Sounds Like You May Need Ear Plugs At The St Pancras Renaissance

April 4, 2011 at 4:16 PM | by juliab | Comment (1)

The view from one of the 38 rooms in the St Pancras Renaissance�s original building

We may not have had the best reception, to put it mildly, when we hit up the the other week, but there�s no denying that, even if its door staff lack class, it�s a classy-looking broad.

This weekend saw two new articles on the hotel pop up in the British press. The first, in the Mail, brought some stunning new photos and awesome new hotel geek factoids: like the fact that the lobby, which is described as being possibly the largest in Europe (might want to check on that, Renaissance folks), used to be a cab rank, or that the main staircase was built wide so that two women could pass in crinolines without brushing into each other.

One not so good thing: as a train pulls out of the station, �the room shakes, gently�. Uh oh.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times pitted the St Pancras against the W London in a battle of old Britannia v hip America. The article is behind a paywall but if you have a spare �1, it�s a fun read.

The author, who stayed in both hotels last week, notes that the St Pancras main building may be glorious but that all but 38 of the hotel rooms are in a modern extension at the back of the hotel called Barlow House, and are merely �fine, but you could be in a Marriott anywhere.� Oops! Something the Mail neglected to mention. And, looking at the hotel website, it looks like the nice rooms start from a whopping �550 a night. He continues:

The 38 rooms in the original building have the drama � arched windows, sky-high ceilings, original fireplaces � but rather bland decor. With Euston Road out front, Eurostar platforms at the back and the Thameslink line rumbling below, noise is an issue, too. A good night�s sleep is pretty fundamental, and mine wasn�t particularly great.

Like us, Sunday Times man liked the �jaw-dropping� bar and its �7.50 cocktails, as well as the underground spa, but noticed that the vibe is �starting slow� (yeah, that�s one way of putting it).

Incidentally, when it came to the W, he rated the soundproofing top notch - �Wardour Street looked like a silent movie� � and seemed to like those fugly rooms:

hey�re a hoot. Nothing�s where you expect it to be. The loo�s in a cupboard. The shower�s in another cupboard. The sink�s in the middle of the room. The vibrator�s in the minibar. There�s lots of glass, white plastic and satin-effect curtains: Hugh Hefner meets The Jetsons. It�s genuinely original and efficient� and the bed is blissful.

His verdict? It�s an interesting one: the W won over St P, because of the rooms. Guess either the shower curtains and gold throws look less tacky in real life, or someone really liked his Tenga Egg in the minibar. Or, you know, the bed-soundproofing combo really is that good. Our take on it? Until we have enough money to afford a room in the original building and bring ear plugs, we'll probably spend our St Pancras money at the bar.

[Photo: Mail Online ]

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