Principal York in York

We have stayed at this grand hotel a number of times over the last 5 years. It's recently changed ownership (again) and unfortunately our experience was that things have declined. Our room had various things that did not work - most notably the radiator and the TV remote. We solved these problems with the help of the staff but rather a burden late at night. Like many establishments currently - the owners do not schedule enough staff to cover customer demand at busy periods. This means that both staff and customers can become fractious. This is one of York's grand buildings and a great base for a city break. I hope the current owners do not squander the opportunity. Next time we visit we would be looking elsewhere.

Only been for a business event, staff very friendly, helpful. Easy access

Staff are polite & efficient. Food was quite nice & hot. Could have done with more Xmas decorations to brighten the room, too minimalist!

Lovely hotel, nice room. Decent breakfast. I especially enjoyed the pool, which is enough for a couple of very short lengths, and the sauna, steam room & hot tub. Free bag storage.

Nice atmosphere, complete lack of staff in the bar.

Hot water does not flow within 5 minutes after you open the tap. Breakfast service was not quite good as sometimes you struggle finding someone to ask for tea. I assume the reason is new transition from Principal to Milner. They are trying to sort out their system.

feels like a pig in a poke. on the internet nice pictures of a large hall and spacious rooms but we are in an annex in a narrow room. we are here for 3 more days, had looked at other rooms that are larger but is immediately very expensive. too bad..

Awful came in here for a drink , staff shouting at each other and refused to make a cocktail as said too busy.

We tried to make a reservation here online and accidentally clicked the wrong date, (1 day off). We called them within 10 minutes of making the reservation to fix it and they would not help in any way. They said sorry, no refunds. I guess they don't make mistakes. As far as I am concerned they stole $125+ from us.

Must visit! Across the street from the train station, easy walk to York. Great sightseeing walk along the city wall, go to the shambles and enjoy a nightly ghost tour.

I am very disappointed that we got no help or consideration when my wife made a reservation for Sunday night, instead of Saturday, by mistake and we wanted to cancel it within 10 minutes of making the booking. She was just told you don't do refunds. This absolutely unacceptable. Thank you for the reply that basically said FU. You are welcome to the $100+ you kind of stole from us.

Great location pretty central to York and easy to get places. The rooms however for the price are gross the bathroom smelled like urine. There were stains on the chair and the bedding looked dirty as well. They also had our room on the basement level next to a maintenance entrance where you could hear noise all night. Over all very disappointed in the stay here.

Beautiful hotel,,a great cantilever staircase ideal for visiting York !

Our first time at this hotel & it was excellent in every way .

Disappointed with the room at Principal. It was very expensive for what we got. My friend and I spent a night there, we were placed in lower ground ‘units’ - mine was basically a passage and his more like a suite, both on ground level with windows onto the construction site of the station. It wouldn’t have been so bad except it cost £205 per room per night! I’ve paid less and got much more for my money in London even. The location was very central but the spa (not even sure you can call it that… my local community swimming pool has more amenities and is more conducive to wellbeing) left a LOT to be desired. Staff were accommodating. We never tried the restaurants.

We had a very comfortable one night stay here, upgraded to a suite on the 4th floor. Roomy and well equipped though these old hotels do have issues with kettle placements !! Ie. nowhere near a plug 😂. Breakfast was a bit disappointing, some of the worst coffee I’ve ever had and buffet was limited I felt. However, was clean, fantastic building and walking distance to the city Centre. Would recommend.

Old, beautiful, convenient to train, clean, spacious, good food

Superb hotel with attentive, helpful staff who make your stay special. We stayed two nights for our wedding anniversary and we were treated like royalty, we even got a free bottle of fizz delivered to our room and a voucher for a free drink at the bar!! Our room had a beautiful view across the gardens and York Minster was visible in the distance. It was a really lovely weekend.

I have recently stayed at The principal and a night before the stay I was offered an upgrade of my room for £35 which I took. My rooms AC did not work. The tap broke and fell on my foot. The wardrobe had someone’s sock in it. Overall not a pleasant and certainly not a luxury experience. I wouldn’t pay for breakfast and the options were poor for vegan / vegetarian and the pastries were dry and borderline burnt. The tea and coffee came out slow and when we followed this up 10cups appeared which made no sense and a waste of money. I also paid for parking overnight at the desk and still got fined when I entered my registration at the desk. I emailed the hotel about my experience and found customer service terrible offering a 10% discount at further stays with them.

Just had a 2 night stay in what was supposed to a suite smashed lamp shades and not the standard you would of expected for the money we paid we informed reception of this was blanked no one acknowledged our concerns in regards to the condition of the room never again all they were interested in was taking your money we waited half an hour in the garden room table dirty no one came got up and walked out if you want to charge top money up your game

Seen better days. Tired & needs some serious investment to repair failing plaster work in public areas

Excellent hotel next to York station and close to the old town. Hotel with 175 years of history. It's worth staying there.

Called in for food and a drink as too early for the train. Never been in before but will definitely go again. The only disappointment was the triple cooked chips... they appeared to be frozen chips rather than real chips.

EDIT: Following Response from Principal who essentially called me a liar. Please see photos attached and failing this please see my full selection on TripAdvisor - review was posted August 2024. If what we found meets their standards then I hope that somebody with sense i.e. a health inspector puts them right. 1) Dangerous black mould in the shower - this is exceptionally detrimental to health - I actually have a lung issue due to exposure to this. 2) Upon entering the room it smelled really strongly of excrement - we opened the window immediately to get rid of the smell. 3) One of the first things we noticed was chips of paint missing from the walls and dirty scuffs everywhere including the doors - wear and tear, I get it, but with the prices we were shocked. 4) Horrid cracked paint on the outside of the window. 5) The light on the right-hand side of the bathroom above the sink was rusted and wonky. 6) The hotel guide was wrinkled, overused and had clearly had had some drink spattered on it. 7) Kettle had white grime inside of the spout. 8) There was an open electrical cover in the room so we could see the inside of the wall. 9) One of the light bulbs on the main light was out so we used only the lamps in case we blew something. 10) Horrible stains on the carpet underneath the suitcase rest - brown, probably coffee but our mind went immediately to blood. 11) Disgusting brown grime on the shower door. 12) Rust on the shower mechanism. 13) Mini fridge was empty other than water. 14) Tuck box was disappointing compared to pictures online - I suspect the more you pay for the room the better box you get? Not great for people in the more "budget" rooms - sorry for the sarcasm but I can't believe I'm calling an almost £300 per night room budget. 15) Member of staff who will remain nameless - was quite patronising when we returned for our bags which we had tagged, asking us if we were absolutely sure the bags were ours, we had to tell her several times they were. She then when handing them to us very carelessly knocked a bag containing £100 worth of records over sadly damaging them as I've found when I got home - I was very upset about this it didn't have to happen it was so careless. 16) Hairdryer attachment wasn't even for the correct hair dryer - zero care had been put into this. 17) The radiator/towel dryer has missed its safety test which was due in Nov 2022 - this didn't fill us with confidence. 18) The glass shelf in the bathroom which held the glasses was filthy and had finger print marks on it. 19) No chairs - just a stool and a bed so we found ourselves not really using the room I'd paid a fortune for. 20) The television was not straight on the wall and the guide button did not work so we didn't use it.

Im writing this review about the actual hotel not their restaurant. This was one of the best 4-star hotels that I stayed in the UK. The building is very nice, rooms are beautiful and the staff are kind and helpful. The only minor thing is that it's very close to the train station and you might hear the noise at night. But they need to think about their restaurant service and quality of food. It took them two hours to serve my main.

Wow what a beautiful hotel smash bang in the heart of York city centre. Lovely very clean room with all the amenities you need. Super helpful and friendly staff made our stay a pleasure. The Thor bar is great for chilling in the summer sun and with a lovely pool and restaurant you won’t need for anything.

Awful room at the back of the hotel overlooking the railway line and busy road. Long walk on a dirty carpet and two lifts from the reception area. The walkway carpet was filthy and the tunnel smelt of public toilets. Room was average and the bathroom was very small. Absolutely not worth £180 per night will not return.

The rooms were spacious and clean. The staff were very kind towards us amd our children. The ladies welcomed our dog with a treat. The hotel is very beautiful and the location is great. Definitely recommend 👌

When i stayed over the hotel was lovely however reception let the whole experience down. If you have to ring reception at any point just hope you get a helpful person because i haven't had one. They are rude and sound like they don't want to talk to you.

Family lunch to celebrate a 91st birthday

I stayed here for a few days and had my wedding here. Lovely place overall, the staff are absolutely lovely and service is very good. Unfortunately on my wedding morning the water wasn't working and the room could have done with a detailed once over as everything seemed to fall off (the handles on the shower, the shower taps, and the phone didn't work) and the shower door seals were a bit worn and dirty. If you're booking a wedding here, PLEASE ASK ABOUT CHAIRS! We assumed the standard chairs were the ones shown on the website and nothing was mentioned in emails or the contract until the Friday afternoon before our wedding (we were married on Monday morning) and so we were stuck with the ugly standard ones. Communication overall with the planner was far better than with other venues, it's just this huge detail that was a little upsetting and a stress I didn't need. I feel this needs to be mentioned to brides as they already have enough to think about and having never married/gone to a wedding before, it wasn't something I thought about. The staff leading me in and guiding me on the day of the wedding were very lovely and made me feel a little more relaxed. Couldn't praise staff highly enough, they've got a really great team and everyone is so lovely. One other thing to bear in mind, my in laws also stayed at the hotel for the wedding, and mentioned about how all the carpets were stained (they were in the basement rooms). I didn't see this but my partner had. I understand it's a dog friendly hotel but I feel for the price they paid, it was a little embarrassing that they had to deal with that as we'd talked about how lovely the hotel looked. I do understand that they're currently renovating though so this might be something that they're getting sorted. The pastries are a must try. If you stay, get the pastries!

My room was a bit dilapidated and dark. My name is Matt

Dropped off at a school prom. Couldn't turn round to get out. Had to move roadworks bollards to escape

Great ground floor. Tastefully done and excellent location! The room, however, has seen better days. I felt a little unclean there. I had to check for bedbugs but thankfully found none. The bed was way too bouncy (I.e. inexpensive), the suite we were in was scratched up, and a blanket covered stains on the sofa. Even a good paint job can’t cover up wrinkles. The photos on the website were very misleading. The hotel could use an interior decorator for the rooms. The furniture is cheap and does not go with the glamour of the ground floor.

Lovely luxury hotel with very easy central accessibility. Excellent catering

Gorgeous building, great location, everything else is pretty mediocre to be honest. A few members of staff stood out for their friendliness: the lady on reception in the leisure area on Monday evening, the lady who made our cocktails in the bar on Monday evening, and the young gentleman who looked after us in the restaurant on Monday evening.

Excellent room, staff and breakfast. Lovely vibe in the bar late at night. Gardens Lovely too and fantastic location. The main public areas on the ground floor are very grand. Some of the out of way areas and stairs etc do need a makeover. But it didn't detract from my 1 night stay.

I stay at the Principal regularly with work - and honestly, it's becoming hit or miss. The staff are polite and helpful, and the location is excellent. The rooms overlooking the station are spacious and comfortable. Storage and desks are adequate. The food has always been a bit poor - but nothing out of the ordinary for a hotel restaurant. Breakfast is decent. However, the general standard of maintenance and cleanliness has declined recently - irrespective of the ongoing building work. The past few times I've stayed, the AC unit has desperately needed a recon, causing an irritating ticking noise throughout the night. The bathroom fittings have needed cleaning as there is a filthy residue around the taps and spouts. I appreciate not a lot can be done about the smell of drains/sewers, but this has been an issue as of late - as has being placed in rooms that literally back onto walkways or entrances, thus making it uncomfortable to keep curtains open while trying to work.

The hotel is right beside the train station. It is also within walking distance to York's popular attractions like York Minster and Shambles Market. The staffs at the reception are very friendly and helpful! I feel that the food provided at breakfast does not look fresh. However that's just a small complaint, overall it's a very comfortable stay.

Great hotel, the building it self has a lot of history. Its right next to the station and a 10min walk from the railway museum and york minster, shambles market and the river walk I was told by staff they are renovating rooms to include air-conditioning in all rooms. the previous occupants of the room appeared to have left the windows open so there were a few houseflies in the room but housekeeping was very attentive and took care of it promptly, otherwise remainder of the stay was pretty good. Room/furniture, space, bathroom were all pretty fancy and comfortable. Our price included breakfast which was pretty good as well.

Great location but would not stay again, staff were lovely but check in extremely slow, coffee was consistently terrible and at the prices they charge that's not acceptable. Parking is £15 a day for guests staying overnight, room was very small for price paid, again lovely staff and great location but sadly everything else really let the principal down so I would not recommend.

This is such a beautiful hotel! We spoke to Laura at the front desk who was incredible. She was very kind and funny and helped us with our query about changing rooms. The hotel is in the perfect location to access the station and York city centre, and it feels like a very special luxurious place to be. Very happy we chose to stay here!

Writing this review is done with an overwhelming amount of disappointment. We stayed in this hotel as we were attending our daughter’s wedding and to say we were dissatisfied with everything this hotel offered is an understatement. It started when I checked in albeit a day after my partner due to work circumstances , I provided my name and explained I was checking in and my family was already in the hotel. I was then asked to provide more detail as to why I was late and how it was I was not staying in the room. I explained this didn’t matter really as I had paid for the room. The receptionist told me it was for security. I then found that one of the lifts wasn’t working and we had been placed on the top floor. Which has no lift access. My wife who has respiratory issues had to climb up 3 flights of stairs to access the room. The room was ok but there were issues The pillows on the bed were too small and the duvet on the bed only covered approx 3/4 of the bed, the lampshades were bubbling and dusty, the windows were filthy and there was areas in the room where the ceiling was peeling away. The hot water was tepid at best and the bath took around 40 minutes to fill to a usable level. The tv in the room kept switching itself off when it was on and just in general it seemed somewhat under par for the price we have paid. On my way out in the morning there was remnants of building materials outside one of lifts. There was an unkempt cleaner no type of uniform in the corridor spraying the wall with a bottle and using a floor mop on the wall to I assume clean them. I was given a somewhat destained look by the man as I smiled at him as I walked by and said good morning. Parking was an additional £19.00 per day and breakfast was not included in the price of £500 for 2 nights. They wanted an extra £80 for us both to have breakfast for the 2 nights we were staying there. This hotel I think is an absolute rip off. I thoroughly disappointing experience the staffs attitude when I mentioned it was less than interested. I hated my stay here and will not be returning under any circumstance. I had just come back from a week in Spain and the service level supplied by the staff at the principal in comparison to our Spanish hotel staff was so far below expectations of a near premium hotel I frankly couldn’t believe it. A lot of improvements are required. I don’t have particularly high expectations in hotels but for the price frankly awful.

A beautiful hotel, moments away from the station and centre. For the price, easily the most luxurious hotel I've stayed in. The common areas are divine. Laura at the desk was extraordinarily helpful, kind and easy to speak with! Thank you to the staff and Laura for making our anniversary extra special. Would thoroughly recommend

What a delightful place to stay while in York and so convenient as it's literally right next door to the train station. The staff I dealt with were super helpful and it was no problem to store some luggage after checking out, breakfast was great and my single room was cozy yet compact, stylish and beautifully decorated but also exceptionally comfortable. I will be back!

Do not stay in the annex. It’s a 5 min walk from reception, rooms are dark and dingy. Would not recommend. Can’t comment on the rest of the hotel or rooms, only basing this review on my experience with the annex rooms. Breakfast options were also quite poor for vegans - or at least I wasn’t offered any.

I was your guest in April and felt very comfortable. Generally recommended as a railway enthusiast because of the proximity to the famous railway museum and the beautiful train station. The hotel exudes sympathy and the staff are very friendly and accommodating. My hotel room had a good bed and a nicely appointed bathroom. It is very likely that I will come back here again. York city center is very walkable. If you are not good on foot you can take the bus where there is a stop in front of the hotel.

beautiful building which is steps away from York train station, with breathtaking views of York minster, luxury isn’t the word for this hotel as you feel like royalty walking through the never ending hallways. Ladies on reception dressed smartly in formal attire and were very knowledgable about the room chosen as she stated the views from it were one of a kind, took interest in our day and very welcoming. Lifts only go to 3rd floor and there are another 2 floors which can’t be accessed by the lift but this wasn’t an issue but just bear that in mind if you do decide to stay and ask for lift accessible floor, walking the hallways the history can be felt all around you, chandeliers and paintings adorn the huge walls and staircases. We were upgraded to a suite with views of York minster which was a nice touch, no noise could be heard from the train station or in hallways and it was a pleasant night sleep, only bad point was it was very hot and humid and being an old building there was no air con but that’s to be expected and once the windows were opened it was perfectly fine. Shower was very powerful and hot, the only issue was the bath took an age to fill up and didn’t get as hot as shower.

The entrance of the hotel looks very impressive and on first impression the room looks well appointed. However, the mattress of the bed is quite possible the worst mattress I ever slept on in a hotel. More like a bouncy castle. The room is very noisy, you can hear every step in the room above yours (we were on the second floor) and more disturbingly every conversation. Not ideal when you upstairs neighbours make if back to their room at 2am and feel very chatty. We tried the restaurant of the hotel on our first night and this was a ridiculously overpriced meal for the quality (and I will not get into the greasy cutlery) I would strongly advise against it. Breakfast quality was also very poor, so much so that we opted to skip it online our second day even though our booking was inclusive. So overall a disappointing experience in a hotel that looked nice

Very nice hotel next door to train station was a welcome stop after overnight flight from Atlanta. Stayed in suite with view of York Minster. Rate included a delicious breakfast with range of choices.

Lovely stay and made use of the pool

Well I just don't know where to start , stayed here for 2 nights from 2 May 2024 . From entrance to stairway to rooms , no words can describe how beautiful and spacious this hotel is , All rooms tastefully decorated and within the Keeping of the building . Staff are exceptional in all areas . Polite and professional at all times . Food is tasty , good portion size , well presented and served in a beautiful room - we had full breakfast and one evening meal . Beautiful , perfect could not fault one part of our stay . We will be back 👍 Thank you to all at this great wonderful hotel. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Stunning first impressions and rooms are basic and a bit away as down lift walk down corridors and up another lift and more corridors But in general looks amazing at reception area

Stayed here for a birthday gift and was blown away with how stunning the hotel and grounds are. The rooms are just as stunning. Molly met us at the front desk with an infectious smile and was very friendly. The staff are amazing and went above and beyond for us each time we needed anything even holding our bags for us while we went around York the day we check out. The breakfast was nice and plenty to choose from. The hot tub and pool was really nice. Bonus been the hotel is right next door to the train station and within walking distance to all the attractions in York.

it is not disabled people friendly.

I have been going to the Principal Hotel in York since I was in my late twenties and always enjoyed my stay immensely . Last Sunday 3rd March 2024 I had my 66th Birthday / Retirement party with family and friends -it was absolutely fabulous ! The Ebor Room was dressed beautifully against the dual aspect of historical York and we had Prosecco Afternoon Tea.My compliments to the chef and kitchen staff as cakes, cream scones, sandwiches delicious and everyone raved about the savoury tarts. I had made some cake requests which were followed through in line with my wishes.Staff were so friendly, hard working and very professional. Everyone spilled out into The Garden Room later which so relaxing as it has a great ambiance and décor. Bedrooms were very stylish and comfortable. Some family and friends are now planning to return. Sending The Principal a whopping big thank you and hope to see you again very soon.

Had a lovely stay at Principal York last weekend. The beds were comfortable. Rooms were warm. Breakfast was nice also. Location is great. Very central and everything is within walking distance. I'd like to thank the Housekeeping team for taking care of my hair straighteners and flip flops that I forgot to pack 🫥. They were promptly returned via Royal Mail special delivery. Excellent service and really appreciated the honesty of the housekeeping team. Thank you x

I would say that it is one of the best hotels in York and this says a lot because there are so many. It has the perfect location, the staff are very helpful and go the extra mile. The rooms are big and really clean, smell fresh and the beds are comfortable.

Couldn't fault it, great hotel, staff, food and location

Afternoon tea and a stay for my grandparents. On booking we had hope for the hotel. Myself and other half were warned by an neighbour before booking and we wish we had taken the advice. First of all, someone at the hotel needs to cast a critical eye over the place. Approaching from Station Road you can easily see a fire hazard of dust behind the boxed in window pelmet (great start). We booked for 8 people to have afternoon tea! Wow how disappointing, if it could have gone wrong it did go wrong and the quality just wasn’t there. I could go on and on about the poor service and disappointing food however I will leave this for now as we walked out…. How to ruin a family gathering. The room we had booked for my grandparents was depressing and dark and looked in need of some renovation. The lanterns in the corridors are so think with dust you could write your name in them. We are York residents that had family visiting from a far. We would NOT recommend this hotel! At the moment the hotel is going through a rebrand… a rename will not change the poor quality and service received. The management needs to go back to basics and work to rebuild this hotels crumbling reputation. The hotel will always be the Royal York to me.

Worst room we have ever stayed in. No drawers no storage other than the small wardrobe. Decor is disgustingly done and very shabby. So sad we are here for 2 nights. Expensive for what it is. £38 to park for 2 days. No breakfast included for £170 per night.

Very much style over substance. Rooms look lovely and clean, but the beds were really hard and uncomfortable. There's fashionable mood lighting, and there is a room being so dark, that I still needed the torch function on my phone to find anything in my case. It also made the full length mirror by the door completely unusable at night, as there are no lights illuminating it at all.

all staff very friendly! and Mary Jane was lovely helpful lady she looked after me very well !!!!!

Excellent customer service and great atmosphere inside the hotel. Great breakfast and the rooms we’re comfortable and clean.

Rooms really spacious and staff excellent Breakfast fairly average Location is approx 10/15 minute walk to shambles but in a nice spot Worst thing was the nice shower water pipes Kept us up at night, almost like the Valve wasn't right. Messed with it and it would go quiet for a while Bed comfy etc Everywhere was clean

Very nice atmosphere and friendly staff