Hotel review: Guy Fawkes Inn, York

 For most York residents, the Guy Fawkes Inn is the pub that is too crowded to get into on Guy Fawkes night, but is forgotten about the other 364 days of the year. Despite it's location in the shadow of York Minster, it is somewhat overlooked, and despite living in York for 3 years, I never realised that it was a hotel too (the "inn" moniker being applied far too liberally to pubs without sleeping facilites).

So on a recent trip back to York with The Boy, we opted to stay in the Guy Fawkes Inn. Despite reservations that it may be quite small and dingy, we were pleasantly surprised. The room was very spacious, and manages to keep its character without seeming too dark. The bed was very comfy, the pillows being the generous kind whereby waking up in the middle of the night requires an Everest style expedition to regain your place at the peak. The en-suite, although small, was very modern.

But the highlight of the room was the view of the Minster. We were tempted to sleep with the curtains open. There's something to be said for waking up to this:

The view from our room

 Breakfast was lovely, although somewhat confusing as to whether it was self service or table service. This, combined with the confusion which led to them charging us twice and then refunding us, even though we insisted we'd already paid, led us to comment that the service could have been better.

Downstairs in the bar and dining room, the decor was very atmospheric, very York, if you will. There's something quite lovely about starting the day with breakfast by candlelight.

The atmospheric dining room