Staying near St Pancras for an early Eurostar

An early Eurostar means being at St Pancras 75 minutes before departure, which for a breakfast-time train means leaving somewhere at an hour nobody enjoys. Staying opposite the station takes the travel out of that equation entirely: from The Megaro on Belgrove Street, the walk to the Eurostar entrance is under a minute. Here’s how to plan the morning.

How early you need to be

Eurostar asks standard ticket holders to arrive 75 minutes before departure, and Premier passengers 45 minutes. Gates close 30 minutes before departure on standard fares and 15 minutes for Premier, so the recommended arrival time builds in a sensible cushion rather than a generous one.

Working backwards from your departure looks like this:

Your train leaves	Be at St Pancras by	Leave the hotel by
06:00	04:45	04:40
07:00	05:45	05:40
08:00	06:45	06:40
09:00	07:45	07:40

Those hotel departure times assume the five minute version of the walk rather than the one minute version, because nobody should be jogging to a train at quarter to five. Premier passengers can add half an hour to every row. Current guidance is on the Eurostar check-in page, and it’s worth a look before you travel in case of peak-day queues.

Which of our hotels to book

All three are walkable, and for a pre-dawn start the difference between them genuinely matters.

The Megaro is the closest, on Belgrove Street directly opposite the station. If you’re arriving on the Eurostar you’d exit onto Pancras Road with the hotel opposite, and the same route works in reverse on the way out. Rooms are at The Megaro.

The California sits a couple of doors along the same street, two minutes away, and is our three star option, which suits a night that’s really only about sleeping before a train.

The Gyle is four minutes away on Argyle Square, trading those extra minutes for a garden square rather than a main road. For a 9am departure that’s a fine trade. For a 6am one, less so. Have a look at The Gyle if the sleep matters more than the walk.

Breakfast, or the lack of it

Spagnoletti at 23 Euston Road opens at 7am on weekdays and 8am at weekends, which works nicely if your train goes mid-morning and not at all if it goes at six.

For the genuinely early departures, plan to eat at the station or on board rather than counting on breakfast beforehand. It’s the one part of an early Eurostar that staying close by can’t solve. For anything from mid-morning onwards, a proper breakfast opposite the concourse is a considerably better start than a station pastry, and you can see the Spagnoletti menus in advance.

The night before

The advantage of being this close isn’t only the morning. It’s that you can have a normal evening rather than an anxious one.

Dinner at Spagnoletti runs to 9.30pm from Sunday to Thursday and 10.30pm on Friday and Saturday, and Hokus Pokus is downstairs at The Megaro if you’d like a cocktail before an early night. Neither requires a taxi, a tube or any thought about how you’re getting back.

Our hotels are open 24 hours, so a 4.30am departure isn’t a problem and there’s always someone at the desk. Do mention your departure time when you book, though, so we know to expect you leaving before dawn.

Got a train to catch? Compare the three hotels for your date and pick by how early your Eurostar leaves. The closer the departure time is to sunrise, the more those extra minutes of walking are worth avoiding.