One of London’s most familiar Victorian landmarks – St Pancras Chambers, built as part of the railway terminal – is to be restored as a hotel. Scheduled to open in 2009 as an upscale Renaissance, it will be adjacent to the new international terminal for Eurostar, the high-speed passenger rail service that links the UK with the Continent. The 245-room hotel will feature two restaurants, two bars, health and leisure centre, business centre, ballroom, function suite and eight meeting rooms. The original main building, designed and built between 1868 and 1876 as a hotel by Sir George Gilbert Scott, will house 52 guest rooms. Meeting rooms and other public spaces of the hotel will be located in the historic parts of the building, with the remainder of the guest rooms in a new bedroom wing. The Marriott International hotel portfolio in London, of which the Renaissance brand is a part, is currently represented by 11 hotels, including another architectural gem, the 362-room Renaissance London Chancery Court, the former Pearl Assurance Company's headquarters in Holborn. The 494-room Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane is also undergoing an extensive restoration, costing US$188 million (€147 million), and will be rebranded as a JW Marriott Hotel next year.
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