Time was when you stepped out of a railway station at any self-respecting town, and the first building you set eyes upon was the railway hotel. More often than not, it was a foursquare Victorian creation of honest red brick, and even more often the smartest place in town in which to lay your head. Tip the porter half a crown and your bags would trundle after you into the high-ceilinged lobby where uniformed staff would move heaven and earth to ensure your stay was a pleasant one.
Step out of a railway station today and you are much more likely to come face-to-face with a car park, some sort of newspaper-cum-snack shop, and perhaps the faceless offices of a company that sells insurance. Ask a passing local for directions to the railway hotel and you are liable to be met with a blank stare.
So where did it all go wrong? Sadly, most of the 60-odd hotels built in the 19th century by the various railway companies had hit the skids by the time they were nationalised in 1948. There were fewer than 30 left when privatisation came about 33 years later and many of those were snapped up by multinational chains and given bland corporate makeovers. Meanwhile, those station hotels set up by enterprising individuals in the Golden Age of Steam gamely staggered on or were left high and dry as the railways were abandoned in favour of the motorways.
The good news is that, against all the odds, there are still some choice railway hotels out there. It's hunting them down that's the tricky bit, since most have changed their name or been rebranded in some way. To make things easier, here's a starter pack of 10 that we think are well worth the trip to the ticket office.
1. Midland Hotel, Morecambe
Without question the loveliest railway hotel in the country, a classic art deco swirl curling round the seafront like a wave. Built in 1933 by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, it quickly attracted an A-list celebrity following (Coco Chanel, Mrs Simpson and Noel Coward are said to have stayed). But its star burnt out quickly and it was derelict when bought in 2003. Now returned to its original glory, it is once again one of the wonders of the north-west coast. The rooms are light, bright and airy and many of them come with views across Morecambe Bay to the Lake District. Perfect.
• Doubles from £79; +44 (0)1524 424000
2. Andaz Liverpool Street, London
Better known by its former name, The Great Eastern, Andaz Liverpool Street is one of the many 19th-century enormohotels that tower above the capital's rail termini and is easily the one with the greatest wow factor. While the exterior remains strictly 1884, the interior is very much 2009 with knobs on. Dripping with Turner Prize-worthy sculptures, walls of angled mirrors, retro-minimalist bedrooms, an eye-popping rotunda - it's a David Lynch film set masquerading as a hotel. There's no reception desk either - staff come to you with laptops while you relax in the lounge.
• Doubles from £118.50; +44 (0)20 79611234
3. Hallmark Hotel, Derby
If you're the sort whose heart skips a beat when told you can have any colour as long as it's black, you're going to love the former Cuff's Station Hotel in Derby. In a bold statement, the current owners have gone all dark and mysterious - the restaurant even sports black tablecloths and black-draped chairs. Re-opened last year after a renovation, much of the hotel has seen a return to its early Victorian styling, which is fitting since Queen Victoria herself deigned to stay here twice.
• Doubles from £61; +44 (0)1332 345894
4. The Tregenna Castle Hotel, St Ives, Cornwall
Possibly the most unusual one of the lot. Tregenna was built of local granite in 1774, a full 113 years before the arrival of the railway. The Great Western Railway duly bought it and its 72-acre estate to accommodate their passengers (and we're thinking strictly the first-class ones here given the prices). The rooms are a tad on the anodyne side nowadays but you'll probably spend most of your time looking out of the window at the fantastic view of St Ives and the sea beyond.
• Double £300 for two nights (minimum stay); +44 (0)1736 795254
5. The Midland Hotel, Manchester
The Midland's opulent French restaurant is the part of the hotel that most feels like another time and place: the high ceiling, the chandelier, the oversized portrait of some courtly lady in blue. The winter garden and 800-seat theatre may be gone, but the monolithic Grade II-listed building that was once graced by George Best still plays host to the lesser lights of the England team when they're in town, though The Beatles were famously turned away for being "inappropriately dressed". No rocking up in your Bermuda shorts and wimple then.
• Double £185/night; 0845 0345 777
6. The Railway Hotel, Faversham, Kent
As you might expect in a small place like Faversham, this is not one of your imposing 300-room establishments. However, rail travellers have been coming here for over 150 years to enjoy some fresh air away from London. Sadly, the hotel's renowned dining room is closed at the moment for want of a top chef, but its pub - which retains many of its original Victorian features - makes a perfect spot from which to enjoy the annual Faversham Hop Festival (5/6 September).
• Doubles from £65; +44 (0)1795 533173
7. The Caledonian Hotel, Edinburgh
It has to be said, Scotland's railway hotels have not entered the new millennium very happily. They have invariably gone to seed or have been subsumed into the characterless ranks of the big chains. Ironically, the best of the bunch is now all that remains of the erstwhile station, Princes Street, that it used to serve. Warm pink stone outside hides a modern interior that tastefully genuflects in the direction of nostalgia without resorting to tackiness. Choose the right room and you'll get a view of the castle, too.
• Doubles from £152; +44 (0)131 2228888
8. Queen's Hotel, Leeds
A relative newcomer to the scene, having been one of the last grand art deco buildings constructed before the outbreak of the second world war. Dominating Leeds' City Square and just a stone's throw from the station, its Portland stone facade contains a newly refurbished 1930s interior with a modern twist - indeed, it's all gone distinctly boutique. Definitely the place you'll want to return to after a hard day's shopping in the sumptuous Victoria Quarter arcade.
• Doubles from £73; 0845 0345777
9. Railway Hotel, Enniskillen
Built in the 1880s for passengers using the Great Northern Railway, this is the only hotel in the centre of town, making it something of a celebrity. The Railway is home to the Dining Car Restaurant which has "the days of the railway in mind" so come prepared for time travel. A stay here puts you within striking distance of lovely Lough Erne and the astonishing Marble Arch Caves in the foothills of the Cuilcagh mountains.
• Doubles £75; +44 (0)28 6632 2084
10. The Midland Hotel, Bradford
Built in 1890 by the Midland Railway Company as part of Forster Square station, the hotel was a wreck by the time it was bought up a century later and restored. There can't be many other hotels in England that run to two ballrooms and no doubt it would be rightly renowned if only Bradford weren't such an unjustly vilified town. Almost every prime minister from Salisbury to Wilson is purported to have stayed at the Midland, as did the great stage actor Henry Irving, although he had the misfortune of prefiguring a Fawlty Towers episode by dying here too. Don't let it put you off.
• Doubles from £108; +44 (0)20 7266 1100
