world charm. Very quiet.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

18 May 2022

Daniel

Excellent location room and price

Business

10/10

Exceptional

13 May 2022

David

Very enjoyable

Had a lovely stay - service always with a smile and fab location - highly recommended

8/10

Excellent

09 May 2022

Verified traveler

Lovely but too warm

The hotel rooms are lovely and it’s above a great pub but some of the staff aren’t really prepared to help with hotel queries, so can be a bit slow or snippy.
The room was very nice but both times we have stayed, it has been incredibly hot and uncomfortable. With the noise outside, you can’t leave windows open

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

03 May 2022

Martin

Perfect location for events in the area.

Perfect location for attending a couple of events in the area.
The resudents discount on food and drink was very welcome too.
Easy to get to, easy check-in/check-out etc.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

10 Apr 2022

Kyle

Cute boutique hotel

Very cute hotel, good location and friendly staff.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

18 Mar 2022

Caroline

Fabulous Stay at Old Ship

I cannot fault my stay at the Old Ship, from the friendly staff to the delicious breakfast. I stayed at the back of the hotel and it was nice and quiet. I would not hesitate to stay here again. The location was very central and handy to be able to catch the Overground.

Self

8/10

Excellent

24 Jan 2022

Anna

Great location

Very well located. Above a lively pub that shuts at 1am at weekend - didn't bother us but if you wanted early night and sensitive to noise bring ear plugs. You do get a discount in the pub though which is a plus. Room was comfortable. Bathroom could do with updating but price was about right for the condition of the property.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

23 Aug 2021

William

Ship Shape!

Everything you need, good beer, food, atmosphere and good transport links just outside the door

Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2021

Verified traveler

Friendly and helpful staff. No breakfast available.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Oct 2020

Paul

Excellent Hotel. Excellent staff!

Great Hotel. Great staff. Clean and comfortable rooms. My room was not quite ready on arrival so the very apologetic staff more than made up for it by offering me a free pint which I gladly accepted and hoped my room was always slightly late in the future! Stay here everytime now after I used to always stay at the dump on the corner aka The Royal Albion. The Old Ship is worth every penny they charge abd they even have Woodpecker Cider on draught. Wow!

Business

8/10

Excellent

22 Sep 2020

Jan

Convenient location

For our trip, convenient location, free to come and go. For breakfast nearby The Barrel Boulangerie on Mare Street can be recommended, open from 8am.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2020

EVANDRO

Fantastic place.

Great place with a really good location!

Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

What I expected: it's small, and on top of a lively pub. I was on the 3rd floor and didn't notice the noise from the pub. Single room was about as large as expected (which isn't large) but was clean.

Self

8/10

Excellent

08 Dec 2019

Janet

We chose The Old Ship mainly as it is a very convenient location when visiting our son for a couple of days.
The room was adequate for our needs and very clean and in good repair. The narrow stairs to the room could be an issue to some though. The staff were lovely as was the food and with the benefit of 20% discount for residents even better.
As the rooms are above a very vibrant and popular pub I expect noise might be an issue but despite Christmas parties in full swing downstairs we barely noticed on the second floor.
My one issue was that I couldn’t plug in the hairdryer and see to style my hair in the mirror.
We will definitely stay again as it is convenient, clean and comfortable although very basic.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 May 2019

Verified traveler

Great location! Couldn’t fault the hotel at all except for the room being so hot! But there was a fan in the room which helped a little bit

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 May 2019

andrew

Excellent

Enjoyable trip the old ship inn very clean and pleasant staff would stay there again

10/10

Exceptional

15 Mar 2019

David

Love it

Really special and unique little venue, friendly service, great breakfast. On my list of places I'll be back to!

8/10

Excellent

11 Mar 2019

Grahame

Value, vibe and volume!

This is a pub with a very friendly team of staff, a good atmosphere and reasonable food. We enjoyed our stay here, although it is noisy at night (we were there at the weekend), and light sleepers should be aware that the hubbub of the bar travels upwards relatively unmuffled! It nonetheless represents good value for money.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Feb 2019

D J

lots of character - worth a stay

Well placed for the Hackney Empire with good beer, comfortable rooms and a great atmosphere. Menu has healthy and unhealthy extremes with little in between! Good breakfast and friendly staff

Family

4/10

Poor

06 Feb 2019

Carl

Style over Substance

Stayed at this small hotel in Feb 2019 for 1 night. Hotel rooms are above a pub. At check in I was told that “they had had a problem with their system” and they hadn’t got my Hotels.com pre-paid booking for a large family room. This booking had been confirmed by Hotels.com. The lady explained that they did have a room, but it was noisy with an odd noise coming from the wall “Could I put up with this?” I was asked. “Err no. Not really”. “I can offer you a discount\" \"Err still No\". \"Ok” she said “let me see what I can do\" She came back with keys to a room, and since she had not mentioned the noisy rook again I assumed that she had found a better room so I went up to the room. Only to find that it was, in fact, the noisy room. It was late, I was tired, and this was the only room available. So I stayed and had a horrible night. The room was like sleeping in the engine room of a ship. It was also stiflingly hot, although there was no heating on. There was no air conditioning. Opening the windows just made the noise issue worse. I planned to complain on check out the next morning. But in the morning there was NOONE from management available. So I left.

Overall the hotel is not a 4 star. There are only steep steps to the rooms. The decor is very tired. The bar is a typical stripped back walls and shabby unmatched furniture. It was needlessly loud, with two competing sources of music. Food was ok but no better than Nandos.

I would not go back to either pub or hotel

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jan 2019

Trevor

exactly what i was looking for. had a great stay here for almost 2 weeks.

6/10

Pleasant

19 Dec 2018

Peter

Noisy but nice

The single room was comfy and cozy. I stayed Saturday and Sunday night. Checking in was tricky as the pub downstairs was so busy and there’s no dedicated reception staff. Saturday night was very loud with music continuing til well after 1am - so not the place to go if you’re looking for somewhere to sleep on a weekend.

The breakfast in the morning was great though and service was fantastic, so I would happily reccomend it for someone looking for somewhere to stay mid-week.

It’s located very close to the station so is perfect for getting about.

There’s also a cinema just down the road, so I was able to pop out and watch a film when I had time to kill.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Dec 2018

Laura

Centrally located

Perfect place to stay in Hackney. Hackney Central station is very close. Hackney Empire theater is a few steps away. Hackney Laundrette is a 10 minute walk. The hotel and restaurant staff were all friendly and overly helpful. Breakfast was made to order. The bar/restaurant has good food and a lively crowd. Note: You must be able to climb stairs.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2018

Terry

Rare Charm!

The Old Ship has a rare charm! The staff provides excellent service with a friendly smile. The food is delicious and filling. My favorite meal was always breakfast... fill your belly and there's no need to eat again until evening comes around. Thankfully, The Old Ship is a little removed from the tourist hub of London. It's easy from LHR, travel the Piccadilly Line to the Victoria Line to the London Overground... then exit at Hackney Central. It's a 3 minute walk from there. The Overground and Victoria Line provide access to all of London. There are grocery stores, pubs, and most importantly, a near by self service laundry (10 minute walk). Buses are available 1 minute away. There are many reasons to stay at the Old Ship! For people with an adventurous nature who stay at The Old Ship, they will be rewarded by the staff, beginning with Ray from Jamaica.. he is a hands on manager. He runs the show. Makes breakfast, ensures customer comfort, helps with all questions you may have... and his entire staff seem to follow his example. Service with a smile. I've stayed at The Old Ship 3 times in 7 years and it's better each time. Highly recommend this place. CHEERS!

8/10

Excellent

22 Oct 2018

Krystal

Had a lovely stay, staff were very friendly and helpful. Would stay here again

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Sep 2018

Lindene

Overall - great location. Staff was super nice. Food was good. Only negative: Shower was really small. Otherwise - terrific place.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Sep 2018

Verified traveler

Friendly staff, quality food & clean & cosy room !
Great value for ££
Very good breakfast too 👍

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Sep 2018

Steve

A very warm welcome

Great Hotel/Pub with a great choice of food and beverages. The staff are so friendly and welcoming, we would definitely return.

8/10

Excellent

29 Aug 2018

Kjesten

Little gem.

Great staff, wonderful coffee. Amazingly quiet considering my room was above the busy hotel and bar.
This hotel lived up to my expectations and was perfect for my needs.

10/10

Exceptional

08 May 2018

Jonathan

Happy stay

Friendly staff, convenient location, nice breakfast and 20% off food and drink for guests.

10/10

Exceptional

26 Apr 2018

Brittany

Cool place!

This was a really neat hotel! Felt like being at home. Had everything we needed, plus more. Food and drinks in the restaurant were great too!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Apr 2018

Tim

A great stay for a night on business

The Old Ship was a really pleasant surprise. Friendly staff, a compact but clean and modern room, great food and beers in the pub, an excellent breakfast and in a great area really near to the overground. I will be coming back!

10/10

Exceptional

25 Feb 2018

andrew

Excellent enjoyable stay

10/10

Exceptional

22 Feb 2018

Stuart

Quirky in a good way.

2nd stay there. Love it. Quirky.

10/10

Exceptional

21 Feb 2018

Philip

very ship shape

really friendly staff and great breakfast. good location next to Hackney Empire & Hackney Picture House (cinema) etc , great pub with good beer and food. funky decor..

Family

10/10

Exceptional

12 Jan 2018

steve

Handy location.

Easy to find near both overground and bus stops. Tight stairs but it's a genuine old English pub so that is part of its character.

8/10

Excellent

16 Oct 2017

Verified traveler

Hotel was ideally situated. The staff were friendly and helpful. Everywhere was clean and fresh apart from the carpet by the reception desk area which gives a false initial impression.

8/10

Excellent

19 Jul 2017

ADN

Easy access to the Queen Elizabeth Stadium

2/3 minute walk the overground railway and 3stops to Stratford. Therefore an ideal location for me.

8/10

Excellent

09 Jul 2017

Rob

Nice little pub downstairs but quite upstairs.

Quite little stay above a pub. The only noise we noticed was a squeaky floor in our room.

8/10

Excellent

03 Jul 2017

Verified traveler

Pub hotel

Excellent value , room quality better than experienced in many larger hotels. Great breakfast cooked to order with good food and served hot. Some noise from the pub below at night .

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jun 2017

Lovely hotel above a pub tucked away.

Lovely hotel above a pub tucked away in a little back street in the middle of hackney. Staff is friendly, room was reasonably clean and comfortable.

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jun 2017

David

Old ship Hackney review

Enjoyed our stay at the old ship, food was really good, bed lovely & comfortable, would definitely go back

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 May 2017

Verified traveler

Perfect for a quick London visit

Efficient, clean, quiet, small room. Perfect for short stay visits

Family

6/10

Pleasant

20 Mar 2017

Christina

Hip location and bar,

This hotel is on top of a cool bar and in a hip location, which is fun!

My biggest issue is that I had to walk through the back alley to key into the building after bar hours, and there were a couple of beggars. It did not feel like the safest situation.

Also, no elevator and no rooms on the main floor, so be aware if you're bringing a lot of luggage.

10/10

Exceptional

02 Mar 2017

Joakim

Craft beer bar hotel

Great small hotel on top of a craft beer bar. Rooms are newly renovated and nice. The place has a good vibe.