London's St. Pancras Renaissance Gets Another Cringe-Worthy Review

November 7, 2011 at 3:22 PM | by Heidi Atwal | Comment (1)

File this story under "Ouch": London's much vaunted and hyped St. Pancras Renaissance has received a less than stellar review by The Telegraph, whose reviewer describes rooms in the sprawling property as "bland" and "overpriced," with "lacklustre service" to match.

Among writer Fiona Duncan's main gripes: loud street traffic, curiously absent employees to answer questions, non-functioning internet, and no business centre for guests' use.

The first complaint comes as no surprise to those of us on the ground in London; anyone that's emerged above ground from King's Cross International Station, site of the Eurorail link and a major tube station, can attest to the constant swarm of travelers, buses, and horn honking taxi drivers around the area and the headache-inducing cacophony they produce.

Additionally, the noise complaint was brought up just after opening by The Daily Mail who mentioned that the "room shakes gently" when a train pulls out of the station. The non-functioning internet is new, however, and such a shame as it costs �6 an hour or �15 pounds for 24-hour access. Ugh.

A surprising criticism, however, came in Duncan's review of Chef Marcus Waering's Gilbert Scott restaurant, which she summed up as subpar. Read on for more cringe worthy commentary:

Let me get some more negatives off my chest. Marcus Wareing's Gilbert Scott brasserie is a disappointment (one or two memorable dishes, including "soles in coffins"; awful, sickly sweet puddings; other dishes that were simply dull). And the public spaces where guests sit, chat, work and so on have the transitory nature of a railway waiting room. The noisy bar felt like that; the Gilbert Scott felt like that; the huge lobby with its glass-and-girder roof felt like that. People were in either business suits or scruffy jeans; appropriate, of course, for the locomotive location, but difficult to appreciate, nonetheless, in a hotel that commands such serious prices.

It's not all bad, though. The silver lining in Duncan's slew of textual assaults are the props given to St. Pancras' convenient location and renovation work, which includes stunning Gothic and Victorian touches all around. If you're fine with a ho-hum service experience and have a few pretty pounds to spare, you, too, can take in the gorgeous surroundings.

[Photo: HotelChatter]

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