Welcome Travelingpanties: A Review of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London

If you’re new to the blog, “Welcome, Travelingpanties” is my column on the blog where I review hotels with my keen eye for luxury and let you know those little things that you’re most curious about when you’re trying to decide what hotel to book—I give you insight into what other websites aren’t telling you. Up today? I review the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. 

The Grounds

The star of the St. Pancras Renaissance are the main areas of the hotel. The hotel is set in a 19th century Victorian building and it’s attached to London’s famous St. Pancras International, which is London’s Eurostar station. The lobby is modern and bright—shockingly cool for a train station hotel. The hotel really consists of two somewhat disparate hotels—the rooms in the Chambers Club (the front part of the hotel) are clearly the creme de la creme! This is where the premier hotel rooms and the hotel’s grand staircase lies. The architectural details here are enough to make even the most novice traveler swoon. You may recognize these stairs from The Dark Knight or my personal favorite, The Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” video! Oh how I loved them. But I digress. Rooms in this section of the hotel are pricey but I imagine they must be uber luxe. These stairs to me were mesmerizing, my friends and I easily spent an hour on these iconic stairs photographing them and ourselves in every way possible.

In the back of the hotel is the more affordable rooms. This is where I had the chance to stay.

The Rooms

My room was in the back of the hotel—and while the lobby and the Chambers section of the hotel are as luxe as can be (one of the most beautiful hotel lobbies I’ve ever seen in fact), the back of the hotel feels more like a Marriott. And I’m not saying that in a bad way. The room was comfortable and quite clean but it was not overly luxurious. And it is priced just as that (rooms start at about $315/night, which in London is pretty reasonable).

Room decor is: Nice. Everything was newish and very tidy. The bed was comfortable. The view looked at a brick wall, so that left something to be desired but of course you can upgrade for a fee. However, if I were you—I’d skip the upgrade and just spend more time in the hotel’s fabulous bar or lobby. 

Charging Situation? Plenty of chargers near the bed.

Bottled Water? Complimentary Flat and sparkling. Two nice-sized bottles.

Plus: There was a lovely reading chair by the window that I enjoyed doing a bit of work on.

White Glove Inspection: No complaints.

The Bathroom

Small but decent. There was not a bathtub but it’s in central London, clearly space is not easy to come by.

Makeup Mirror? Yes

Hairdryer? Yes.

Towel quality? Shockingly quite good!

Robes? Yes. And slippers! And the robe was quite comfy!

Amenities? Shower cap, individually wrapped Q-tips and cotton pads.

The Food & Drink

The hotel offers a lovely tea in its lobby daily. We didn’t have a chance to do this but it looked really nice. The lobby is so bright and beautiful during the day. The hotel’s bar is incredible. It’s in the old ticket office of the train station and it’s absolutely stunning. Even if you choose not to stay here I would highly recommend coming to the bar for a cocktail.

The Spa

There is a spa and gym (with pool).

The Little Things

Wi-Fi? A bit of a rip off if you ask me. I hate when hotels charge astronomical prices! It was 6 Pounds for 1 hour! 15 Pounds for 24 hours. But good news! The train station offers free Wifi so go there instead. The lobby also had Wifi for free.

The Wow Factor:

Definitely the lobby and the iconic sweeping staircase. And the hotel bar. Absolutely outstanding.

The Bottom Line: Would I recommend it? Am I coming Back?

Zig-a-zag-ahh-YES! If you’re looking for luxury, the rooms in the Barlow House are not anything special. However, I did not have a chance to take a peek at the luxury wing rooms and I have heard they are pretty luxurious. I would say though that if your’e looking for a fun hotel with a good, nice clean room at a reasonable price that I would definitely come back here. Especially given the rest of the hotel’s brilliant appeal. I would definitely stay here again in a heartbeat, you just need to realize that it is a Marriott and that its standard rooms are not going to blow your mind.

Hotel Information

St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel
Euston Road, London NW1
(44-20) 7841- 3540

Cost: Rooms start at about 190 GBP ($315 USD).

*Disclaimer*

I was part of a press trip with Visit Britain and they paid for my accommodations. This is pretty common practice in the travel industry. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. Although I did not pay, all opinions herein are my own. You can’t buy the love here, people! Just ask my husband!