Europe’s former railway stations have become the darling of the luxury hotel scene

Up to now 12 months, I’ve misplaced depend of the variety of pals who’ve regaled me with tales about stays in former prepare stations which were lovingly transformed into lodges or self-catering vacation properties.

I used to be initially confused – my excellent lodge actually didn’t contain bedding down close to rusting prepare tracks or in workplaces as soon as utilized by prepare conductors, irrespective of how revolutionary the transformation of the railway station in query is likely to be.

However as a fan of each railway journey and lovely lodges, I couldn’t assist however delve a bit deeper. Jaunts on luxurious sleeper trains usually include eye-watering value tags in spite of everything, so an evening in a former prepare station, particularly one crammed with reminders of its previous, appeared just like the potential subsequent neatest thing.

And, pricey reader, I struck gold. So, with out additional ado, listed below are my prime suggestions for lodges in former railway stations, starting from five-star retreats that enable company to sleep in former (very swanky) conductors’ workplaces to boutique lodges the place you’ll be able to toast your love of trains on former station platforms.

The most effective bit? You possibly can drift off to the land of nod with out worrying about lacking a spectacular view – or, a lot worse, your cease.

Spain’s Canfranc Estación was opened by a former French president

This Pyrenees lodge, near the French border, is a lovingly preserved explosion of artwork deco fabulousness, with huge expanses of gold leaf and a backdrop of snowcapped mountains.

Canfranc Estación opened as a prepare station in 1928 when Gaston Doumergue, the previous president of France, lower the silk ribbon at its entrance. The railway was constructed to attach Spain with France, and the buildings that impressed its structure embrace Paris’s Musée d’Orsay.

Essentially the most spectacular lodge areas are the spa, with its sculpture-like chandeliers and teal-hued ceramic tiles, and the Canfranc Specific, a Michelin-starred restaurant tucked inside a former railway carriage. Don’t depart with out attempting the aromatic Aragonese cheese board!

A station lodge that housed servicemen in the course of the Second World Battle

Full disclosure: The Clermont London is without doubt one of the UK’s oldest still-functioning railway lodges, with a historical past spanning 150 years – however I really feel its wealthy historical past justifies its inclusion.

The lodge residence is housed in the identical constructing as London’s historic Charing Cross prepare station. Actually, the bedrooms are positioned immediately above it.

Reminders of its fascinating heritage embrace some displays on the primary ground, the place guests can try handwritten letters from former company, together with US servicemen who stayed right here in the course of the Second World Battle.

“The grand staircase within the foyer is such a showstopper,” says former visitor Penny Broomfield. “I like how the house owners have managed to protect the unique options, such because the gold leaf, from when the lodge first opened.”

Dine on a disused railway platform within the Isle of Wight

Years in the past, Whitwell Station Vacation Houses was a railway station on the Isle of Wight’s Newport, Godshill & St Lawrence Railway line.

Now, it’s been remodeled into two attractive self-catering vacation cottages that incorporate the previous ticket workplace, porter’s workplace, and the women’ ready room.

“I beloved seeing the memorabilia,” says Simon Clark, who stayed at Whitwell lately. “For a railway fan like me, seeing the outdated station clock on the wall, the vintage lamp hanging within the nook, and the railway truck plaques added to the enjoyable.”

Friends are additionally free to take pleasure in attractive views over the island’s southern downs.

I counsel choosing Primrose Cottage, as you’ll have the ability to sip sundowners on what was as soon as the platform – all within the shadow of Whitwell’s authentic station signal.

Slumber in Britain’s superbly restored nineteenth-century carriages

Keep at The Outdated Station, and also you’ll get to nod off in a classic Pullman carriage outdoors what was as soon as the grandest station on the Mid Sussex Railway Firm.

Inaugurated in 1859 and closed within the Fifties, this former prepare station-turned-cosy lodge is only a brief stroll from the gorgeous market city of Petworth in West Sussex. There are 10 rooms in whole, together with the sought-after King Pullman Carriage rooms, crammed with light pictures from the station’s heyday.

“Our newest addition, Pullman Princess Ena, is my favorite a part of the lodge,” says proprietor Jennie Hudson, referring to the classic carriage that’s now the restaurant. “We spent three years restoring her, and he or she’s one of many final three Pullman carriages transported to the UK from America in 1906.”

A French boutique lodge for railway buffs and seashore lovers alike

One other property inside a former rural prepare station (on this case courting again to 1870) is Resort Estelou in Sommières, France. This lemon-yellow boutique lodge has 24 rooms surrounded by an exquisite Mediterranean backyard.

Regardless of being within the centre of the gorgeous city of Sommières in France, it’s a splendidly tranquil base and ideal for households eager to take a look at the attractive seashores between Montpellier and Nîmes.

I like to recommend one of many lodge’s ‘cosy suites’, which overlook the property’s gardens.

Social gathering in a Pullman carriage close to the Jurassic Coast

Say whats up to what would possibly simply be one in all England’s quaintest inns. The Avon Causeway Inn is a Dorset gem that dates again to the 1800s and was as soon as the Hurn railway station.

Keep right here, and also you’ll uncover numerous reminders of its previous, together with an exquisite beer backyard. Don’t go up the possibility to attempt one of many ales from the award-winning brewery Butcombe! And if you happen to’re planning an occasion, you’ll be able to think about reserving the restored Pullman prepare carriage subsequent to the lodge.

“I like the truth that it’s so near the superb Jurassic Coast but additionally that it nonetheless feels very very like an outdated railway station,” says former visitor Neil Whitehead. “The Pullman carriage is gorgeous – it should transport you straight again to the class of the Nineteen Twenties.”

England’s Alton Station is packed to the brim with authentic options

Craving a extra intimate getaway? Contemplate this lovely four-bedroom self-catering property, a former prepare station in a leafy Churnet Valley, Staffordshire.

There’s an abundance of authentic options. My favorite areas embrace the gorgeous kitchen that’s tucked inside what was as soon as the women’ ready room, and the library, which is positioned within the former station grasp’s home.

“Our conservation work included preservation of the unique Minton geometric ground tiles,” says Fiona Bullock, property supervisor on the Landmark Belief. “A group of specialists surveyed, repaired and – solely as needed – changed tiles all through the ready room. The alternative tiles had been manufactured in what’s more likely to be the identical manufacturing facility that produced the unique ones from the 1800s.”

Want to journey additional afield and get the identical prepare keep vibes?

Within the late 1800s and early 1900s, railways performed a vital function in connecting the broader world, so it’s hardly shocking that there’s no scarcity of lovely lodges in former railways past Europe, too.

Why not hover over Kruger Nationwide Park in South Africa?

Belief us – all safari lodges will appear somewhat plain after a keep at Kruger Shalati, the place the luxurious rooms are superbly restored prepare carriages perched on a historic railway bridge excessive above Kruger Nationwide Park. Within the early 1900s, that is the place trains would pause in a single day earlier than coming into the park. Ensure you squeeze in a dip within the lodge’s pool, which you’ll discover within the centre of the bridge.

“The ground-to-ceiling glass home windows within the prepare carriage rooms permit you to really feel utterly immersed within the pure setting whereas nonetheless having fun with five-star consolation,” says former visitor Adele Cutler. “Staying right here gave me an actual feeling of nostalgia for the heyday of rail journey – albeit with a splendidly modern tackle Nineteen Twenties glamour.”

Meet me in St. Louis – in one of many USA’s nationwide historic landmarks

St. Louis’s Union Station in Missouri first flung open its doorways in 1894, but it surely’s now the house of St. Louis Union Station Resort. Its most spectacular architectural options embrace the Grand Corridor, with a design impressed by France’s medieval castles, and comes with huge expanses of gold leafing, stained glass, and Indiana limestone.

By the Nineteen Sixties, the station had fallen into disrepair, though salvation got here in 1985 when design agency HOK spent €143 million remodeling the positioning into one in all America’s most luxurious lodges.

“One in every of my private highlights is the mesmerising 3D lights present, which takes place within the Grand Corridor, designed to mix the station’s magnificent previous with the longer term,” says normal supervisor Tim Cooper. “I additionally love the stained glass subsequent to the primary staircase – it’s actually a sight to behold.”

Fancy a high-altitude station lodge? Head to Colorado, USA

Crawford Resort Denver lies within the metropolis’s outdated Beaux-Arts Union Station. The arrival of the Transcontinental Railway within the 1800s referred to as for a much bigger, extra lovely railway hub, which was unveiled in 1914.

100 years later, the station turned a public house that included Denver’s most luxurious lodge, perched atop the constructing. An in depth renovation final 12 months has nonetheless retained reminders of the constructing’s previous. You’ll discover classic trunks changed into espresso tables and framed prepare tickets from the early 1900s, though my favorite perk is the complimentary tipple you’ll be able to take pleasure in on the Terminal Bar, as soon as the station’s ticket sales space.

Rock out in a former baggage room in Nova Scotia, Canada

Fancy sleeping in restored boxcar carriages outdoors a rural Nineteenth-century prepare station? Head on over to the quaint Prepare Station Inn in Nova Scotia, which is a good base for ramblers wishing to stroll alongside the previous railway route, now the favored Trans Canada Path mountaineering and biking route.

By way of which carriage to decide on, I like to recommend Jimmie, which sleeps three individuals and has a comfy loft house excellent for youngsters. Don’t overlook to take a look at the inn’s café in the primary prepare station, and the Baggage Room Bar for dwell music.

One other enjoyable truth: this inn doesn’t simply seem like the previous prepare station but additionally smells prefer it, too.

“It actually feels such as you’re in a railway yard – we’ve used creosote sleepers, in order you’re strolling down the platform, you get a whiff of that railway scent,” says normal supervisor Ryan Duggan.

Look as much as the Roman god of travellers in Tennessee’s luxurious prepare lodge, USA

The Union Station Nashville Yards was as soon as Tennessee’s fundamental railway hub – however is now one of many metropolis’s most luxurious lodges. It’s full of authentic options, together with a spectacular 65-foot barrel-vaulted stained-glass ceiling, marble flooring and limestone fireplaces.

Attempt to bag the Conductor’s Suite, with its authentic ornate pillars and views of what was as soon as the station’s grand corridor.

For normal supervisor Esther White, the pièce de résistance is the function discovered on the lodge’s exterior. “I like the 17-foot statue of Mercury which crowns our clocktower,” she says. “Mercury is the Roman God of travellers, and it’s a nod to each the wealthy historical past of this former prepare station and the legacy of those that as soon as handed by means of this station.”