Marriott St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London Review

A few weeks ago we needed an overnight stay in London to make it easier for an early appointment in Central London. As my partner wanted to see the ‘Spice Girls stairs’, we booked the Marriott St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Recent reviews weren’t grand but its location & staircase swayed us just for one night. We booked in at the cost of 50,000 Marriott points at around 4 pm that same afternoon.

Location

As the name may suggest to you the hotel is based on St. Pancras International station, extremely handy for the Eurostar but also near Kings Cross Station for great underground/train links across London & beyond. There are plenty of shops in both stations for food, drinks and the area is generally always busy. Popular attractions close by include the Royal Opera House, The British Museum & Covent Garden.

Marriott St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London

As you enter the hotel you’ll notice the large open-plan reception/dining area which is shared with The Hansom restaurant/bar. The reception area is on the right-hand side of the space with the dining area to the left and after the reception area. The reception location is rather inconvenient as guests use it as a cut-through when exiting the hotel, not ideal whilst you are waiting to check-in! There was a short wait before a member of staff checked us in, the service was friendly & polite with nothing particular to note. We turned down the offer of breakfast in the hotel (we were glad we did as you will find out later.) And paid a £200 guarantee on our credit card for any incidentals. As we had heavy luggage we requested if it could be brought to our room later on.

Once you’ve checked in (or if you’ve already checked in!) your route depends on what room you are in. If you are in the Barlow Wing head straight down from the front desk. Unfortunately, you’ll find the hotel in various states of construction on route with boards directing you the way to your room. On your route, you’ll see what looks like a camping cooking setup that wouldn’t be amiss at a scout camp. This is where breakfast at the hotel is currently cooked/served (glad we skipped on that one!) If you continue to follow the signs you’ll eventually be directed to the elevators to the rooms in the Barlow Wing.

Within 15 minutes of arrival to the room, a member of staff knocked at the door with our bag. Well, knocked and walked off! Compare this to our stay in the Conrad St James where the staff member, knocked was extremely polite and asked where we’d like our bag. Small touches like this make the difference in a 5-star hotel. We, unfortunately, had a similar experience when checking out with the porter huffing and sighing as we waited outside for our luggage.

The Room

We booked a Deluxe Queen bedroom in the Barlow Wing. As you enter the room you’ll notice the bathroom located on the left-hand side, a good size wardrobe on the right with the main room space directly ahead. In the wardrobe, you’ll find an extra robe, ironing board/iron, umbrella and safe.

As you enter the main bedroom you have the bed and bedside cabinets with a chair on the far left. On the right is a cabinet with a TV on top and with a mini-fridge and tea-making facilities inside. On the top of this is the TV and on the far right a table & chair with multiple sockets designed for working at. Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a view outside the window!

Unfortunately, the room was rather drab (more Travelodge than ‘luxury’) and had a few minor issues including the cabinet door partly falling off, marks over the walls, and the bathroom door not locking.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is a fairly standard size for a central London hotel and is functional for one person. On the left, you have the mirror/sink (with Tokyo Milk toiletries), directly in front of you is the toilet and to the right is a small but decent shower. No complaints here (other than the door) just fairly standard stuff!

St. Pancras Spa

Hotel guests get free access to the St. Pancras Spa which contains a Swimming Pool, Steam Room, Sauna, Fitness Centre & Treatment Rooms. If you want to have any treatments done you will have to prebook them here – https://www.stpancras-spa.com/treatment-menu. To access the Spa use the corridor to the left as you walk into the hotel and take the elevator to the bottom floor.

You can use your keycard to access the facilities, as you walk through the double doors to the left is the pool/steam room area, to the right (on the right-hand side) is access to the fitness centre. Almost directly opposite is the ladies changing rooms, further down to the right is the men’s changing rooms (these both have a sauna in) and down the end of the corridor is access to the treatment rooms. If you are getting a treatment at the spa there are chairs in this space to wait.

The Gym

The gym is small but functional with a variety of cardio equipment and a small selection of weights. It was completely empty during our time in the spa.

Changing Rooms

In the changing rooms, you’ll be given access to a locker with a robe, towel and flip flops. Here you’ll also have access to a sauna and showers.

Pool/steam room area

Once you exit the changing rooms and enter the pool/steam room area you will see access to the steam room on the left. By the entrance, you’ll also find a machine for drinking water. Around the space, you will find loungers and seats dotted around. As you go to the right you will see the (very) small pool which contains a jacuzzi on the left-hand. On both sides of the pool are showers.

As you can see the Spa is very small and was very peaceful as there were only a couple of people there at most during our visit. With any more, it would feel crowded very quickly!

Late check-out at the Marriott St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel

We were given one of the most generous late check-outs we’ve ever had from Marriott here. The normal check-out time is midday (12 pm) but we were able to stay until 4 pm on request.

Marriott St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel Conclusion

We would describe our stay at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel as mediocre (the spa definitely saved the trip) at best, we certainly wouldn’t return any time soon with so many other great hotels in London. Whilst you can’t fault the location or some of the beautiful interior both its service & hard product aren’t up to scratch. We paid 50,000 Marriott Points for our 1-night stay. Cash rates start from around £224 a night. For more details and booking see the website here – https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/lonpr-st-pancras-renaissance-hotel-london/