In a city filled with hotels, it takes a lot for the accommodation to stand out.
But the glamping pods run by York Holiday & Cycle Stop are like nothing else – and guests just love them.
That much is borne out by the fact that the business – based at Holtby, just to the east of the city – have been named Best Countryside Hotel in Britain.
It won the title in the Simply The Guest 2017 awards, run by LateRooms.com thanks to glowing customer reviews.
Opened in 2015, York Holiday & Cycle Stop’s pods come with two single beds, which can be made into a king, a warm heating system, full insulation and an electric kettle, secure cycle storage and free wifi.
The owners are understandably pleased. They posted on Facebook:
Luxurious winner
It wasn’t the only York hotel to score highly.
The Principal York (previously the Royal York) took the UK’s Best Hotel Interiors in the awards, and was named at number four in the Best Luxury Hotel.
It follows a major restoration which saw the Principal’s lobby, reception, Garden Room and 159 bedrooms and suites revived by interior architects Goddard Littlefair as a paean to Victorian grandeur.
General manager Richard Mansell said:
Hotel hotspot
The news comes as York is named as a hotel hotspot.
The city has come second, moving up four places from last year, in Colliers International’s latest UK Hotels Market Index. Topping the league was Chester.
The index is an analysis of 34 locations across the UK, ranked to determine the ‘hotspots’ for hotel development and acquisition across the country.
York’s lofty position is helped by a positive revenue per available room (RevPAR) trend.
Director of hotels agency at Colliers International’s Leeds office Peter Bean said: “The data in our second report reveals the ever-changing nature of the UK hotels market. York has really upped its game in the last year to make it into the top five.”