My Review of the Principal Hotel York
I had the pleasure of spending a night at the Principal Hotel York in May 2021. Some will know the hotel by its old name Royal Station Hotel York until 2016.
- The Principal York
- The Principal York
- The Principal York
This is truly a station hotel being located right next to York Station and with some rooms having station views. On this occasion my room was with a Minister view – and very nice it was!
The hotel has extensive well maintained grounds at the front which offer views over to York Minister.
Friendly check-in staff gave a warm welcome to the hotel.
The public areas of the hotel are simply gorgeous and worth a visit even if not staying! The Garden room is delightful area to enjoy tea… or something stronger!
- The Garden Room by day
- The Garden Room by night
- The Staircase
The Terrace Menu is a great way to experience the hotel.
There are 2 lifts up to the rooms as far as the 3rd floor. Floors 4 and 5 are accessed via a stair case from the 3rd floor. If staying in The Sidings annex you take the lifts to the lower floor and walk along to the annex which is at ground level. The Sidings houses the entry level rooms i.e. the lower priced rooms – I was shown a couple of rooms and they are decent rooms just missing the views that the main building rooms offer.
My room was on the 4th Floor and had a Minister view. There was a separate seating area, where a nice welcome gift was waiting – a chocolate train!! Tea and coffee facilities and a mini bar fridge with complimentary water, full size reusable bottles.
The bathroom had a stand alone bath tub and a separate shower room. The bathroom amenities are by Elemis.
- The Sitting Area
- The Bed
- The Bathroom
- The Bathroom
- The view from the bed
- The view from the window
I dined in the hotel’s restaurant, The Refectory, where breakfast is served as well.
- The Refectory
- Asparagus and hollandaise tart
- Pan-fried Scottish salmon
- Burnt Basque cheesecake
The Refectory Menu:
- Starters and Mains
- Desserts
- After Dinner Drinks
The drinks menu is the same of the extensive one served in The Garden Room.
Breakfast is served from a menu:
- Breakfast Menu
- Full English
- Smoked Salmon
To work off the excellent food there is a gym on the lower floor and is well worth a visit even if not exercising!
The hotel gets an 8.5 out of 10 from me and I recommend it. It loses some points with the lack of air conditioning BUT the hotel is a classic and some would argue air con would not be in fitting with the surroundings!
To book the hotel CLICK HERE