(Ad – PR visit) York has recently developed a rather disturbing habit of tearing down buildings only to rebuild something of equally debatable merit on the same site. Older more notable buildings are obviously protected from this trend but, with the welcome exception of Stonebow, it’s rare to see some of the less well conceived…
The Principal Hotel right next to York train station is one of the most striking buildings in York and a grand sight for visitors to arrive to. In years gone by it had been somewhat neglected to the point that I resented when its meeting rooms were booked by a previous employer! That’s long in…
(Ad – PR visit) Whether or not a Sunday roast needs elevating can be a contentious point. The view that, if eating out, a roast is best enjoyed in a pub by a roaring fire with a couple of pints of good Yorkshire beer is broadly held and with good reason. If you want to…
A couple of decades ago when I was familiarising myself with York in my early days here, I was taken by some friends to a “really cool bar” on Lendal that had been a hangout in their later youth. My memories of the visit are now at some distance but I was shocked that such…
I probably labour the point a little too much that I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and would generally direct my appetites toward savoury or cheese dishes than dessert. This makes the concept of an afternoon tea something of very little interest to me in general. I can (and have) accept invitations and…
I’ve written many times about the unfair tarnishing that restaurants based in hotels seem to suffer in York, with The Park at Marmadukes Townhouse and Hudson’s at The Grand unfairly failing to find the audiences they deserved leading to the chefs involved moving on to pastures new. One of those though is starting to turn…
York has many hotels and seems to sprout more and more on an almost daily basis. From funky new entrants such as Moxy to luxury with history thrown in at Grays Court there really is something to appeal to everyone. One of the oldest players is The Principal Hotel, attached to York train station and…
Living in York has myriad advantages but, as with all things, there’s a trade off somewhere. It might be less than two hours to London but that’s still a fair chunk of time to add on to a journey if London isn’t your final destination. The North is well served for air travel but sometimes…
Restaurants in hotels always seem to start on the back foot. Having a restaurant with rooms is one thing, but there’s undoubtedly a stigma surrounding restaurants that are perceived just to function as a service to the hotel thaFirelake t hosts them. There always remains the possibility that this will inspire greater depths of effort…
It’s funny how time slips by. I regard myself as pretty well travelled within the UK, but that doesn’t mean I’m without blind spots. Given its proximity to York it’s a little surprising that Manchester is one of those. Even more surprising was that, when I gave it some thought, I realised it was 21…