I'd been wanting to stay at the Renaissance St Pancras for a long time and was really looking forward to my stay. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointing experience.

I stayed two nights, before and after a trip to Edinburgh. The first stay went very well. I'd booked a Superior King Bedroom and was allocated a spacious room with a lovely view over the Francis Crick Institute. The second stay went less well. I'd booked a Premier King Bedroom. The first room I was allocated was a tiny room with a view of a brick wall. After returning to reception, the receptionist was adamant that I'd reserved a Superior King Bedroom. She only grudgingly reassigned me to a Premier King Bedroom when I showed her the email showing I'd reserved a Premier King Bedroom. The only Premier King Bedroom remaining was an accessible room. On checking out the following morning, the same receptionist was on duty. When she asked how my stay had been, I replied that I was disappointed how long it had taken to get the room that I had reserved the night before. She repeated that I'd only booked a Superior King Bedroom (so presumably I should have been grateful for the 'free' upgrade). I asked to see the manager. Together, I think we got to the bottom of the problem. I'd originally booked a Superior King Bedroom on 10 June, but modified the reservation to a Premier King Bedroom on 18 June. The manager explained that Marriott IT had only forwarded the original reservation to the hotel.

I can see why some reviews describe the Renaissance St Pancras as two hotels under one roof and that the Barlow rooms are 'only' standard Marriott rooms. However, they are standard Marriott rooms, so I don't see much to complain about (though I wasn't keen on the room with a view of a brick wall). The public areas are architecturally interesting and the location is very convenient for catching trains from St Pancras and Kings Cross. The scrambled eggs at breakfast were some of the best I've had at a hotel

On a happier note, I hope that I made someone's day. I went for a walk after breakfast. Outside the hotel, a passer-by asked me whether St Pancras is a church. I replied that it's a railway station and a hotel. I explained that scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed at St Pancras. At the mention of Harry Potter, his young girl's face lit up. I explained that while many of the scenes had been filmed at St Pancras, Platform 9 3/4 is actually next door at Kings Cross, next to the Harry Potter Store. I showed them how to get to Kings Cross and how to find Platform 9 3/4. He said they were visiting from the Falkland Islands and that he was very pleased to have met me.