ST PANCRAS RENAISSANCE, LONDON
Best for… Harry Potter fans
The unthinkable nearly happened when the glorious Victorian-built, neo-gothic St Pancras station and hotel was slated for demolition. Luckily, disaster was averted and the station was renovated and the hotel revamped. It’s a fabulous place to stay in central London, and there’s access on foot to one of the most interesting, but not necessarily obvious, swathes of London. Bring older children with you and you’ll find plenty to do, not least a visit to Kings Cross station across the road to Harry Potter’s platform 93/4 and gift shop. Younger kids will love the bouncing fountains in nearby Granary Square and the LED light-wall tunnel that leads there from the tube.
The Booking Office restaurant and bar and Mi + Me café are on the Upper Terrace with the Eurostar platforms, which is a godsend if you have a trainspotting child in tow. There’s a cocoon of a spa that has children’s swimming hours, and if you book one of the deluxe Chamber’s rooms at a higher rate, you’ll have access to a complimentary breakfast as well as snacks, afternoon tea and canapés. Nearby is The British Library (bl.uk), the free ‘treasures’ exhibition is excellent, and the Wellcome Collection has medical related exhibits (more fun than that sounds). There are plenty of places to eat nearby from Plum + Spilt Milk ( plumandspiltmilk.com) and Vintotecca (vinoteca.co.uk) to modern Indian Dishoom (dishoom.com).
How to do it Barlow wing superior king room, from £249 a night. Extra bed at £50 per night. Chambers wing junior suite from £349. Extra bed £50 per night. Visit stpancraslondon.com. Lulu Grimes