BUILT in the 1850s, the Great Northern Hotel, in London, enjoyed a reputation as high-class and glamorous in its previous incarnation – the first of the great railway hotels.

It gradually fell into neglect and stood derelict for 12 years prior to the completion of its £42m regeneration, but now sits proudly alongside the redeveloped passenger hub at King’s Cross station.

As well as ploughing tens of millions of pounds into the project, entrepreneur Jeremy Robson spent five years returning the building to its former glory.

Now one of the capital’s finest five-star boutique hotels, the Great Northern is in one of the fastest-developing areas in London.

Benefiting from substantial investment, both public and private, the area is considered one of London’s most exciting neighbourhoods.

In September 2011, the University of the Arts Central St Martin’s moved in nearby, while Google has planning consent to develop a one million sq ft office building which will form its European headquarters.

Guests at the Great Northern have a choice of three room styles – the Cubitt rooms, named after the hotel’s original designer Lewis Cubitt, have high ceilings and are blessed with natural light. Though smaller, the Couchette class of rooms still feature queen-sized beds and are designed as a modern take on the traditional railway sleeper carriage.

The Wainscot rooms, on the top floor of the hotel, are painted deep purple, and billed as the perfect place for romancing.

We were allocated a Cubitt and were impressed by the opulent decor and faultless soundproofing, which kept the buzz from the madding crowd of commuters at bay.

Our room was also next to the pantry. One on every floor means guests are never more than a few footsteps from a sugar hit: homemade cakes and cookies, as well as sweets, are available at all hours. But to fill up on Tunnocks and lemon drizzle cake would be to do a grave disservice to the Great Northern’s signature restaurant, Plum + Spilt Milk.

The restaurant’s name, as all true railway buffs will know, is a nod to the livery colours of the dining cars on the Flying Scotsman. Head chef Mark Sargeant, who spent 13 years working alongside Gordon Ramsay, has designed his menus of unfussy British dishes to appeal to travellers and business folk alike.

We savoured every mouthful of our loin of Cornish lamb with braised white beans and fish pie while admiring the beautiful interior, which is dominated by 120 hand-blown glass pendants.

After dinner, there was time for a nightcap – plus one for the pillow – in the glamorous GNH Bar, which serves light bites during the day and dons a “cocktails and stolen glances” vibe after dark.

Breakfast (green tea, granola, honey and yogurt; poached eggs and smoked salmon, since you ask) brought a chance to admire the decorators’ handiwork – hundreds of individuallyapplied milk bottle labels adorn a staircase wall. The significance of this escaped me, but it looked mighty impressive.

We were too full from breakfast to indulge before dashing for our train, but those with heartier appetites could to worse than pay a visit to Kiosk, the hotel’s ‘hole in the wall’ takeaway outlet. It opens directly on to the Western Concourse at King’s Cross and serves generous hand-carved hot meat sandwiches.

There are plans afoot to extend the brand to other mainline stations, so commuters should watch this space.

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