The Grange Hotel is a Grade II listed, four star hotel, located in the Bootham part of the historic city of York.
This boutique style hotel, built in 1830, received a major refurbishment in 2016, which included the development of its cellars into the Ivy Brasserie, which is now a two Rosette restaurant.
A racing theme influences the decoration of the Grange, with paintings on loan from York racecourse.
For those looking for an intimate luxury hotel conveniently located in one of the UK's finest cities the Grange fits the bill perfectly.
It is a five minute stroll from York Minster, a Gothic masterpiece of a cathedral.
A Regency townhouse in the heart of historic York
By Ashley Gibbins
When visiting a grand hotel, like the Grange, I will always look to get some idea as to the history of the place and, in this case, it is fascinating.
This is a classic Regency townhouse, formerly known as Bootham Grange, which was built in 1829 by the Richardsons, who were two members of a wealthy ecclesiastical family.
In 1924 the property was converted into flats and remained as such until 1989, when it was bought by Jeremy and Vivien Cassel.
Four star luxury
The couple converted it into the luxury four star Grange Hotel, with Swiss designer Christophe Gollut, who had designed the dining room at the House of Lords, helping with the restoration.
The recent refurbishment has involved creating luxury Regency style décor throughout and the introduction of period antiques.
The sport of kings
Jeremy and Vivien's love of horse racing, the 'sport of kings', is prevalent throughout.
In addition to the paintings on loan from York racecourse, other horse racing memorabilia adorns the walls, including a collection of historic scarves given to race winners.
It is an appropriate theme, with horse racing in York dating back to Roman times.
York remains one of the UK's premier racecourses, with the annual August Ebor Festival one of the showcase events in the horse racing calendar.
Needless to say, the Grange is a favourite place for those attending York race meetings.
Traditional character and a distinctive charm
By Ann Mealor
The Grange is a grand old townhouse with distinctive character and charm.
The rooms
It has 41 individually designed bedrooms each with a different look and feel.
Our high ceilinged room was comfortable and traditionally decorated with a large, old-style wardrobe and a very comfortable Hypnos bed.
Tea, coffee and biscuits were provided and there was a turndown service available on request – always a nice touch.
Good quality White Company toiletries were in the bathroom - a welcome find when staying away from home.
Dining at the Grange
The hotel has a cosy, brick-vaulted restaurant, the Ivy Brasserie, with a menu worthy of its two AA Rosettes.
Head Chef Will Nicol, sources his meat, fish and artisan cheese from local suppliers.
Seasonal flavours
Seasonal flavours are celebrated in the frequently-changing menus and specials.
Yorkshire rhubarb, black pudding and monkfish wrapped in cured ham are all popular, while Whitby crab cakes are a year-round staple.
The tartiflette, for example, a traditionally French dish, is made with local charcuterie, British heritage potatoes and French Reblochon cheese.
The table d'hote
We dined from the table d'hote menu, which had a very good selection of fish, meat and vegetarian dishes.
For starters I chose the salmon roulade with beetroot aioli and Ashley the leek' wild mushrooms and pecorino cheese tart.
Both dishes looked colourful on the plate, were well presented and tasted delicious.
For mains, we both went for the Stone bass, buttered new potatoes, wilted spinach and butter sauce.
The generous portion of fish was sweet and flakey and went well with the vegetable accompaniments.
I don't usually go for cheese, but on this occasion I made an exception and ordered the Yorkshire cheese with buttery homemade digestives and beetroot chutney.
The cheese was flavoursome and creamy and the biscuits rich and crunchy – a great pairing.
We then enjoyed coffee and petit fours in the relaxing lounge.
Breakfast at the Grange
Breakfast, also in the Brasserie, was plentiful and well prepared.
I decided on the full English with all the trimmings and Ashley had the Eggs Florentine.
We also tucked into fresh fruit, cheese and a variety of pastries.
There was certainly enough on offer to fuel the hungriest before a days sight seeing in York.
AllWays Traveller to York
For more information on the city see the AllWays Traveller to York
Useful links
http://allwaystraveller.com/index.php/allways-features-home/historic-heydays-to-the-fore-in-york
www.visityork.org