Midland Grand Hotel In 1865 the
Midland Railway Company held a competition for the design of a 150-bed hotel to be constructed next to its railway station,
St Pancras, which was still under construction at the time. Eleven designs were submitted, including one by
George Gilbert Scott, which, at 300 rooms, was much bigger and more expensive than the original specifications. Despite this, the company liked his plans and construction began. Scott's design was for a hotel with five floors below roof level but in the event it was built with four (which remains the case today) to save on construction costs – although the Midland Railway frequently reproduced Scott's original impression, showing the hotel with its non-existent top floor, in its publicity material. The east wing opened on 5 May 1873, with the Midland Railway appointing Herr Etzensberger (formerly of the Victoria Hotel, Venice) as general manager. The hotel was completed in spring 1876. The hotel was expensive, with costly fixtures including a grand staircase, rooms with gold leaf walls and a fireplace in every room. It had many innovative features such as hydraulic lifts, concrete floors, revolving doors and fireproof floor constructions, though none of the rooms had bathrooms, as was the convention of the time. Officials dubbed Jane Fawcett the "furious Mrs Fawcett" for her unceasing efforts, and in 1967, the Hotel and the
St Pancras station received Grade I listed status. The building continued its use as rail offices, until the 1980s when it failed
fire safety regulations and was shut down. As redeveloped the hotel contains 244 bedrooms, two restaurants, two bars, a health and leisure centre, a ballroom, and 20 meeting and function rooms. The hotel was transferred from Marriott's Renaissance Hotels brand to its Autograph Collection brand on 3 June 2025, and was renamed
St. Pancras London, Autograph Collection. Also as part of the rebranding, the Chambers Club, exclusive to guests in the Chambers' rooms in the hotel, was closed. == Media appearances ==