The St Pancras Renaissance opened to great fanfare in 2011, but now a second classic railway hotel has been revived, almost next door, beside the redeveloped King's Cross station. Both hotels are geared to Eurostar business folk and romantic breakers, and are appropriately glamorous.
Four years and £14m of revamp readied the Great Northern for its summer opening, with design, by Archer Humphryes Architects, that captures the grandeur of the pleasantly curved Italianate 1854 Lewis Cubitt building, but ladles on contemporary cool.
We complete check-in forms on a cream leather sofa in a sexy reception, painted dark Farrow and Ball grey and hung with art deco lights. Everything looks expensive.
Anthony Thwaite, director of rooms, whisks us off to the GNH bar. Pumping music, giant chandeliers, sheeny pewter bar top. Bit pokey for a social drink though, I think. Corridor to the downstairs loos resembles a vintage train, with high-back leather seats and a curved wooden ceiling.
A fun Here Design artwork spatters the stairwells with golden milk-bottle tops; framed vintage adverts, and artworks depicting prunes, plums and dairy products cover the walls outside the restaurant, Plum + Spilt Milk (named after the livery of the Flying Scotsman dining carriage).
At the St Pancras Renaissance I was woken by sirens and traffic on Euston Road. Noisy location but listed building prohibiting normal double glazing, you see. Here there's the same problem, but solved, says Anthony, by adding a secondary sash window behind each. It works. Silence.
Five floors of rooms have wide curving corridors, and include smaller "Couchette" rooms, some looking on to the new domed roof of King's Cross, a space centre-y view.
Luxy features in our gorgeous standard Cubitt room include a leather-and-walnut bedside table inspired by ladies' vanity cases, posh bathroom tiles, and a TV system with movies and CDs uploaded. At the end of the corridor is a help-yourself pantry, with bar stools, newspapers, Nespresso, Teapig bags, and – whoopee – unctuously creamy homemade carrot cake laid out at 4pm. Oops, spoilt my dinner.
The restaurant room is fabulous, a bit Bob Bob Ricard, with cream leather banquettes, parquet floor, custom glass pendant lights, Italian Fratelli Boffey furniture, sleek black cracked lava tabletops, American walnut and matt blue walls. Chef Mark Sargeant's food is classic British. An appetiser of Yorkshire pudding with roast garlic is yummy but heavy – more bar snack than appetiser; radishes with anchovy dip just not very fun. I follow a rich starter of creamed smoked haddock and poached egg with a good lamb shank hotpot (both served in annoying cast iron pots). It's just all a bit heavy. My partner loves his charcuterie with sherry plums, and braised turbot (£26). Service is fantastic; they agree to deliver Eton mess to our room so we can watch The Apprentice, even though there's no room service.
One revolutionary move is USB sockets plus continental and UK plug sockets everywhere – at the bar and by every restaurant table, which slightly spoils the look. Alas, after all the effort with the windows, the USB socket by the bed buzzes all night, interrupting my sleep. Still prefer these stylish bedrooms to the Renaissance, though.
• Accommodation was provided by the Great Northern Hotel
