Following an extensive renovation by Manhattan Loft Corporation in conjunction with London & Continental Railways, St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London was due to have its grand reopening on 5 May, 138 years to the day after the original grand opening, in 1873.
Originally The Midland Grand Hotel, it was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, but was closed in 1935 and almost lost forever when it faced demolition in the Sixties. Thankfully, a protest led by former Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, who once described the building as ‘too beautiful to survive’, proved enough to keep this iconic London landmark from the wrecker’s ball.
The St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London, which has 245 guest rooms and 67 apartments, exemplifies high-Victorian gothic architecture. The striking redbrick building houses equally impressive interiors, which have been restored with painstaking attention to detail using expert teams made up of hundreds of craftspeople and painters.
Many of the hotel’s historic features have been left intact, including the ‘Ladies Smoking Room’ – the first place in Europe where it was acceptable for women to smoke in public. A sweeping forecourt leads to a suitably grand entrance to the hotel (above) which has gold-leaf ceilings, ornate wall murals and grand staircase, considered by some to be one of the most majestic in England.
This £150m renovation includes the historic St Pancras Chambers, with 38 Victorian bedroom suites, and the newly created 12,000 sq m extension, Barlow House. Occupying the original entrance hall, The Gilbert Scott restaurant provides the hotel’s fine dining and features an interior designed by David Collins.
