Hotel Review: UK: St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel

The motif of the hotel is the peacock. It represents rejuvenation. When a peacock loses a feather it grows back perfectly. In 1865 architect Sir George Gilbert Scott won a competition held by Midland Railway to design a hotel for the new St Pancras Station. The vision was for an understated building. Gilbert Scott had other ideas.

A gothic extravaganza, his gargantuan fairytale confection of towers, turrets and terracotta tiles overwhelmed visitors when it opened in 1873. The design incorporated all the latest fittings too: the first lift in a UK hotel; the first revolving door in the UK; and 16 inch thick fireproof walls.

The latter was to contribute to its downfall though. Not long after it opened, en suite bathrooms became de rigeur for grand hotels. Such substantial walls did not adapt well to the insertion of bathrooms. The hotel closed in 1935 and became offices for British Rail. It was even threatened with demolition in the 1960s before Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman successfully campaigned for its retention.

This Grade I protected building has now been saved by Harry Handelsman. A labor of love, albeit an expensive one. His company Manhattan Loft Corporation spent $160 million converting the three upper floors to 67 apartments and a further $240 million rejuvenating the remainder of the building back to a hotel. It’s a physical embodiment of joie de vivre. The peacock’s feathers have regrown.



What rare and colorful plumage! The original entrance hall is now a bar with a polychromatic corniced ceiling, walls dripping in gold leaf and encaustic tiled floors. Upstairs, the Renaissance inspired ceiling of the Ladies’ Smoking Room cost $1.5 million to restore. It was the first place in Europe where females could acceptably smoke in public. This room now aptly leads onto a terrace for smoking.

The St Pancras railway shed designed by engineer William Henry Barlow was the single largest structure of its time. The former taxi rank between the railway shed and the original hotel has been converted into a vast glass roofed lobby. The adjacent Booking Office is now a restaurant serving traditional English delights such as quails’ eggs with anchovies and Eton Mess. Victorian drinks like Garrick Club Punch and Moonlight White Tea are served at a 95 foot long bar.



The grand staircase is the pièce de résistance of the interior. It's a cathedral of color with hand painted fleur de lys walls framed by Midland Stone arches and vaults. Harry Handelsman's workforce even 'aged' the carpet on the dizzying array of fanciful flights of stairs.

The limestone pillared Gilbert Scott restaurant looks positively restrained in comparison. Celebrity chef Marcus Wareing's team offer their own take on nostalgic classics such as Queen Anne’s Artichoke Tart and Mrs Beeton's Snow Egg.

Harry Handelsman has created 38 rooms in the old building and 207 rooms in a new sympathetically designed extension. Once again, the hotel caters for the demands of five star guests. A luxurious subterranean spa occupies the former steam kitchen. Guests staying in suites dine in privacy in the Chambers Members’ Club. Banqueting and conference facilities cater for high end corporate needs.



A new room for $370. An old room for $530. The Royal Suite for $16,000. Those are the prices per night to stay at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Christian Bale, Johnnie Depp and Katie Holmes have all enjoyed the experience. The pride of the peacock is fully restored.

View website: www.stpancrasrenaissance.com