Principal York

We had a great stay here visiting the York Christmas market. The hotel is walking distance from the centre, so the location was very convenient. I was a little sceptical about our room when given the number 321 as I had recently seen it in a negative review leading up to our stay, but it was lovely! The little touches of the ‘tuck box’ and lovely toiletries in the room were great, and the bathroom was beautiful. All staff were really friendly and helpful from arrival to departure. I would recommend if staying more than 2 nights to go for a bigger room than a standard as it can be a little small if staying longer than this as a couple with a lot of luggage, but it was absolutely perfect for our needs and we loved it!

The only negative thing that happened throughout our stay was that on the first day our shower would not drain resulting in the whole bathroom flooding. After mentioning this at reception they were really helpful and friendly regarding this, and it was all sorted by the time we returned that evening, so it was not a problem at all.

The hotel stands in beautiful grounds. Its in a good location, handy for the train station and a short walk into the town. The hotel is beautiful inside with a stunning staircase.

We requested rooms close together which we where spread over 2 floors, 4 and 5. The lift only goes to floor 3 so you have to use the stairs to reach 4 and 5. One of the rooms was very small and dark and felt inferior to what we had booked. We arrived by 12.45pm and was told no other rooms where available but check-in was 3pm! Breakfast was manic. We reserved a table but it wasn’t available, we ended up eating in the bar area which was scruffy with no menu on offer.

Excellent customer service. Can’t fault the staff they were incredible. They catered to my every need and they were just so polite and friendly. Made to feel so welcome, Didn’t want to leave the hotel. But I will definitely be back!! I was worried as the reviews before I went suggested they rooms were small and the hotel was loud. However this was far from the case. Our room was so spacious and the bathroom too. We had our 2 year old with us and he slept through the night as it wasn’t loud and we couldn’t hear any trains. It was just one amazing weekend spent there. And like I said I can’t wait to come back.

There was a Parking charge fee, I’m sure I’m not the only one but who wants to pay for parking when you’ve paid so much for the room!!

The location was excellent and very close to the city centre. The room and service was very good. We enjoyed our stay and would recommend this hotel to friends and family

The gym and pool time had changed during our stay. It opened at 9 and closed at 5 which was inconvenient. We couldn’t use this excellent facility as much as we wanted

The hotel is beautiful and the grounds are stunning it is kept absolutely spotless. Its only a 2 second walk from the train station.The location is fantastic it takes roughly 10 to 15 minutes to walk to the shambles and you get to see all of the stunning architecture. We had to check out a day earlier than planned as our little girl was unwell and had to come home to take care of her but we hope to visit again soon.

The only down side and its being very picky is that the room was really dark and there was no air con but there was a fan supplied. It wouldnt stop us from not retuning it was great.

The Staff, although young had a lovely way about them. The Assistant Manager was a total professional . The Food was lovely and the Garden Room was beautiful and very relaxing. Nothing was too much trouble for the Staff and as it was our Golden Wedding Anniversary the Hotel very kindly left a lovely bottle of Cava and some really great small cakes in our room.

The only thing we would have an issue with was, you had to make your own tea and coffee at breakfast as well as make your own toast. I think the Hotel is missing a trick not serving this to the guests after seating them at their table. We have stayed at 5 and 4 Star Hotels and have never had to do this. When it is done I think everyone’s breakfast runs a lot more better and is more enjoyable. In fact we have stayed at small B&Bs and small Hotels and have always had tea, coffee and toast served at your table. I think the Staff would be better off doing it this way. We were not alone in being surprised at not being served your tea and coffee and toast.

Our room had a leak and water was falling from the ceiling which was very disappointing

Room pleasant and comfortable, though there were a couple of minor maintenance problems. Once reported, attention was given. Breakfast very nice, though mass-catering is never a perfect vehicle for a full English.

We could tell that, due to the numbers catered for, several items on the menu were bought in, and not cooked on the premises. Whilst understandable, I favour food cooked from scratch, and expected better from a 4-5 star hotel. Also, the dinner service was painfully slow. One of our party had medication to take in the evening which we needed to administer, so it was frustrating when dinner took from 6.30 till nearly 9 one evening.

the location is very central to everything that York has to offer

the check in was upsetting as our room already had someone else’s belongings in. when we spoke with the front desk staff we were offered another room, which we did not accept after seeing it. we were repeatedly told misleading reasons for the belongings being in the room. we later spoke with the owner of the belongings as we found them upset in the reception area after finding their room had been moved for the 3rd time. this is not a good way to operate

Great location, easy for the train and town center. Nice friendly staff. Lovely clean room well equipped with everything you need. It even had a small fridge. Pool was nice my son and I swam in it daily. The breakfast buffet was also good.

The room had no air conditioning and the window looked out over a busy road and the train station. This meant that if you opened the window it was very noisy. I did however discover a fan in the wardrobe. The location of the room was also a little annoying as you had to use two lifts to get to it and had quite a long walk to the room. We found out it was actually easier to use a rear entrance and walk out side the building to get to reception and the restaurants rather than following the link corridor and use the second lift.