A WEEKEND AT THE YORKSHIRE HOTEL

This weekend, myself and Tom stayed at The Yorkshire Hotel in Harrogate, courtesy and gifted by the wonderful company ‘Stay In A Pub’. After enjoying the Guy Fawkes Inn so much, our expectations were incredibly high.

The Yorkshire Hotel is a mid-market hotel set in stunning Victorian architecture. You honestly couldn’t get a more central location, it’s so close to the train station, directly opposite some beautiful gardens, and right in front of Yorkshire’s famous ‘Bettys’. We actually arrived early and had  brunch here. I worked previously in their York branch as one of my first ever jobs and so it has a special place in my heart (and stomach). I didn’t take any photographs inside as it was very intimate and felt inappropriate, but we both had scrambled egg and salmon, with their world famous hot chocolate. Bettys is a huge tourist attraction for Harrogate, and so the hotel is in the perfect location to be right in the heart of the action.

Next, we explored the Valley Gardens, again only minutes from the hotel. Harrogate is brimming with shops, cafes, restaurants and gardens, there always seems to be plenty of things to do. The hotel for me seems ideal not just for people on a budget wanting a perfect location for recreation, but also people who are working there, it’s minutes from the train station.

Once we had finished our little explore, we headed to the hotel, and were really pleasantly surprised at being able to check in an hour early. We were on the third floor and the view from our window was so beautiful!

The theme for the hotel is obviously ‘Yorkshire’ and the rooms hit the perfect balance of character without being tacky. As a Yorkshire woman, I LOVED the decor. I think it’s a really great set piece, god’s own county and all that. Our room was spacious, and perfect for everything that we needed. The only thing that I think would’ve been better would be an information pack, because if your memory is rubbish like mine you’ll have to go and ask reception again for breakfast and check out times!  The little touches like the Yorkshire Tea and Harrogate Water were really spot on! (And yes my boyfriend is beautiful).

When it was time for dinner, we headed to the hotel’s famous restaurant ‘Scran’. How Scran works is, you have the choice to either order main ‘normal’ sized plates, a selection of smaller plates (2-3 are recommended per person), or a smaller plate to start and then a main plate ie burgers, or steaks. The restaurant itself is so unique and funky!

I’m not really much of a drinker, and neither is Tom but we decided to ask the super lovely staff for their favourite cocktail recommendations and they absolutely nailed it! I was given a Pornstar Martini, and Tom had a Bramble Sour and a Disaranno one. It’s honestly the best recommendation I could’ve been given, it will now be my go-to!

We decided to try out their unique format and order a mix of smaller plates. At first I was dubious to the idea but wow I didn’t regret it. We ordered to share; Mushroom Macaroni, Smoked Applewood Cheese with Sourdough Toast, Dutch fries with spring onion, Onion Rings and Sweet Potato Nacho’s. I can honestly say that the restaurant is an absolute credit to the hotel, huge applaud to the chef, the food is to DIE for. If you are visiting Harrogate even just for a few hours, this place is a must. I truly mean that.

The food truly was absolutely amazing, we went to bed so full and satisfied.

I had such a weird encounter in the middle of the night. We had done so much walking that we went to sleep really early. Tom fell asleep before me, and around an hour later when I was struggling to sleep I started hearing something quiet by the door. I looked up and I swear I saw the figure of a man stood there. I grabbed Tom and woke him up in fear, he turned the light on and nothing was there. He convinced me that it had been a dream, but turned on the beside lamp so that I felt better and we fell asleep. When we woke up I was convinced that it was a dream, but then we realised that the lamp wasn’t on… it was also turned off at the wall… very very odd! I will say that I’m very sensitive to these things, and when I looked on TripAdvisor no one else had mentioned anything of the sort but yes, spooky stuff! On a positive note –

In the morning we headed to the fifth floor for breakfast. The views were absolutely amazing. Breakfast was a buffet full of cooked food, as well as cereals and pastries.

I went for a smaller plate because I knew that lunch was booked for us, but it was really delicious and the views really took me aback, I hadn’t expected it. For the price, this hotel is a real budget gem.

By pure luck, and the central location of the hotel, an army cadet parade was due to start right outside the hotel. The hotel had a gorgeous communal balcony, but we opted to head right out into the action. It was a really lovely and proud thing to witness.

Finally, lunch time was back in Scran. Their Sunday menu consists of smaller plates, burger dishes, and Sunday lunch. I went for a Slow cooked Pork dinner, and Tom went for their classic burger. This is genuinely the nicest Sunday dinner I have ever ever had. It came with Yorkshire Puddings (naturally), sweet potato mash, house gravy, cauliflower cheese, broccoli, and potatoes. It was honestly incredible. As I write this I haven’t even been able to eat tea, I’m that full!

The staff were so friendly and we loved talking with them. We also shared a sundae (professional review reasons of course) and it just summed up the whole experience. Absolutely delicious!

We’ve come away from this trip with incredibly full stomachs, and really lovely memories. We had such a good time here, I can’t rave about Scran enough, the hotel is lovely and the location is incredible. If you’re visiting Harrogate, or even if you’re looking for a staycation, Harrogate and this hotel are perfect for a whistle stop Yorkshire tour. Thank you very much Stay In A Pub!

Sophie x

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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