The Royal York, York

...We had originally booked into the York Ibis but I decided to book this hotel as a surprise for him and cancel the Ibis - and I'm glad I did. I researched quite a few hotels in York but this one seemed to have the grandeur, facilities and central location I was looking for - and it had a spa!

Originally named the Royal Station Hotel, the hotel was opened in the 1878 and was owned by the Northeastern Railway Company, the purpose of the ...
...it. Although named the Royal Hotel, no member of royalty has actually stayed here. The hotel is built on an old Roman cemetery and there have been excavations, uncovering roman remains.


~~~First Impressions~~~
Upon driving into the car park of this beautiful Victorian building you are immediately struck by the size and splendour of the hotel. We arrived when it was dark and the hotel was all lit up and looked really ... more

My partner and I stayed in this hotel for two nights very recently. We had originally booked into the York Ibis but I decided to book this hotel as a surprise for him and cancel the Ibis - and I'm glad I did. I researched quite a few hotels in York but this one seemed to have the grandeur, facilities and central location I was looking for - and it had a spa!

Originally named the Royal Station Hotel, the hotel was opened in the 1878 and was owned by the Northeastern Railway Company, the purpose of the hotel being to disguise the train station which is behind it. Although named the Royal Hotel, no member of royalty has actually stayed here. The hotel is built on an old Roman cemetery and there have been excavations, uncovering roman remains.

~~~First Impressions~~~
Upon driving into the car park of this beautiful Victorian building you are immediately struck by the size and splendour of the hotel. We arrived when it was dark and the hotel was all lit up and looked really striking. We were able to find a parking space no problem but by the looks of the full sign the next morning, other people might not have been so lucky - there had been a barrier put over the car park entrance stating that the car park was full. There are plenty of park and ride schemes closeby if you were to get caught short, the closest of which was at the station.

There is a red carpet leading up to the rotating door and leading into a lovely corridor. The reception isn't immediately noticeable as it is round the corner but not to worry, there is a sign immediately in front of you telling you where everything is. The hotel has recently had a £7 million refurbishment and this is evident in the corridors when you walk in - everything looks fresh and well signed. The refurbishment has been sympathetic to the beautiful Victorian structure and a great many of the original features still remain in the hotel. The reception is extremely grand, decorated in neutral tones. A huge chandelier hangs from the ceiling down through the ironwork stairwell- right down to the reception. There couches dotted about, modern artwork and, again, fresh flowers throughout. I don't think I've ever seen so many fresh flower arrangements - Elton John would be in his element.

Check in was quick and painless, there were two members of staff on the reception and as we were quite late, there were no other guests checking in. The receptionist found my booking straight away. My card was taken and £250 put through my account as a guarantee and to cover our rooms, parking, any breakfast drinks or meals and any other charges we may incur. I have never had this when checking into a hotel before but I was assured that the amount would not be taken and was only a guarantee until check out when my correct balance would be calculated. We were asked if we required newspapers the next morning and offered help to carry out luggage to our rooms, which we didn't require, we did have newspapers though and these were charged at face value.

~~~Rooms~~~
The website states that there are two types of décor in the rooms - modern and Victorian style. There are 170 bedrooms throughout the hotel, in the main building and in the mews. There are various standards of rooms that can be booked and these range from basic standard right up to suites. I believe that, to book a suite, you need to contact the hotel direct as I couldn't find these on the hotels site or on the Principal Hotels site, which is the hotel parent group. I would have loved to see a suite in this hotel, they would be gorgeous….I should maybe have asked to see one and chanced it…

When booking online the website stated that there were no double rooms available. In the comments box I asked that, if possible, could we have a double room (bit cheeky I know, but you have to ask!), I also asked for a room with a view of the front gardens and York Minster and for a modern decorated room. I was pleased to find that all three requests had been granted - a bit surprised too! The room was basic but well decorated. The back wall was painted a lovely turquoise colour and the facing wall painted cream - there is a recessed part on this wall with shelving and this was painted a light mink colour. The two side walls were painted cream. At the end of the room there was a further recess/bay window area; in this area was a desk/dressing table. The carpet and curtains were both a turquoise colour and tied in nicely with the rest of the décor. In the room there was a double bed, desk/dressing table and chair, chair and wardrobe which is built into the wall with the facing in the same dark wood style as the rest of the furniture in the room. The bed clothes were plain white and there was a quilt and four pillows. The bed was comfortable but some people may have found it a bit soft. Not for me though, I was out like a light both nights.

Room facilities include:

In-room Internet Access
En suite bathrooms
Radio
Direct Telephone
Room Service
Hair dryer
Trouser press
Tea/Coffee making

Tea and coffee making facilities were excellent. There was more than enough and there was no danger of running out. In too many hotels you are given enough for one day, but there was plenty here and a decent variety of flavoured teas. There was shortbread, sugar, sweetener and milk. These were all replenished on the second day, which is just as well because I love shortbread.

The hair dryer was passable; I hadn't brought my own and didn't regret it. There are also enough plug points around the dressing table for anything you wish to plug in.

We were going to order room service breakfast for the Saturday morning as we were planning a late one on the Friday night but on seeing the prices we soon re-considered. Room service breakfast costs an extra £10 per person for delivery - this to me is just plain ridiculous, especially as the breakfast is already fairly expensive.

Upon returning to our room on the second day we were pleased to note that the room had been cleaned and tidied, without any disturbance to our personal items. I didn't expect this and there is nothing worse than leaving your pyjamas on the bathroom floor to find that someone has been in and about your room.

There was no air conditioning in the room and the old Victorian windows had been painted shut and had more modern pvc sliding windows over them. I didn't notice any extra air coming in when these were open but my partner assures me that there was. There was an old heater at one end of the room and we didn't notice this come on at all, but the room was a pleasant temperature throughout our stay, and if not I'm sure we could have warmed each other up! I can imagine that this might be different in the height of winter though, although it's entirely possible that the radiators are turned on throughout these months.

The bathroom was fully tiled and white - with a bath as well as a shower! I find that it's quite rare to get a bath in a hotel, so we were pleased to see this. The bathroom looked brand new. There was a full width mirror and narrow shelf area for your personal items - this space was rather small, but I tend to take lots of beauty products and these all managed to fit on the shelf. In the bathroom was complimentary shower gel, body lotion, shampoo and conditioner, soap and a little travel essentials package with cotton buds, cotton pads and an emery board. The bathroom was a small but adequate size and the shower had medium power.

Lighting in the room included two bedside lights which worked independently of each other, overhead light and a desk light which was linked to the overhead light. I found that the lighting in the room was harsh and we weren't able to achieve an ambient feel. Even with only one of the bedside lights on, the light was still quite strong. I really like to relax with dim lighting, all too often my family and friends refer to me as the vampire! I just like to have a bit of ambience and I couldn't create any in this room.

~~~Facilities~~~
Hotel facilities include

Swimming Pool
Fitness Centre
Sauna
Steam room
Bar
Elevator/Lift
Meeting Rooms
Concierge Service
Hotel Parking - chargeable.
24 hour Reception
Internet Access
Conference Facilities
Business Centre
Dry Cleaning
Beauty therapist
Gents hairdresser
3 acres of grounds

Guest requirements which could be filled included:
Limousines
Chemist
Shoeshine
Shopping
Taxis
Religious services
Mail
Babysitting
Doctor
Interpreter
Hotel safe
Bank information
Laundry and dry cleaning

There were broadband facilities in the room and a card next to the Ethernet cable stated that the charge was 0.50p a minute - to a maximum of £16 in a 24 hour period - I had a good chuckle about this as I thought it was just another ridiculous charge. There will be plenty of guests that will have to pay this money no matter what - I believe the hotel has loads of business guests. There is no way that I would have parted with that, I would rather use an internet café in the town - it's probably close to what I pay for my broadband per month.

We used the leisure facilities a great deal and got our moneys worth from the hotel. These can be located on the ground/basement floor of the hotel. The facilities are well signed and you will be able to find these no problem.
The swimming pool is 1.2 metres deep at all sections and is 13 metres long. We were there at various times throughout our stay and we found that the quietest time was the Sunday morning about 10am - we had much fun being the only ones in the pool at this time. CCTV is trained on the pool at all times as there are no attendants. There are rescue aides around the pool in case of emergencies. When using the pool you sign in at the reception where they take your room number, you are then given a locker key and shown where the changing rooms are. The changing room is a good size with about 40 lockers. There are four shower cubicles with doors and two toilets.

All around the pool are little signs saying things such as squat jump, star jump etc, all in all totalling about 20. We assumed that these were for exercising in the pool and decided to follow all of them around- what a laugh we had! Thankfully this was when we were in the pool ourselves and no one could see us. I felt as though I got a fair old work out that morning! It's a really good idea to have this as the pool isn't too deep and you can do all the exercises quite easily.

The small steam room will hold three but is better used with only two in it. Under 16s are not permitted to use this and there is a water cooler outside for when you come out. Towels must be taken into the steam room to sit on. The sauna will hold four people comfortably and there is a timer to let you time how long you are in for. Again, under 16s are not permitted to go into the sauna. I felt that the sauna lacked and much preferred using the steam room. The Jacuzzi/whirl pool is probably the most vigorous that I have ever used. It could comfortably hold 6 people, possibly more as it is quite large. All of the spa facilities are well signed and easy to use.

The fitness centre is next to the spa - I didn't use the facilities but had a good peer in. the machines are high quality and there are quite a few of them. Locals can join the gym for £50 - they can also use the spa facilities.

There is also a beauty therapist in the hotel - I wasn't aware of this until the day we left unfortunately or I would had a facial or massage. There are many treatments available and these include nail treatments, tanning, facials starting at £20 for a "taster", massage starting at £20, waxing, electrolysis, body wraps and make up. There are also spa packages available. The cheapest of the spa packages was £80 and this was for a two and a half hour sensory haven face and body treatment. The spa package prices went up to £125. I found that the prices were slightly higher than your average therapist would charge - but as I didn't try any treatments I would like to pass judgement on the prices.

The fitness centre and spa are open from 7am - 10pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 8pm on a Saturday and Sunday.

Room service is available and the menu is quite vast - there were full meals, pizzas, sandwiches, drinks, snacks. Some examples of foods and prices are:

Chicken jalfrezi served with naan bread and pilaf rice, served with a glass of red wine or a bottle of Stella Artois - £17.70
Fish and chips (although described a bit more posh than your average chippy would serve), served with a glass of red wine or a bottle of Stella Artois - £17.50
Smoked salmon and cracked black pepper sandwich with sliced cucumber - £7.95
Nachos with crème fraiche, guacamole and chilli nachos - £8.50
Side of chips - £3.50
Stone baked pizza - £15.95
Coffee, tea or hot chocolate - £3.50
Champagne - £39.80
Soft drinks - from £1.50

All I can say about the room service is that I hope you got to keep the plates it was served on given the price they charged! Id rather make a pot noodle in my room! Well…maybe not, but the menu was rather expensive.

During our stay there was a wedding in the hotel - I honestly couldn't imagine having my wedding there, it would be a dream come true. We sneaked along the corridor the next morning and went to have a look at the function suite. It was gorgeous, extremely grand. The grounds outside would be perfect for wedding pictures. There definitely looked to be a few sore heads the next morning in the hotel and I can only assume that these were the wedding party. The function was on until 1am and we could hear the disco even though we were on the third floor of the hotel. This didn't bother us but I would have fancied being in any rooms over the suite and having to rise early the next morning. It may be an idea to request a room at the opposite end of the hotel if you felt this would be an issue. But as I say, this wasn't an issue for us at all.

~~~Location~~~

The hotel is situated across the road from the city walls and the inside of the walls is a mere 2 minute walk. All restaurants, bars and clubs are inside the walls and very close. York main train station is located behind the hotel which is useful if you plan to arrive by train. The railway museum is located behind the hotel, as is the York wheel. All local attractions are within a 5-15 minute walk.

~~~Food and drink~~~

To eat breakfast in the restaurant it costs £11.95 for the continental and £14.95 for the full English. The continental breakfast gives you a choice of fruit juice, a choice of cereals, a choice of fruits, a choice of breads, a choice of preserves and a choice of beverages. The full English breakfast includes a selection from the above continental breakfast and also hash browns, bacon, sausage, tomato, baked beans, poached eggs, scrambled eggs, mushrooms and black pudding.

We opted not to have breakfast in the hotel as it was a tad expensive for us - tight fisted I know, but I didn't fancy paying up to £30 for breakfast. We also preferred to get out and about as we were only there for the weekend - there are plenty of cafes, restaurants and tea rooms in the area.

The bar in the hotel is called the Tempus Bar. This area is ultra modern and contemporary, decorated in black, white and cream with a splash of red from the menus and fresh flowers dotted about. We sat and had a drink on the first night after returning from our meal. This would have been about 1am, but there were still other people in the bar at this time. I had a glass of house white wine and my other half had a bottle of beer - these drinks came to around £9. I also had a vodka and coke which cost £5.30. There was no house vodka left so I was given Absolut Vodka, though still charged for house - There was a comfortable environment in the bar and, as with most hotel bars, the bar serves drinks until the last guest leaves - within reason.

Unfortunately, we didn't have meals in the hotel but the Rose restaurant is opened from 7pm until 930pm. We popped our heads in and the room looked very posh! Everyone was quite dressed up for dinner and the meals on the tables looked lovely - they must have been happy to see us scruffs peering in!

~~~Hotel policies~~~
10% deposit is taken at the time of booking
Check in 3pm
Check out 11am

~~~Nearby attractions~~~
The hotel is in a perfect location - away from the hustle and bustle of the bars and clubs, but only a 5minute walk to the heart of the city.

Other attractions, all within walking distance include:

Shambles
National Railway Museum
York Race Course
York wheel
York Minster
Jorvik Viking Centre
Yorkshire Museum

~~~Transport~~~
The hotel is located on station road, adjacent to York central train station. The nearest airport to the Royal York Hotel is Leeds/Bradford Airport, approximately 50 minutes' drive away.

Central York is an extremely pedestrianised area and bicycle hire is available from the following:

~~~Staff~~~

The staff were friendly and helpful during our stay in the hotel. We didn't have cause to speak to them much, only checking in and out and the odd query we had, which they were happy to help with.

~~~Price~~~

We paid £120 a night on a room only basis.

Rooms start at around £70 for a Sunday stay and climb to £150 a night, on a room only basis. This price is for standard rooms. Triple rooms, de-luxe rooms and suites will, of course, be much more expensive.

For a double room in the middle of June, for a Saturday and Sunday you can expect to pay £149 a night on a room only basis. Also for this period in June you can get a dinner, bed and breakfast basis for £169 a night on a saver deal. I booked the night before we left and I was unable to take advantage of any deals but if you have a look on the Principal Hotels website, there are definitely deals to be had.

~~~Value for money~~~

As we were room only, I felt that our room could definitely have been a bit better. But I appreciate that I booked the evening before and maybe missed special offers. But I was definitely disappointed with the room - that's not to say that it wasn't clean or well decorated - it was fine, I just didn't think the room was in-keeping with the standard of the hotel. The facilities certainly made up for this and it was great to be able to pop down to the pool whenever we wanted.

~~~Conclusion~~~

I would definitely recommend the Royal York Hotel as a base for your stay in York. The hotel has a luxurious feel and excellent facilities which I really enjoyed, The refurbishment is evident throughout the hotel. I wouldn't recommend paying all that money for breakfast when there are such excellent restaurants and tea rooms a stones throw away serving breakfast for half the price. The leisure facilities made the stay more enjoyable for me.

Im having trouble putting photos onto this review, and have only managed a couple - but more will follow.

Many thanks for reading. Sharon x  

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