Is there anywhere more beautiful than York on a summers day, being within the York walls that surround the city, the cobbled shopping streets, the River Ouse and the old-worldly buildings? #TeamCoco love being in Yorkshire, especially when the sun is shining and the skies are blue.
Our intrepid UK travel writer, Rachel McAlley spent a night at the classic regency townhouse, The Grange Hotel just 5-minutes walk from York city centre, which is surrounded by trees and green open space, a perfect location for both city life and countryside fresh air.
The Grange Hotel is situated on Clifton, a short walk from the National Railway Museum, York Minster, and the famous streets of The Shambles with it’s crooked shops, and buildings dating back to the fourteenth century. This hotel is ideal for visiting York.
The Grange Hotel has a small private car park for residents and guest (pre-booking essential), and has a unique rear entrance into the basement, from where you venture up the stairs and into the main hotel reception.
We checked in to the large, open planned ground floor Junior Suite, a beautiful room with grand floor to ceiling French doors, which opened onto a quaint balcony. The king-sized bed, coffee table, sofa, and writing desk all evoked a sense of luxury and elegance, with plenty of space – an unexpected highlight in a city centre hotel.
The bathroom, with its huge bath, walk-in wet room power shower, and under floor heating was everything and more that you could possibly want from a hotel bathroom.
After relaxing in the room, watching a little TV, and the getting ready for dinner, it was time to venture back underground and down to The Ivy Brasserie. This 2 AA Rosette restaurant has a fascinating history, as it was once an air raid shelter for women service personnel during the World War II.
Decorated to the highest standard, The Ivy Brasserie has a number of nooks and crannies in which to dine, including underneath the brickwork cellar arches. Beautiful banquette seating, luxury fabrics adorned the chairs and beautifully dressed tables greeted us for dinner.
The front of house team who looked after us for dinner were friendly, knowledgeable, and happy to help with any menu queries or special requests, equally the chef was able to cater for a last minute food request – which was an added bonus as it wasn’t expected at all.
The menu arrived and I chose the fishcake, crushed minted peas and confit lemon to start. This dish was melt-in-the-mouth delicious, the delicate fish and the punchy peas were a perfect match, and the confit lemon gave an extra special caramelised zing to the dish. For my main I chose the parmesan gnocchi, kale pesto, smoked almonds, broccoli and pickled romanesco. This was possibly the best gnocchi I have ever had the pleasure of eating, with the beautifully crisp parmesan brittle, and the uniquely pickled romanesco this was just divine. I opted for the rhubarb and buttermilk cheesecake to follow which ended the meal perfectly with the fresh crunchy rhubarb.
Back to the room for late night TV, a cuppa from the complimentary tea-tray, and a good book before nodding into a deep sleep under the duck feather duvet.
Breakfast was served in The Ivy Brasserie, and included a continental buffet of cereal, juice, pastries and yoghurt, plus the main breakfast menu which offered a traditional full English with local produce, or a range of eggs such as Benedict and Florentine, plus plenty more.
It was sadly time to check out and head into the city of York for a day of shopping and sightseeing.
The Grange Hotel is a beautiful, elegant, high quality hotel, small enough to call itself a boutique hotel, and big enough to stand proudly amongst the best of the best in York. With a number of public lounge areas, a private dining room, and The Tapestry Bar, the hotel has everything anyone could possibly need for an overnight stay.
Our writer Rachel was hosted by The Grange Hotel York, she was given the Junior Suite, dinner, and breakfast complimentary. All other extras were paid for including parking, and any extra food or drinks.
For pricing, bookings and reservations at this luxury 4* hotel, or to find out about events taking place at The Ivy Brasserie contact the hotel directly: The Grange Hotel, 1 Clifton, York, YO30 6AA, Tel 01904 644744, Web www.grangehotel.co.uk
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