The Megaro Hotel - Kings Cross St Pancras, London — Hotel in London

This is NOT a 5-star hotel. When I see “5-star hotel” I am imagining what you get when you stay at Corinthia, The Ritz, Four Seasons — all of which I have stayed at this year, confirming that I’m not crazy: The Megaro is incorrectly designated a 5-star hotel.

The people who work at Megaro are great. The gentleman who was there when I checked in is the reason I did not immediately check out and go somewhere else (well, that, and the fact that everything was fully booked that week and there was a train strike happening). The lobby is hip and clean and trendy, and at first you’re like “oh yes, for sure this is a 5-star hotel,” but then you take the tiny old elevator up to your room and you’re like “did I go through a portal to another dimension?” because the hallways are musty, the decor is drab and dark, and worst of all is the carpeting… and its smell. Think pet dander meets chemical deodorant meets many (many) years of traffic without a serious deep clean. Holes and worn spots, stains everywhere. Honestly it all needs to be replaced. And what is happening with the showers? They’re like something out of a 1980s nursing home. Weirdest fixtures and setup, and a glass half-wall that blocks exactly 0% of the water from getting all over the floor. In my first room, the bathroom was especially dingy. It was better in my final room.

I got to my (first) room and nearly panicked thinking about the fact that I had pre-paid for this stay and may not be able to get out of it. I wish I’d gotten pics of that one. But I went back down and politely asked if there was a room with hardwood floors instead, citing my allergies (if you have allergies or sensory issues around smell, good luck). They only had one available, but it was about to be booked. They kindly showed me that one, plus two other (carpeted) rooms as options, both slightly better than the first but still smelly, drab, dark, and just… not it. And NOT what you see in their photos on their site.

I went back down to the lobby to consider my next steps. I decided to check out and eat the first night’s $450+ cost, but the nice gentleman walked back over to me and said he had moved things around so I could have the hardwood floor room. It still wasn’t going to be the 5-star hotel experience I had paid for, but at this point I was exhausted from 12+ hours of travel, and overwhelmed by the situation, so I accepted, with much gratitude for their efforts. (I know this review is harsh, but I am not rude or unkind IRL, I promise. 😅 The staff were very professional.)

The room was… fine. No room service, no extra hotel amenities other than free coffee/tea and some free sodas they put in the mini fridge. Just a regular 3-star room. I will say: it was definitely clean! The hardwood floors were very clean, bathroom clean, sheets and bedding clean!

Let me be clear: I’m not rich, but I like comfort when I travel, and thanks to the fact that I don’t have children, I can splurge on things like 5-star hotels. This was NOT a 5-star hotel. It really just confused me, more than anything. Like, I don’t understand how they managed to get that rating? Does somebody’s dad work for the ratings company? I even walked around before I checked out to see if I could find a secret 5-star wing where they put the people who determine star ratings, but I just found more weird hallways that smelled funky.

Change the rating (and therefore the price) and this is a whole different picture. If this place had been correctly designated (and priced) as a 3-star hotel (and they replaced/removed the carpeting) — if I had been expecting and paying for a 3-star hotel — I would be giving a much better rating/review. Instead I am now a conspiracy theorist about how hotel ratings are determined. 😅

Service: 5 Stars

Location: 3 Stars (very busy loud street outside although the windows do provide soundproofing; a good home base for exploring if you’re using trains, but not a cute ‘hood in itself — and I walked everywhere due to the train strikes)

Rooms: 1 Star (for a supposed...

This was our second stay at this fabulous hotel & repeat custom usually says a lot! For this visit we were delighted to be guests for eight nights & stayed in room 601 which is one of the Megaro Suites. |From the moment we arrived to the time we checked out everything was simply perfect for us….|After arriving in London at Kings Cross the hotel is literally across the road from the station, so its location is highly convenient. The fantastic reception staff who at all times were so welcoming, helpful, efficient & kind stored our luggage so we could head off into the city prior to check in. The reception staff also took the time to call us once our suite was ready so we could actually check in ahead of schedule. |Our suite was fabulous!! Located towards the rear of the hotel room 601 was ideal because it was very quiet & relaxing with practically no internal, guest or city noise. The suite was very spacious, light & airy with efficient AC that was simple to adjust. The bed was huge, very comfy & there was a sofa + two soft chairs, low table, large flat screen TV, refrigerator, kettle, coffee machine, room safe, lots of hanging space, iron/board & blackout curtains that were electronically opened/closed! Our mini bar was stocked with complementary cold drinks on arrival, including Megaro Lager & was replenished daily with still & sparking water. Tea, coffee, milk & crisps/snacks were also available for us to enjoy. Slippers, gowns, luxurious bed linen, masses of high quality fluffy towels & hairdryer added to the 5* experience. The en-suite bathroom was large, fully tiled, warm & contained an array of toiletry items including shower gel, body lotions, cotton buds, emery boards, dental/shaving packs & shower caps. There was a full size bath + powerful rainfall shower that was wonderfully efficient & refreshing. Our suite was kept immaculately clean by the excellent team of hardworking housekeeping staff who changed all towels on daily basis + changed the bed linen on alternate days. The same team replenished any complimentary items that were used each day & also personally enquired if any further items were needed by ourselves by calling at our room around 19.00 each evening. The domestic team maintained the cleanliness of the reception, all public areas, lifts, corridors & restaurant to an extremely high standard. We noticed everything was always gleaming, spotless, fresh & clean throughout the hotel. |Breakfast was outstanding & taken in the adjoining Spagnoletti restaurant….please see our separate review of the excellent food & service we received there. |Our stay at the hotel was truly amazing with the most gorgeous, comfortable & relaxing suite & the most fabulous staff from management, reception, housekeeping, domestic + restaurant. Everyone was outstanding in the way they took care of us both & made our stay very special. A big, big thank you to Hotel|Manager Filippo & the whole team of staff at The Megaro Hotel & the Spagnoletti...

My wife and I booked this hotel as abit of convenient (situated right next the train stations) luxury for 1 night following a tour around Italy. What we were given was anything but. There are 2 positives which were the helpless receptionist on the evening we arrived, who did attempt to help us although he was unable to answer any of our queries... and also the receptionist on check out who did actually listen when we were honest about our stay.|Unfortunately the rest of our stay was nothing near a 5 star experience. I am not sure how this hotel has been awarded this as we have had better service and accommodation in 3 star hotels.|Our room was in desperate need of repair and maintenance, the receptionist on check out did explain that some rooms did need refurbished.....but I was still charged and expected a 5 star experience. Photos attached of the bathroom and general lack of up keep of our room.|On arrival in our room we found a leaflet for a free bottle of Prosecco, and after travelling all day we decided that it would be a nice way to end our trip. We made our way down to the bar only to find it in complete darkness. We then made our way back to the reception/lobby where there were seats and a drinks menu. We sat and eventually were attended to by a waiter who explained abruptly that the offer was only valid with a meal at the restaurant downstairs. This was not clear on the card. It was 9.30pm and we did not want to eat. Unfortunately this particular waiter was far more concerned with chatting to a woman sat on her own than serving my wife and I. The receptionist who was visibly embarrassed by this did try to help us but did not have the answers again to a simple question of drink availability. Having disappeared the waiter then returned to say that all of the menus currently on the tables were not correct and gave us an additional menu. This was a dessert menu for the restaurant downstairs. He then left us to continue chatting to the woman sitting on her own. Having previously stated that we did not want food this was the final straw and we left to find somewhere that could provide some service.|Overall an extremely dissapointing stay, yes it is close to the station but that is not something that the current owners and staff can help, and if you are looking for 5 star then this is no where near the standards that you...