The Grand York

Christmas at the Grand is simply sensational! We stayed over the festive period and had a truly unforgettable experience. I couldn't wait to write this review. All staff we encountered during our stay were very professional, friendly and helpful. The doormen at the Grand are an absolute delight and really are the 'face of the hotel'. They are always on hand to help with bags, offer local recommendations or simply to have a friendly chat. I would like to give a special mention to Wayne who is a true gentleman and a credit to the hotel and goes above and beyond to ensure a pleasant stay for all guests. All other staff including the front desk staff, porters and housekeeping always greeted us with a friendly "Hello" and "Merry Christmas" adding to the overall fantastic customer service experience. The process of checking in was very efficient, although our room wasn't ready, our cases were put up into our room for when we returned which was a great touch and we were really impressed with this. Our breakfasts in the restaurant were absolutely delicious, especially the French toast. As someone who doesn't normally eat cooked breakfast, the choice of food was fantastic with something for everyone. The choice of being able to order fresh from the al a carte-menu is a great option to have. The staff in the restaurant did an exceptional job at dealing with guests at such a busy time and always had a smile on their faces. Our overall satisfaction with our stay would definitely be 'five out of five stars'. We both had a wonderful experience, felt welcomed, and would highly recommend the hotel to others, especially around Christmas time. We feel that no other hotel compares to the Grand. Thank you for a wonderful stay!

We stayed at The Grand for one night prior to Christmas and it was generally a disappointing stay. We were not asked at check out how our stay was, and there was a pressure to move on quickly due to the queue snaking out of the door. An email to the hotel with my feedback, has also remained unanswered. Beginning with the positives, we had a lovely meal at Legacy, the fine dining restaurant on site. This was an intimate dining room, with attentive service and excellent food. We were, however, promised the names of the pairing wines to be sent to us via email but we have not received these. It’s quite unusual practice in a Michelin (aspirational restaurant) to not receive these. We specifically asked for these as the wine bottles were not shown to us during the tasting flight, which again is rather unusual. I can only assume that they wanted to avoid free pours and were diligently measuring the wine out of sight? Derek was, however, very knowledgeable and we enjoyed talking to him about wine. We did, however, feel the hotel side of our stay was significantly lacking. The hard product needs some significant investment indeed. We stayed in the main hotel, with a spacious room and high ceilings. However, the room was very tired. There was a light bulb out which was in the wardrobe, and this made getting ready a challenge. After some manoeuvring of the free standing lamp to this area, it was somewhat better. This had evidently not been picked up during cleaning (and turndown). The bathroom was very dated, with the mirror hiding a significant amount of dust, so much so that clumps dropped down as a tried to find a switch for the mirror light (it was broken…). The shower also leaked quite significantly, which meant bath sheets needed to be used to mop up the water. The room generally felt unloved, and devoid of character. Sadly, somewhere we didn’t want to spend much time. Service in the bar area was slow, with us frequently having to flag down a member of staff. Although all staff were friendly. The Reception /lobby area was cramped, with a very strange placement of the reception desk resulting in quite a hectic feel at all times. The door men were excellent, and the only real glimmer of a five star hotel. Overall, we left very disappointed in our stay. This is clearly a popular hotel but lacks the impeccable design, and Forbes service of other grand dame hotels such as The Balmoral.

This Hotel is Stunning at Christmas beautifully decorated, this was our 3rd visit. Staff was very attentive and helpful. Food as always was delicious and varied. Could not fault the visit at all, very relaxed weekend. Would definitely recommend this Hotel.

Staff are incredibly attentive and friendly. The hotel is beautiful and relaxing and was stunningly decorated for Christmas. We had a leisurely breakfast, with a large range of foods on offer which were delicious. A lovely weekend where we relaxed and felt our every need was catered for.

We stayed at The Grand for a three night pre Christmas break. We received a warm welcome on arrival, our car taken to the valet parking area, and luggage taken to our room. It was a lovely room, very spacious and a spacious en-suite bathroom. It had everything you would need for a perfect stay. We had dinner in The Rise restaurant on two evenings. The food was delicious. We had pre dinner and after dinner drinks in the Bar and lounge area which is very comfortable. All the staff are extremely helpful, efficient and friendly. We will certainly visit again during 2025. Thank you to all the staff.