This is a lovely hotel in an excellent location. The concierge and valets were outstanding-helpful,…read moreattentive, and very personable. The one gentleman shook all of our hands as we left which was so nice. We had breakfast at the Rise twice, very good, and dinner once, which was good though only as one server was working our side of the busy dining room, it was slow. We stayed in the modern wing in a family room which was spacious and lovely. In terms of negatives, the mattress was hard and lumpy, and there was the only one small hook to hang towels and robes, so not much room for our party of three. I mention this because the Grand has a sustainability focus and encourages guests to re-use towels, which we did: more hooks are needed. The reading lamps on the headboard did not work. The major problem we had was the temperature of our room: the thermostat read 16 but it was more like 20; too warm for sleeping. I called down to reception and concierge and there was no answer - multiple times - I think perhaps the phones were malfunctioning. I reached an operator who said she'd leave a note as she was leaving in five minutes. I went down to the front desk and the staff member told me she could adjust it from a control panel in the lobby (?), however, the room stayed too warm. This definitely took away from the experience as I didn't sleep well and expected better from a five star hotel. Lastly, and this is small, but the greenery out front (topiaries and flowers) and in the hallways are plastic, again, not five star. For a hotel focused on sustainability, natural plants would be much more suitable.

Ask for an upgrade. Rooms are SMALL. VERY SMALL. The concierge is simply AMAZING and can help you…read morewith all your needs. Very VERY attentive and multitasking. The hotel is old and overwhelmingly big, but the location couldn't be better and the buffet breakfast with their beetroot smoked salmon was something we are STILL talking about. One of the spa employees was a real ditz, killing a star off the review. But on another visit, we had a tour of the vault, because my curious george husband HAD to see it (that is where the manicures happen). Upgraded room was super spacious and made for a lot of comfort with all the ammenities that make a "getaway" vacation special!

The worst service ever , super rude , bed bugs , no water, I could go on and on but just so…read moredisappointed

Stayed here for two nights at the end of April. We were upgraded to a lovely suite with a spa bath…read more Very comfortable bed and really quiet so a great place to relax and sleep. The location is just outside York and close to the park and ride so very convenient for visiting the city sights without the hassle of driving. Unfortunately the hotel restaurant was very disappointing with tasteless food but there's nowhere within walking distance as an alternative (apart from a pub with potentially even worse food) so we were forced to eat lacklustre dinner two nights running. If visiting York again I would stay in the city centre where there's plenty of good restaurants to choose from. It's a shame because the hotel was great.

Love to see smaller plate options on the menu. The pea risotto and octopus salad tasted very nice…read more We also ordered fish and chips. Service was polite and quick. The atmosphere was pleasant.

My wife and I had lunch at Fat Badger in September 2024. It's conveniently located right under the…read moremedieval arches up into old town, was very close to our hotel.  We were seated upstairs in one of several quaint and cozy rooms - this place seems a labyrinth, don't know how the staff keep on top of who is where. It was really pleasant with a view of street out the window, a fireplace and lots of quirky eclectic pictures on the wall. The food was incredible. We both had a burger, can't remember which, but super meaty, super tasty. Big flavour, big belly. I felt like a fat badger after that. Service wasn't the quickest, but it was cheerful and helpful. Quality of the food was worth the wait.

We stayed at the Ascot House Hotel in mid-February, and it proved a good location from which to…read moreexplore the delights of Harrogate, just under a mile to walk into the periphery of the town centre. Ascot House is an impressive looking hotel, set on a corner plot adjacent to a green area, adorned with early flowering spring bulbs and trees coming into bud because of the mild winter. The car park for the hotel was a little small for the number of rooms it had, but the access road to the side handled the overspill. The car spaces are also a little svelte, something to be aware if your car is on the large side. Inside the hotel has high ceilings and an impressive air of spaciousness throughout. The staircase to the rooms is punctuated by an impressive stained glass window, that the light streams through in the early morning. Rooms wise, there are lots and it can be a fraction disorientating at first to find you actual room. The room itself was well proportioned, warm and spacious, with a large bathroom, complete with a bath, more unusual these days. A decent sized TV, that kept us entertained with random winter sports, like snowboard half pipe, in the dead time between going out for the day, and eating out in the evening. The mattress was a little soft, but that's a minor quibble. Breakfast was efficiently run, a good variety of cereals, fruit, juices and a good range of hot food, which always speedily arrived, the scrambled egg and 'Full Yorkshire' being particularly fine. The dining room doubles as a restaurant for residents and non-residents in the evening too. A few points stopped it getting that all important fifth star, the Hotel was well maintained and was undergoing somewhat of makeover whilst we were there. They had a team decorators painting the foyer while we were there, setting up just after breakfast and still working when we returned mid-afternoon. The decorators were always impeccably polite but clambering over dust sheets and dodging wet paint to enter the hotel, was a novelty initially but became a little bit of a trial.

I stayed one night with breakfast here and could not fault it. The room was spotless, the bathroom…read morefunctioned well, , there were all the usual things such as tea and coffee in the room, toiletries, etc. The staff were all pleasant and helpful. Breakfast was very good, served promptly, in a dining room with some views of the front garden, that also serves dinners although I did not have dinner here. I booked this place because it was one of the few places with availability on a busy night, but I would reccommend it as a first choice especially as it was very reasonably priced and therefore excellent value for money.

This is a relaxing easy way to see the river and hear from a guide. I didn't think it was a…read moreparticularly informative tour, but it was still fun to do on a nice day. The boat goes about 1 mile down the river, so you don't see that much more than just walking along the river. The guides provide information about some of the buildings along the river. It was interesting to hear that the river used to be much more commercial business, and is now mostly lined with homes and restaurants. This tour was around 8 pounds per person. So it wasn't particularly expensive. They are cash only.

Yorkboat cruises on Lendal Bridge, have several boats that run on regular intervals up and down the…read moreriver Ouse. They do a great, 1 hour cruise along to the official residence of the Archbishop of york, the Palace. It is great for an hour in the afternoon when you have nothing else to do or as part of your tour of York, there is so much to see along the river as you go and so much to take in within the hour period on the river. They serve snacks on board and also have a licenced bar, so it is a great hour sitting topdeck in the sunshine, enjoying a beer with some friends cruising along at a leisurely pace. The company also does private bookings for groups and special occassions, you can book for lunchtime cruises and also Evening, restaurant Cruises, which on a nice summers evening can be quite romantic, as the boats are lit up while you go up and down the river in the dark, it shows the City in a different light cruising this way, seeing the city lit up at night from the river is stunning. It is so reasonably priced for what you get on the tour, highly reccomended.

Wonderful location, brilliant idea but I am always disappointed when I visit any restaurant and…read morevegetarian dishes are limited to grilled vegetables and goats cheese dishes. Similarly it disappoints me when a vegetarian restaurant lacks inspiring dishes instead churning out the same old vegetarian fare on a cheese heavy menu. I don't have a problem with cheese it is delicious but variety and a break-from-the-norm is what I look for in a restaurant and this doesn't hit the spot. If you are after a basic menu, mostly fried then this will do, which I suppose in the winter months this is a welcomed. This is a lovely place, somewhere cosy to warm your cockles after a long walk in the Chevin although there isn't a bar so no whisky to keep chills at bay.

After so many glowing recommendations from friends, I can't believe it took me so long to visit The…read moreCheerful Chilli! Was it worth the wait? You bet. Situated near the Chevin in some beautiful countryside, the Cheerful Chilli is a relaxed and cosy place. The food isn't gourmet but the quality definitely doesn't suffer for that. Rather, it seems as if they've decided to do fairly simple meals and do them really well. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, a bit like walking into a huge old stone-flagged kitchen, brightened up by lovely flowers on all the tables. It's the best of casual dining: unpretentious but attractive, service relaxed but not slow, and staff in T-shirts with friendly smiles and good knowledge of the food. Oh yes, the food. Hoo boy. I'm still so full it's actually hard to think about it. Since we were in a group of six, we decided to go for the 'Banquet' - a selection of starters, mains and desserts from the menu. It was £18.50 and wow... it was definitely value for money. We had a 'pre-starter' meze of two giant plates of couscous, halloumi, falafel, houmous, bread, olives and salad, which really could have been a generous starter on its own. But oh no, there were starters too: potato wedges with cheese, corn cakes with sweet chilli, nachos, and goat's cheese tart. All delicious. To be honest, at this point we could have left satisfied - it felt like we'd had a full meal already! But then the mains arrived: vegetable fajitas, kerala curry, enchiladas, roasted veg and pizza. Again everything was delicious - possibly the only weak point was the pizza which I think was homemade but had been a bit overdone which left it tasting a little like an oven pizza. But everything else was great. Nothing fancy: it was all stuff I could make at home, but just.... better. Hugely flavoursome in a way I can never quite get my dishes to be, and presented beautifully. So on to the desserts! We got wedges of the chocolate truffle cake (rich and divine), the cheesecake (maybe a little creamy for my taste but lovely fruit) and the chocolate nemesis (dark, fudgy, amazing). And what was maybe even better: a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream which was hands down the best ice cream I've ever had. I asked them where they got it and they said they make it themselves. I wonder if they'd consider delivering in bulk...? I couldn't quite believe that we were only paying £18.50 for a lovely meal that could keep you full for days, but yes, it was true. You can bring your own booze too, and they didn't charge corkage - champion! The reasonable-ness just continued with my friend being charged just 70p for the 7-up she ordered: smallest restaurant markup ever? And so we rolled home, vowing to return. I'm already planning a walk up to Otley for this very purpose - I can't think of a better place to welcome tired and hungry walkers!

It is so cozy here! I loved our view and the rooms were comfortable! The complimentary breakfast…read morewas the best food I have had here so far.

Boutique 12 room inn located in the heart of the old town. Surrounded by shops and restaurants one…read moreblock from the York Minster. Gracious hosts, sparkling rooms, option of cooked to order breakfast.

My wife and I stopped in at North South for breakfast in September 2024 before heading out of town…read moreon a road trip. Had a good sized breakfast that set us up nicely for the day. Delicious too. I had some kind of breakfast sandwich and my wife had avocado toast. Big pot of tea too.  The cafe had a really cool independent vibe, cozy and chill. A good mix of tourists (like us) and townies. The place was bustling in the morning, which is a good sign. Service was very cheerful and attentive. I understand this place doubles as a bar in the evening, which is a great idea. Well worth seeking out if you are in York. Our hotel recommended it and we weren't disappointed.