News

London’s Great Northern Hotel to reopen

14 Mar 2013 by BusinessTraveller

London’s first railway hotel is set to reopen as a boutique 91-room property in April, following a £40 million restoration programme.

Located next to King’s Cross station and across from St Pancras International, the Great Northern Hotel first opened in 1854, and last operated as a hotel 12 years ago.

Lewis Cubitt’s original architecture, incorporating Italianate, classical features, has been “sensitively refurbished and its interior design exudes a timeless elegance with a hint of modernity”.

Original features including the façade, windows, lead-lined gutters, cast iron grilles and drainpipes has been restored, and inside the hotel offers “an overwhelming sense of space and light with its high ceilings, sweeping staircases, large sash windows and wide curved corridors that are hallmarks of the original architecture”.

Rooms feature “a rich Victorian inspired colour palette”, and rates start from £250, including in-room movies, an audio book literary collection and “super fast wifi”, as well as access to a complimentary pantry on each floor with snacks, drinks, newspapers and books.

Plum and Spilt Milk restaurant overlooks King’s Cross piazza, with three metre-high floor to ceiling windows and dishes including twice baked smoked haddock soufflé and a spring lamb hot pot with minted pea and broad bean salad.

GNH bar occupies most of the ground floor and features glass chandeliers, a polished pewter top island bar, mirrored glass ceilings and a private mezzanine bar. According to the developers “GNH Bar has been designed with the ambition to create one of the most glamorous bars in a major railway station in Europe”.

The Great Northern Hotel is the last of London’s iconic railway hotels to be redeveloped, joining:

  • The Hilton London Paddington (formerly the Great Western Hotel)
  • The Landmark London (formerly the Great Central Hotel)
  • Andaz Liverpool Street (formerly the Great Eastern Hotel - for a review click here)
  • The Charing Cross Hotel - for a review click here
  • The Grosvenor Hotel at Victoria station - for a review click here
  • The St Pancras Renaissance Hotel London (formerly the Midland Grand Hotel - for a review click here).

The new Great Northern Hotel is part of a major redevelopment of the King’s Cross area, including new housing, office and retail space, and a revamp of King’s Cross station (see online news March 15, 2012) which has seen the new Western concourse created to fit the shape of the Great Northen Hotel building.

For more information visit gnhlondon.com.

Report by Mark Caswell

Loading comments...

Search Flight

See a whole year of Reward Seat Availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Business Traveller March 2024 edition
Be up-to-date
Magazine Subscription
To see our latest subscription offers for Business Traveller editions worldwide, click on the Subscribe & Save link below
Polls