The beginning of our Summer roadtrip began with an early Eurostar journey from London to Paris, and having had just been in Lincolnshire for a family christening, we decided to stay over in London. Booking a family-friendly hotel near St Pancras International, it would hopefully help us keep our early morning travel plans!
Having scoured the internet for good deals, we also agreed that we didn’t want any fuss, and had to ensure everything was going to run smoothly and that we were well rested before our trip.
With all that in mind, I ended up booking the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, having stayed with the chain many times before, and because the price we paid ($146 for a triple), was pretty good considering we booked it last minute.
HOTEL LOCATION
The hotel is in Islington, near vibrant Angel with its huge range of restaurants, shops and cinema if you fancy it. You really can’t beat the location. It was just a 10 minute walk to the station, or a short taxi/serviced car ride away, which was pre-booked by the hotel and cost us £10.
SERVICE
I think I’m not alone when I say it’s all about the small gestures, and we were warmly welcomed – literally, as we were given a warm cookie on our arrival! Staff were all friendly throughout and helpful when we needed something.
ROOM
The room was a little snug, but well decorated in a very modern fashion, and with a clean design. We crashed on the extremely comfortable beds after the long drive, and only got up again to meet our friends from Cairo, who joined us for a delicious dinner at the hotel’s Marco Pierre White restaurant (more about that below).
FOOD
We didn’t have breakfast at the hotel as we wanted to be in St Pancras as early as possible for a relaxed check-in. The dinner however was wonderful. We had a late meal (9pm) with three young children, and everyone was really nice about it – we felt very welcome, even though it’s not an especially child-friendly restaurant. I don’t have any photos, but the food was great quality, and not too pricey for a London hotel. The décor was modern and service was excellent.
OVERALL
I feel like I’m cheating a bit by not giving any bad news about the hotel, but we really did love it and I couldn’t find anything wrong (bar the small, but well-appointed bedroom) – St Pancras or not, next time I’m in London I know where I’ll be staying!
NB: This post has not been sponsored in any way. We genuinely enjoyed our short layover and hope it’ll help you make a decision when looking for a family-friendly hotel near St Pancras. Bon voyage!
