No. 1 York by GuestHouse

Great stay, would definitely come back. Gorgeous hotel and rooms, the huge bath tub was much appreciated! We were in York to celebrate my birthday and appreciated the small birthday gift from the team when we arrived. We had a couples massage with Gracie and Sophie which was excellent, very relaxing. Complimentary breakfast in bed was a nice touch.

Location was perfect for me. City center with its Minster, multitude of pubs, restaurants, shops and Christmas market was within easy 7 minutes walk. That distance was sufficient to ensure a good rest and sleep, away from the city center crowds. My room was spacious and clean. The bathroom was well lit and had good quality toiletries. The staff was competent, polite and very efficient. The breakfast selection at Pearly Cow restaurant was ample. The food was delicious. I have no hesitations to recommend staying at No 1 York by GuestHouse.

No.1 York was a really hard review. Very high highs, but punctuated by a few major irritations. Pros: * Great location, 10 minutes walk down a beautiful street to the heart of York. * Very comfortable beds and high quality linens. * Excellent shower pressure & temperature. * Good breakfast, high quality ingredients (although full English needs beans, sorry…). * Very charming property with nice amenity spaces - an inviting front lounge with board games, a nice bar and an attached restaurant. * Bar and restaurant staff very kind and accommodating. Cons: * Booked through Amex FHR program, which guarantees 4pm late check out, and provides for 12pm check-in “when available”, although in practice, I have never been unable to check in at 12pm at an FHR Hotel. On arrival at 1pm, we had to specifically ask to get access to our room, and were told unequivocally that late checkout was not available because the hotel was “busy”. Doubtless conforming with FHR guidelines is inconvenient at times, but we book specifically for these benefits - you wouldn’t have our business without the program, and participation without the ability to uphold the offer is unacceptable - I don’t want to have to argue with a front desk agent over terms and conditions, or even ask for them to be upheld, it’s not pleasant and ruins the vibe. * The hotel building is old. As a result, the doors leak light and sound, enough that we reached for eye masks and earplugs, which is unusual for us. The floors are simply old and creaky, such that normal behavior sounds like elephants moving furniture. It was very difficult to sleep on nights when the upstairs neighbors were up late. * To add to the above, the hotel makes a nice show of having record players in every room, with a few records, and more downstairs you can borrow. This is fun. However, what it means is that people are playing music in an environment that leaks sound everywhere. * Hotel is dog friendly - normally a great thing, but a bark carries far in this building, and there was substantial barking. * No gym - they have a spa, but not even so much as a single sad treadmill in a dusty room to use on a late rainy evening. * The “Pantry” is announced as a highlight - in practice, this is a cupboard of cheap free candy, some crisps and popcorn, and occasionally cake. The result is a steady stream of noisy children dropping candy spoons, lids, bowls, and people discussing options outside in the hallway between 8am and 10pm. I would gladly pay for a bag of chips to avoid the Pantry scenario. * Hotel restaurant - this is sadly the norm nowadays, but they neither save any walk in spots for guests, or serve food to guests at the bar/lounge/, nor do they do room service. They also don’t remind guests to make a reservation upon check in. Personally, I can’t understand the trend towards hotel restaurants that are more for outside folks than guests, but that seems to be the case here, which is fine, just something to note.

We stayed for our honeymoon and it was a very nice experience. The staff were very friendly and even left us a nice welcome gift to celebrate our marriage. The rooms were very well laid out, spacious and clean. We had breakfast included, which was lovely and there was a good variety of options. The location was ideal as it was a short walk to the city centre. It is also a very dog friendly hotel and the staff were very accommodating for our little Cocker Spaniel. Would highly recommend.

Loved our stay at No.1 - timed it perfectly as they put up the Christmas decorations as we arrived. Very festive. The lounge, bar and restaurant areas we lovely. A perfect oasis and only a short walk from the city. ||Room was very nice. Stylish details throughout the hotel and attentive staff.

This hotel exceeded every expectation. I would return in a heartbeat. The rooms are inviting and comfortable, the location couldn’t be more convenient, and the food and cocktails are truly exceptional. Every corner, from the intimate bar to the charming sitting and breakfast rooms, is thoughtfully designed and beautifully appointed.||What sets this property apart is the staff. They are warm, attentive, and impeccably professional. It’s the kind of hotel that understands the art of hospitality, where guests are not just accommodated, but genuinely pampered.||A stay here is nothing short of delightful.

We recently stayed for 3 nights on a B&B basis in a bigger guest room. Hotel is in a great location to visit all the sites in York. Breakfast was great with a good variety of options. Room was comfortable although noisy. I think we had the maintenance room below us and were awoken by loud clanging and banging around 5:30am both mornings we were there. My only real issue was with the car chargers. Having booked the hotel in advance, I checked if there were EV chargers available and was told there were on a first come first serve basis. After a 6 hour drive we arrived to be told that none were working and had not been since the summer. Why did an email not go out explaining this? Apparently their website has been updated but I had no reason to double check the charging situation, having done so already. Had we had known, we would have factored in another stop rather than having to mess around whilst we were there. There were no signs saying they were defective so after trying all three, we asked at reception. Other than that, an enjoyable stay.

I always wanted to return here as this building was my old student digs back in the early 1980s, so it was a joy to stay in what was my old student room. Amazing hotel, quirky decor, beautifully furnished and with friendly, helpful staff. The bed was the most comfortable I've ever slept in. Rooms were quiet and the pantry was a fabulous touch. We had a couple of drinks in the lounge/bar area which was super cosy and festive. All in all, a fabulous experience.

The Grange Hotel is a big gorgoues, upmarket hotel. I go there for a meal rather than to stay. Food is fantastic quality and service is great. I'm going in a few weeks for afternoon tea and really looking forward to it as never had their afternoon tea before. Highly recommended but is a little pricey.

This is the best hotel I have ever stayed in. The whole place is decorated in a mix of victorian garb with some modern preppy twists and is full of quirky and classic character. The walls have beautiful wallpaper and there are tons of cute touches like three sheets of gold-pressed The Grange stationary. Breakfast is served in the beautiful basement/cellar restaurant and is delicious and artfully made. I enjoyed my stay so very much.

We loved this hotel experience. We only had 2 days and 1 night in York and this was an elegant and inviting place. The room was very roomy and had a modern bath and shower. The bed was super comfy. The restaurant is in the basement, which must have originally been a wine cellar, so it has a lot of character. The food was excellent, but a bit pricey. You're going for the experience. Be sure to book a table for dinner, because it's apparently a treat for locals as well. The staff showed us a shortcut through the museum gardens to the town center, which increased the walkability rating for us and was much nicer than the regular streets & sidewalks. We'd go back in a heartbeat.

After staying at the Midlands in Manchester, I was a little disappointed in the Grange. It was about the same price, and York is more interesting than Manchester, but it had some issues. No lift for example and the staff was nowhere as solicitous as at Midlands. When we got up to the room, it was warm as at that time of day the sun was coming in the window and there was no air. We were told they would send up a fan, but a guy appeared to let us know all the fans were already given away. Also even though we are technically seniors by age, not by self identification, they stuck us on the third floor, as I say with no lift. To walk down to historic York was too short to cab but a healthy walk just to get to the wall. We took a sight seeing bus to get the lay of the land in York, hopped off at Shambles and ended up walking back. Then we did the bus again because I didn't feel we had gotten our money's worth and took the full loop. Unlike the Midlands, the Grange decided we did not qualify for the continental breakfast, and overall the breakfast at the Midlands was far superior. There have to be better, cheaper places in York, but I don't envision ever going back there, having seen it once is enough for a lifetime.