Harry Potter Comes to Life at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London

If you want your children to absorb history by osmosis, check yourselves and them into the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London. Adjacent to London’s Kings Cross St Pancras Station, home of the Eurostar, its vast, intricate gothic facade will over awe even the weeist ones in your party. And when you tell them that Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was filmed here, they’ll be dashing past you to get through the doors first.

And once inside the beautifully restored romantic fairytale facade, the building’s past still continues to resonate. It’s no wonder it’s been the setting for so many movies. You’ll all be craning your necks backwards to pick out details on the intricately decorated ceilings, you’ll eschew the elevator for the lure of the sweeping Grand Staircase and be hunting out the original station ticket booths that now make up part of the hotel bar, which is appropriately named, The Booking Office. The hotel dates back to 1873 and once incorporated the station ticket hall.

Guest Rooms and Suites
The guest rooms themselves are all very well appointed and they offer a range of suites and inter-connecting rooms, some are in the contemporary wing, others are housed within the original Victorian hotel building and feature wonderfully high ceilings, large windows and delicately restored period features.

Spa and Pool
Now on to my favourite bit, the subterranean spa. Well the Victorian tiled pool to be exact. It’s the type of pool that is normally only reserved for adults. It is too serene and grown-up for little ones. Our kids sensed the glamour of the occasion, however, and they squealed with glee as they stepped into the pool’s warm bubbling waters.

Restaurants
When it comes to dinner time there is the renowned Gilbert Scott restaurant, which people flock to from all over the world. So book early for a good table and arrive in good time to enjoy the gourmet popcorn nibbles! For more casual eating The Booking Office is the place to head for, or you might want to take afternoon tea in the Hansom Lounge, well actually you have to take afternoon tea in the Hansom Lounge at some point in your stay.

The hotel leads directly on to Kings Cross St Pancras Station’s concourse too, which has a variety of upmarket shops and restaurants and it’s particularly convenient if you’re taking the Eurostar. Rolling out of bed, down to breakfast and then straight out on to the Eurostar platform, made our journey to Paris so much more relaxing.

Whilst trains and tubes from Kings Cross St Pancras station will also take you all over London and beyond, so the St Pancras Hotel is the perfect place to base yourselves to explore the Capital.


original on ciaobambino.com