St Pancras Chambers Bloomsbury

All aboard

The poet John Betjeman wrote of St Pancras station that it was ‘too beautiful and too romantic to survive’. Yet now his statue stands on the concourse, gazing in wonder at the swathes of steel and glass that soar above.

Transformed into a luxury hotel and a host of apartments, a stay in St Pancras Chambers lets you sleep amidst history. There’s the solid bulk of the Grade 1 listed architecture, but movement, too. Think of the swoop of the gothic frontage, and the unremitting fin de siècle urge to leap aboard a train, leaving all cares far behind.

Great Expectations

Your host has something of the Victorian pioneer spirit about him. At eighteen he left Brighton to come to London and seek his fortune. Now a young entrepreneur, he loves life, laughter and Isabella Rossellini.

Platform nine and three quarters

This is truly like stepping into a storybook castle. Let a porter guide you up the grand staircase to your reclaimed front door. Inside, you’ll find the core structure of the building preserved all around. So careful was the renovation that not a single nail was disturbed.

Downstairs you’ll find a modern kitchen and a lovely dining area. Next door the sitting room is a mixture of vintage and contemporary furnishings, the original beams providing the perfect foil for the much-loved leather chair. The sofa folds out into a double bed, or head upstairs to find a bright bathroom and the master double. Here the feel is more rustic, and, as you’re on the top floor you have all the benefit of double height ceilings.

Only connect

St Pancras Chambers is the gateway to Europe. Nip over to Paris, up to Edinburgh, or simply hop on the tube into central London, and all without unfurling your brolly. Head to the spa in the hotel next door, or hit St Pancras Station’s shops. And for refreshment, you’ve a champagne bar and one of London's most exciting new restaurants, the Gilbert Scott, from the much-lauded Marcus Wareing.