****.25/*****

I only had one night in London and chose the Renaissance St. Pancras purely out of convenience and cost (free! Why I Changed My London Hotel Reservation 3 Times in 3 Days! – Out And Abroad (out-abroad.com)) Overall it was a great stay and I highly recommend it for those who are looking for a luxury hotel near Kings Cross/St Pancras train station.

How I Review

Obviously reviews are subjective based on taste, preference, etc. I think the fairest way to review a product is judging it based on how it sells itself. The Renaissance St. Pancras is a five star luxury hotel. I cannot compare it to the Four Points Sheraton Dayton Airport. I am comparing it to other urban 5 star hotels.

The Renaissance Brand

Renaissance hotels are primarily four star hotels in the North America and five star everywhere else. Think of it on par with a Marriott, Sheraton or Hilton. It is part of Bonvoy and I usually enjoy Renaissance hotels more than a typical Marriott as there is usually more character. The Renaissance St. Pancras has A LOT of character.

Building/Room

The architecture is just out of this world. I will let the pictures speak for themselves;

As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member I was upgraded to a Junior Suite in the Chambers section of the hotel. The Chambers section is the more historic part of the hotel and one of the benefits is free access to the lounge. While usually lounges are accessible to all elite members, somehow (Bonvoy is sketchy sometimes with benefits) this hotel gets away with limiting access to only the highest elite members or those staying in the Chambers section of the hotel. The lounge provides a free hot breakfast buffet and appetizers in the evening with an open bar at night. All in all it was quite lovely.

The suite was also quite lovely

Location

This one is hard as for my purposes the location was perfect, but for most I imagine this location leaves a lot to be desired. The hotel is literally connected to the Kings Cross/St. Pancras (can someone explain to me the difference or why there are new two names for the train station?) which was perfect for me because I had an early train the next day. However for those of you looking to be in the center of everything in London this may not be for you as it is either quite a walk or a tube ride from the big attractions.

Service

The only hotel staff I interacted with was the front desk receptionist and the Chambers Lounge attendant. They were all very nice. My room was understandably not ready when I checked in (I arrived at 8am) but the receptionist took my bag and even gave me early access to the Chambers Lounge so I can eat and have coffee, a very nice touch. When my room was ready my bag was waiting for me in the room.

But I have to say, otherwise I was underwhelmed by the service. There was no doorman, no turn down service and when I entered the restaurant to see the menu the staff gave me a menu but definitely in a ‘now go away’ kind of way. I found overall this five star hotel was missing the oomph of the best of the best. I did not end up eating at the restaurant or utilize the spa so all I can say was the restaurant sure looked pretty and the fact they have a spa in a city hotel is always nice to see.

Overall

The Renaissance St Pancras is a perfectly fine hotel for those looking for accommodations near King Cross/St. Pancras for convenience to a train to other parts of the UK or Europe. The building is beautiful, the rooms are lovely and the service overall was pretty good. However, it is quite expensive per night and I found it lacking some of the luxuries and service of a European five star hotel. Therefore unless you have an early train I would walk by to get photos, but stay somewhere cheaper or go for a more luxurious property!

Bon Voyage

Andrew