Monk Fryston Hall Hotel Monk Fryston, Leeds LS25 5DU

"I’m not generally given to leaving negative reviews but I’m afraid I have to do it this time. My wife and I had been touring East Yorkshire on our bicycles and one of the essentials on trips like this is a comfortable room, hot water and a reasonable restaurant. I have carefully checked out Monk Fryston Hall and with its three star AA rating and well reviewed restaurant I thought it was a safe bet. I booked via my usual app, Booking.com as it is normally reliable. After 70km into a headwind, we arrived at the Hall. It is a grand, imposing building but somewhat run down. On entering, I noticed the fire alarm was showing a fault and at reception we were told by Sandra there was no chef and the restaurant was closed. We were somewhat aghast as there seemed to be no other restaurant nearby. Sandra did show real consideration and asked Jeff to take us to Ledsham so that we could eat at a pub and bring us home. We were very grateful for this. Our room had an electric shower but no other hot water. The electric kettle had been repaired illegally with insulating tape and had no sticker for a PAT test (required by law after a repair) but we had to use this to boil water to wash hands etc., after using the loo. It is impossible to wash your hands adequately in either cold water or under a shower. There were no toiletries or other soap in the room. These arrived about two hours after I requested them. Geoff told me that he had turned off the water boiled and buffer tank, so the decision to deprive guests of hot water seems to have been the owners. Running a hotel under Covid rules seemed beyond our hosts who were buckling under the strain. Getting a breakfast order right first time was beyond them. I’m not sure the levels of sanitiser and one way systems were adequate. The real problem is a lack of communication with guests. £89 is a high price to ask guests to pay when you reduce the amenities like this and the decent thing is to tell people while they can still cancel. Once you have reached the hotel on a Friday night, you don’t have much choice other than to stay. Despite Geoff’s help, we felt badly let down. More worryingly, as we left, the fire alarm was still showing the same fault. My advice is to check directly with the hotel well in advance of booking."

"Helpful staff however this lovely building needs updating. Very authentic but tired looking. Check your shower works when you book in. Meals were nicely presented and OK. Grounds are beautiful and extensive."

"Lovely setting, & very impressive as I pulled in to the entrance. Bar area was great, open log fire, wood paneled walls. Food was excellent, both in the Restaurant first night I stayed & Bar food second night. Breakfast was super. My only gripe was that the bedrooms were cold, I was given a portable radiator, but that wasn't working, still apart from that clean & comfortable. The staff were very helpful & attentive, it was a pleasant stay."

"Beautiful place and an amazing breakfast! Seemed like fresh local produce for breakfast? Im not a big fan of the full English breakfast, but here I absolutely loved it! Everything from the food seemed exquisite and tasty. The grounds are amazing and I felt like my room was haunted. I'm 36 years old and I slept with the covers over my head! Love this place and will visit again!"

"Nice hotel, very nice grounds, attended a wedding reception at this hotel and was very nice, decor was also very good, staff however seemed incompetent, many of the guests who had paid a deposit for the rooms they were staying in were told when they checked out that they hadn't paid a deposit and would have to send the hotel proof of the deposit... The night before the wedding I attended to decorate the tables to find that they had been set up incorrectly and not according to the seating plan they were provided with, took forever to get a drink at the bar, tills repeatedly crashing and just been very slow. However it all got sorted out and the meal was lovely. So overall is very nice and the rooms were very clean and comfortable, 3 stars because of the issues highlighted above, 5 stars for the grounds, food and rooms though."