I hate the first week of January! I always get a post Christmas/New Year slump and struggle to get back into routine. It’s also my husbands birthday that week and he’s always in a grump that its a rubbish time to have a birthday as no one wants to do anything. So, this year I was proactive; I booked us a little treat for the first weekend of 2022 so we had something to look forward to…..
….a night in York WITHOUT THE KIDS!
We go to York often with the kids, either on the park and ride for the day or we actually got an apartment for a couple of nights last summer to stay over do more of the family attractions. But as nice as York is with kids, it is so much nicer without them! Last weekend we arranged for grandparents to look after our two children then we headed up the A1079 on Saturday for a whole afternoon and night to ourselves.
We stayed at the Premier Inn York City Centre, it’s very central and super handy for everything. There is a small car park at the back of the hotel which we parked in easily, or it’s very close to the Nunnery Lane and the York Station NCPs. After dumping our bag we went for a stroll around York – down to the river, across to the Shambles, around the shops and to the Minster. We browsed in clothes shops and stopped for for a few drinks along the way. It was so nice to go where we wanted to go, not where the kids wanted to go, and not have a constant torrent of questions about how much further it was to walk or if it was time for a snack!
We went back to the hotel and changed for dinner. We stayed in a Premier Plus room which was lovely!! These have been recently refurbished and, for not much more than a standard room, feel very luxurious. There was a great view from the window of the old York rooftops which I watched while having a coffee from the coffee machine in the room. The best feature for me though was the location, it is so handy for dinner and drinks!
In the summer we had discovered a hidden gem, a fantastic Italian restaurant called Del Rios, the hotel was a 3 minute walk away. We had another great meal there then went to some really nice bars nearby. We usually stick to the river front area but we both loved the bars near the hotel, notably Social and Brewdog York.
A quick 3 minute walk/stumble and we were back in the hotel. The bed was incredibly comfortable, the room was just the right temperature, it was completely quiet and I had one of the best nights sleep I have ever had in a hotel.
We were up early for breakfast so we could get back to take my eldest to his Sunday morning football game and the full English breakfast was just what we needed! There was a great choice of hot and cold food from the buffet and plenty of good coffee. Another reason we love York is it’s only an hour away so we didn’t waste lots of time on travelling but it felt like we’d had a really good break.
I am so glad we have discovered this hotel and will definitely be back again. It is very easy to drive to (or get the train to as it’s near the station), very handy for all that York has to offer, and perfect for a quick night away. I’m going to book it for the first weekend in January every year to beat the January blues.
NB for the purpose of this review the one night accommodation was provided free of charge by Premier Inn, but the views and opinions are all my own.
