GA Design works on St Pancras Hotel

Property development company Manhattan Loft Corporation won a competition for the leasehold and restoration of the hotel in 1997, and has been working with GA Design for the past three years.

Harry Handelsman, owner and chief executive of Manhattan Loft Corporation, says, ‘You’ll see a replica of what was once one of the grandest hotels in London. We’re repainting the existing rooms but giving them modern services.

‘It’s very Victorian: there’s nothing modest – it’s a true work of art.’

The new hotel maintains the high-Victorian Gothic architecture, featuring red-brick exteriors. The restoration of the interiors saw more than 1000 painters hand-painting many of the ceilings.

Areas considered to be of particular historical importance have been painstakingly renovated, including the Ladies’ Smoking Room and the forecourt, which features gold-leaf ceilings, ornate wall murals and a grand staircase with 15m-tall windows.

The hotel will open its doors ahead of the launch in mid-February 2011.