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Nobody likes to abuse the word ‘iconic’ more than your pals at Time Out. But the St Pancras Hotel really genuinely is iconic. Honest. The magnificent neo-Gothic building runs straight into St Pancras (the station) and basically looks like some magnificent wizard’s lair – which explains why the camerawork in the Harry Potter films very strongly implies that the Hogwarts Express departs from somewhere around its foyer, and not from its more prosaic neighbour Kings Cross.
Forget Harry Potter, though, let’s talk about real culture. In 1996 The Spice Girls climbed up its grand staircase and into history as they filmed the music video to ‘Wannabe’ on its steps, the idea (presumably) being to juxtapose their fresh and feisty Girl Power attitude with the building’s faded imperial splendour. The steps are basically unchanged today. You’d better believe I got a selfie.
Of course, this doesn’t tell the whole story. The building – designed by George Gilbert Scott – opened as the Midland Grand Hotel in 1873 and closed in 1935, its fussy olde worlde services having simply become too costly to maintain. It then spent the next 70 years being used as the world’s fanciest railway offices. British Rail tried to demolish it, but were stopped by a campaign in the ‘60s that led to its Grade II listing. Finally, in 2011 it reemerged phoenix-like as the St Pancras Hotel, resuming its destiny.
What are the rooms like at St. Pancras London?
Well, it’s perhaps worth saying that a Deluxe King Room (in which I stayed, the second most basic ahead of the Loft Room) will set you back over £400 and is not in and of itself that fancy. Don’t get me wrong: there are some lovely design details including the beautiful peacock pattern pillows and chairs plus generally tastefully retro bits of decor like the retro radio and wicker wardrobe. But on the whole we’re looking at an attractive variation on the standard compact room with a king bed plus drench shower. There clearly are more grandiose rooms available but for the not exactly bargain basement lowest price, expect something nice, not fullbore Victorian luxury.
Beyond your room is another matter, mind. It’s an entirely exquisite building, and has a great vibe that balances the bells and whistles of a five star international hotel with a genuinely fun, welcoming destination for Londoners after a drink or meal. As I entered the airy, vaulting foyer – which serves as afternoon tea and light bar bites bar The Hansom – a string quartet was for some reason playing ‘Dancing On My Own’ and a welcome cocktail was offered (and accepted) at check in. This was good.
What are the facilities like at St. Pancras London?
As a handsome international hotel you better believe it has a nice spa, gym and modestly sized but beautifully decorated – in an Arts and Crafts style – underground swimming pool. To state the obvious, it is also incredibly well-positioned if you’re getting the Eurostar (or, indeed, the Hogwarts Express).
The real jewel in the crown is Booking Office 1869, a restaurant-slash-bar-slash-neo-Victorian fun palace that looks like something out of Phileas Fogg’s wildest fantasies, A sort of vaulting ceilinged fusion of the grandiose and the glam, as much as anything else, it’s probably the only building in London outside of Kew that manages to style out indoor palms.
What is the food and drink like at St. Pancras London?
The food menu makes some nods to the building’s history: I had a hearty Lincolnshire rarebit for breakfast, which is served there – but is mostly smart modern British with a veggie bias that probably would have baffled our forbears (my top tips are the Berkshire pork cutlet and the smoked paprika corn ‘ribs’).
The best bit, though, is the sensational cocktail list, which entertainingly riffs on both the age of the hotel and the history of cocktails as a whole as it offers one drink per decade from the 1860s to the present, kicking off with its spin on the rum punch – a variation on the first cocktail ever professionally recorded – and moves on to the present in a manner that I’m going to call both delicious and educational. Throw in some tasteful live DJ sets at the weekend and you really do have one of London’s great bar-restaurants.
Why stay at St. Pancras London?
There are obviously pragmatic reasons to do with railway travel that might lead you to the St Pancras Hotel. And if you’re solely looking to get your head down and move swiftly on I would say it’s worth shopping around in the vicinity – sure, it’s the closest hotel to the Eurostar but being five or ten minutes further away is not going to ruin your trip.
But if in addition to your overnight needs you’re looking for a fun night out in stunning surroundings with world class cocktails and the frickin’ Spice Girls steps just right there for you to wander over to and gawp at, the St Pancras Hotel simply cannot be beat.
DETAILS
Address: Euston Rd, London NW1 2AR.
Price: From £400.
Closest transport: It is in the St Pancras Station building, and just a couple of minutes from Kings Cross.