4 historic train stations reimagined as luxury hotels |
These grand old stations have been reborn as destinations, blending the romance of rail's golden age with modern comfort and style.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, cities around the world built vast, lavishly decorated train stations to serve as inspiring gateways for travellers. Enormous murals, arched ceilings and gilded details became the norm, creating the sense of romance we still associate with train travel today. But as automobiles and plane travel rose in popularity during the 20th Century, many of these architectural showpieces fell out of use and into disrepair.
After years of neglect, several of these once-grand spaces are busy again – their soaring halls and intricate ironwork reborn as luxury hotels. These accommodations preserve the historic details and grandeur of the golden age of trains, combining them with the modern amenities today's travellers expect.
"I think it is super exciting when an entity can take a historic building [and repurpose it] in an interesting way, because the shame is demolishing the building," said Toland Grinnell, president and chief operating officer at EverGreene Architectural Arts, which specialises in building restoration and conservation. "Let's keep as much of the historic fabric as we can and find really interesting ways to insert modernity into it… so that people can enjoy both worlds."
Here are four train station hotels around the world where you can experience the grandeur of the golden age of rail travel:
One of London's most ornate and recognisable buildings, the red-brick facade of St Pancras Station has inspired railway architecture around the world. The adjoining hotel has welcomed guests since 1873, when the Midland Rail Company opened the opulent Midland Grand Hotel, designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott. Lavish but impractical, with 300 guest rooms and just eight bathrooms, the hotel fell out of favour when en-suites became popular, explained general manager Edward White.
"This building was such a feat of engineering [in the Victorian era]. It has 18in-thick concrete floors, which was such an architectural masterpiece [at the time]," said White. "[But] when the concept of ensuite bathrooms came over from the US 15 or 20 years later, they didn't have the machinery to drill into the floors to insert pipework."
After decades of decline,........