Marriott Renaissance, United Kingdom

The 323,000 ft² Midland Grand Hotel (300 rooms, all with fireplaces) was designed by architect George Gilbert Scott and was opened to customers on 5 May 1873 after a complex construction process.

The total costs for building were £438,000. The architecture of the building is a mix of styles but is mainly based on a polychromatic Italian Gothic style inspired by John Ruskin’s Stones of Venice.

The hotel was built adjacent to Barlow’s great train shed to serve St Pancras Station and functioned as such until 1935 when the facilities had become outdated and it became too expensive to run.

The hotel was converted into offices for British Railways, renamed St Pancras Chambers and used until the 1980s when the building was closed and left empty after failing its fire certificate.

REGENERATION PROJECT

St Pancras Station has been refurbished and has opened as a transit hub and terminus for Eurostar trains in London, via the new North Kent high-speed rail link.

This has renewed interest in the old Midland Grand Hotel, which is owned by London and Continental Railways, and a project was conceived in late 2006 to convert the building into a luxury hotel with apartments.

The scheme is being developed by Manhattan Loft Corporation and has been designed by RHWL Architects in conjunction with Richard Griffiths Architects.

The project is costing an estimated £150 million and will see the upper floors of the building converted into 67 apartments (the cheapest of which has sold for £1 million) along with a 245 room hotel scheduled to open in 2009.

The development requires that an additional wing is added to the original building to house 193 rooms, and this will be constructed opposite the British Library.

English Heritage has insisted that the addition be in the style of the original architecture as the original hotel building is Grade I listed.

The new wing was the centre of controversy over what design elements to incorporate but the matter has been settled and, although foundations have been taken from a different building, the wing’s new red brick facades will be an aesthetically pleasing addition to the hotel.

RENAISSANCE HOTEL

The new 245 room hotel will be branded as a Renaissance hotel under a management contract with Manhattan Loft Corporation.

The facilities will include two restaurants, two bars, a health and leisure centre, a business centre, a ballroom, a function room and eight meeting rooms.

All the internal rooms, which are of historic significance, will be restored to their former splendour and the main building will house 52 guest rooms, with the remainder in the new bedroom wing.

Ed Fuller, president and managing director of international lodging for Marriott International, comments: "We are excited to be part of this magnificent restoration, which has been fully supported by the London Borough of Camden, English Heritage and the Victorian Society. The restoration of the St Pancras Chambers building will herald the revival of the wider King’s Cross area of London. We’re confident that the Renaissance hotel will be a catalyst for the success of this extraordinary project."