There is such a thing as branded architecture. Museums and art galleries are good at it: look at the Guggenheim in New York and Bilbao, for example; or the forthcoming Louvre in Abu Dhabi. And hotels are getting increasingly good at it too.
Last weekend I stayed at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London, right next door to the Eurostar station. The hotel is a Victorian Gothic masterpiece - a soaring edifice of red brick. Opened in 1873 as the Midland Grand Hotel, during the golden age of steam railways, it later fell into neglect and was closed for many years, a ghostly relic. But now it's bustling again, as a 244 room hotel (with 68 apartments). Not to mention two restaurants, two bars and spa facilities.
My beau père, Alain, does not share my fascination with grand hotels - he prefers functional American motels - but he does understand it. "You don't just want a hotel," he says. "You want a hotel experience." He's right. I could spend a whole 24 hours in one of these places without leaving - lingering over breakfast, sampling the spa, taking tea in the lobby and dining in the restaurant. The St Pancras Renaissance is well aware of its iconic status: the Gothic styling crops up everywhere, on visiting cards, menus and bar mats. And why not? Many hotels compete for visitors to London. The ones that offer an experience have an edge.
