A Night at the St Pancras Renaissance in London
After three years of dreaming about the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, I finally got to spend a night there and it was even better than I had hoped. Rachel and I both worked for Marriott so we leveraged our connections and had an amazing stay. I would guess an average night at the St Pancras Renaissance is about $300 or 45,000 Marriott points. However, that is just for a traditional room and not a suite! I had plenty of Starpoints to redeem so we did not have to pay to stay. Rachel’s friend works the Front Desk at the St Pancras Renaissance so he absolutely spoiled us with perks.
A Bit About the Hotel
The St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel only opened in 2011 but it had opened in 1873 as the Midland Grand Hotel. Back in 1865, the Midland Railway Company held a design competition for a hotel to be constructed next to the St Pancras railway station. 11 designs were submitted and the winner was a renowned architect, George Gilbert Scott.
Sir George Gilbert Scott submitted a design that was much larger than what Midland Railway Company had requested. However, they loved his design and previous work so construction began. Fun fact: George Gilbert Scott was the architect of The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens! The Midland Grand Hotel actually was open from 1873 until 1935 when it became too expensive to maintain the staff and upkeep of the property. From 1935 until 2011, the property was used for a small variety of things including railway offices and apartments.
The Grand Staircase
This staircase is what dreams are made of! You can only access it if you are staying in one of the 38 suites on property or if you book a paid tour. The carpet is vibrant and was specially created as one giant piece. The walls were hand-painted and stenciled instead of using wallpaper. The detail is something that you don’t see created anymore.
Now some people might be confused as to why I think a staircase is so interesting. First, it is genuinely beautiful and so old. It’s historic and perfectly maintained. Second, and what some people will think should be the first interesting thing, is that the Spice Girls’ Wannabe music video features the staircase!
My Stay at the St Pancras Renaissance
Rachel and I arrived from Budapest around noon. Check-in was not until 3pm so we knew we would need to store our bags and explore for a couple of hours. When we went to the front desk to check-in and store our bags, the employee said, “Oh, Miguel has you two upgraded to a suite but it is not ready quite yet.” We both died a little.
While Rachel was working at a Marriott in Houston, she became friends with a guy named Miguel. After spending a year in Houston, Miguel moved to London to begin working at the St Pancras Renaissance. He had told Rachel that he wanted us to stay in the Chambers Wing so we could see the staircase and explore all the oldest parts of the hotel but upgrades can be hard to come by. However, Miguel really came through and got us an amazing room. There are 38 suites at the hotel and all suites come with access to the Chambers Club. The Chambers Club is: “is a self-contained facility reserved exclusively for private members and Chambers Suite guests staying at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.Housed within the heart of the Grade 1 listed, Victorian wing of the building, the Club provides an elegant and relaxing sanctuary just moments from the hustle and bustle of the city. Live an exclusive and personalized experience and service. Enjoy our daily signature food, cocktails and drinks for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner in the cozy and luxury atmosphere of this private lounge!”
Let me tell you...it is glorious! Since our room wasn’t ready when we arrived, Rachel and I were escorted to the Chambers Club to get a quick drink and relax after traveling. At that time, there was no food but there was an assortment of loose tea and a espresso machine with employees who were happy to help with any and all requests.
Once we had gotten some caffeine into our systems, we explored the area around the hotel as they finished cleaning our room. We ate lunch at The Mac Factory (one of my favorite stalls at Camden Market from my time during study abroad) and walked around the British Museum. I think we returned to the hotel around 4pm and when we went to the front desk for our keys and luggage we were told that our bags were already up in our room waiting. Talk about quality service! Miguel escorted us from the lobby up to our room so that he could point out special features of the Grand Staircase and explain different amenities the property had to offer.
Rachel and I laid out on the king-sized bed for a few minutes and then decided to head to the Chambers Club to catch some bites during afternoon tea. The Chambers Club serves breakfast from 6:30am-10:30am (and later on weekends), light afternoon tea from 2:30pm-5:00pm and then pre-dinner canapes from 5:30pm-7:30pm. They also offer complimentary wine and beer from 3pm until 10pm daily. During afternoon tea, I had two scones loaded with clotted cream and jam, a couple of finger sandwiches and cake. It was free and I love dessert so I figured I should eat it all. The scones were so phenomenal. True happiness. I also had Earl Grey tea to wash it down. We didn’t want to go back to our room after tea so we decided it was time for a glass of wine as we enjoyed the beautiful decor around us in our favorite city.
Let me tell you, they are not kidding about complimentary wine and beer and ensuring wonderful service. I believe we stayed at the Chambers Club until 8pm or so and employees kept coming around refilling our wine and asking if we needed any food or other drinks. When they refilled our wine it was not with small pours. We had very generously filled glasses and it was honestly very fun.
When we decided we have consumed enough food and wine, we went back up to our suite and waited for our Bath Ritual. Miguel had asked a few times if we wanted it and we ended up saying yes because even though we did not know what a Bath Ritual was, we agreed that we would probably never have the same experience again. Here is a good explanation of the Bath Ritual: “When the original Midland Grand Hotel opened in 1873, a Victorian bath menu enabled guests to request private use of one of the building’s 5 bathrooms. At a time when the practice of using hip baths and wash basins was commonplace, it was considered quite the advancement to have baths at all. That guests could have their bath drawn by staff to their personal requirements, was an extravagance much appreciated by hotel guests. Working in partnership with Cinq Mondes, the award winning French beauty brand used exclusively in St Pancras Spa, the hotel has now brought this experience back to life, with a contemporary version of the bath menu, based on the Journeys treatments available in the Spa.” So two employees came up and filled our bath with hot water and soap, brought a tray of snacks with two glasses of champagne and wished us a good night. Rachel and I put our bathing suits on, sat on the edge of the tub with our feet in the water, sipped our champagne and said cheers to friendship and travel.
The next morning saw us down at the Chambers Club for breakfast where we feasted on espresso beverages, waffles, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit and pastries. I was not even hungry after all I’d eaten the previous night but free food is good food so I filled up my belly some more. After breakfast we returned to our room to finish getting ready, went to the lobby to get Ashtin and Julie who had just arrived via Eurostar from Paris and then Rachel helped me with a little “senior picture” photo shoot on the staircase!
