FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Renaissance St. Pancras, London, UK [Master Thread]
Old May 7, 2011, 7:00 pm
  #38  
sspicer
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: Marriott titanium; Hyatt Globalist; Hilton Diamond; AA Gold
Posts: 44
Stay report May 3-4, 2011

Used points for a single night's stay, happened to be the night before their grand opening so there was much activity both days we were there (although we checked out well before the evening's festivities.)

Arrived on Eurostar from Belgium. Signage to the hotel could be better -- you have to descend to the shopping concourse level to exit Eurostar. Once past customs and into the shops, use the elevator back up to platform level and then enter the hotel through the Booking Office restaurant.

We were greeted at the front desk by two of the managers who were effusive and genuine in their welcome, and who gave us a tour of the ground floor including the Chambers Club, their executive lounge. As others have noted, staff throughout the hotel consistently greet you and offer help if even a hint of needing it is wanted; we found it refreshing and usually helpful, although some staff (the Chambers Club waiting staff in particular) are still in need of training (e.g., hot tea provided without a saucer -- in England?! Sacrilege.)

We were upgraded to a Barlow Club room with king bed that accommodated the rollaway snuggly but comfortably. The physical plant of this hotel is outstanding: the new Barlow rooms and corridors are finished to almost Four Seasons standards, and the attention to detail in maintaining a consistency of style is impressive (even the TV turns on to a splash screen with the hotel's logo and antique British decorative pattern as background.) The beds were super comfortable, including the rollaway -- and even that had a matching throw on it. The bathroom is Villeroy & Boch with the "Ren" line of products and shower over the bath with a hinged glass screen (don't lean on it to avoid falling out of the shower!). The muted beige color scheme and tiling is beautiful but got messy with water and shoes by the time we checked out. The room's AC worked splendidly in the unusually warm British weather for spring (unlike the Marriott County Hall's system we'd experienced a week earlier.) We encountered absolutely no noise problems in the room, unlike the previous OP: it's hard to imagine the Eurostar making noise in these Barlow rooms, since the platforms are at the opposite side of the station. TV options include BBC HD and also an unusually extensive package of foreign channels that required an additional charge to the room, which we didn't opt for. Various radio channels are also available on the TV.

There was also a personal notecard welcoming us written by the front desk manager awaiting us on the table in the room, together with six macarons in a black lacquered box, a lovely touch.

We didn't get the opportunity to see rooms in the old section of the hotel, but the Chambers Club is really quite impressive for a Marriott lounge: firstly, it's situated in prime real estate on the ground floor adjacent to the restaurant and right at the front of the hotel, with views facing the driveway out front and also a couple of windows overlooking the train platforms from the staircase at the back of the lounge. When we looked in at 8.30pm, evening food offerings included a reasonably extensive selection of canapes and desserts laid out simultaneously. Staff offered table service for drinks, or you could help yourself; alcohol (at least the beer we had) was complimentary. The breakfast spread the following morning featured most of what you'd expect to find in a full-size restaurant buffet -- cereals and pastries, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage; cold meats and smoked salmon, apples and bananas -- and more unusual offerings such as stewed apricots and figs; quite ample for our needs although I missed oatmeal (or porridge as it would be called there.)

As a previous OP has stated, the renovation of the old Midland Hotel by Manhattan Loft Corporation (the developers) is outstanding, and it's worth wandering around the whole hotel to take it all in. The grand staircase is impressive indeed.

Drinks are available all day long, as are cookies of various types and jars of old-style British candies and boiled sweets (hard candy) in jars. We were told afternoon tea including sandwiches and scones would be served at 3pm, but we were checking out before then.

internet access was great in the room -- wired and Wi-Fi is available and I was able to register multiple devices for Wi-fi (phone, tablet, laptop) with no problems. The only public area we tried to log-on was the Chambers Club, and though the network name was visible we could never get a strong enough signal to log on successfully. The lounge manager said the service down there was running with a temporary setup, and they hoped to have it fixed in the near future.

I requested a late checkout at the front desk and was initially told they couldn't provide any at all because of the impending arrival of guests for the grand opening, though they did offer to call my cell phone if the situation changed which was a nice touch. When I checked on the website and found they were still selling various categories of rooms including the one we were in, I was a bit miffed and went back to the front desk, but as I got there the manager said they'd managed to move things around and could offer the 3pm checkout I'd requested, so that avoided having to argue my case a little more strongly.

I would recommend this hotel hands down over the County Hall any day, unless location required you to choose elsewhere. It's also a cat 7 rather than cat 8, if staying on points. I'd say it's the equal of the (soon departing) Chancery Court in style, and the lounge is much better. (One manager told me many staff members would be transferring from the Chancery Court shortly.) I haven't experienced many other London Marriotts (the West India Quay being another, which I also like very much and which also has a great lounge), but I'd highly recommend the St. Pancras Ren. and with its excellent Underground and rail service I'd imagine it will be convenient for many.
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