York City (Blossom St South) hotel

Great location just around the corner from the train station and buses. 2 minutes walk from the city gate riverside. Clean rooms with friendly staff available at most times.

Arrived 6.10 pm after a long day touring and decided on a quick meal out before leaving for London tomorrow and catching our flight home. Went to the bar at 6.25 and ordered our meals 2 pies and chips. Half an hour later I went looking for assistance. No one behind the bar or in plain site. I asked the waitress I finally found about our meals. She said there's only one person in the kitchen so it's going to take time. She went off without apology. 10 minutes later the meals finally arrived and again no apology. When we had finished she asked how the meals were. We had to go to the bar and pay as no bill appeared. All up a very disappointing and unsatisfactory night and experience. Fortunately we didn't stay at the hotel. Quite a few other customers came in after and got the same experience. This was a Saturday night and the place was 85% empty. No smiles, no greetings.

Reception staff were great. Room was perfect for 4 of us (2 adults & 2 children) even though we had three beds there was still lots of space. We stayed two nights and as usual insufficient hangers but I always take my own though at least there are coat hooks which I used to hang the kids clothes. The bathroom was nice and roomy and our youngest enjoyed a deep bath. The shower was powerful. We ate out on our first night and had breakfast in the Wetherspoons just down the road. We decided for our last night and morning we’d take advantage of the kids eat free offer and booked a table for our evening meal. The kids eat free offer is deceptive, they only get the main course for free and you pay for a drink too. We ordered drinks and they took around 35mins to arrive, I had to ask again at the bar for them and the order hadn’t been placed in the correct spot. A table of 5 ladies came in after us and I noticed they were served their drinks within a few minutes. They joined a large party of ladies which it looked like they regularly ate there.Our starters arrived before the drinks. We shared the 2 adult starters between the 4 of us. Main courses were ok but the choice of desserts was poor if you don’t like vanilla ice cream or chocolate. So we popped along to Sainsbury’s and bought ice creams from there. Breakfast the next day was chaotic. One member of staff greeting and clearing tables. The food wasn’t replenished quickly enough. Bowls for cereal and fruit were freshly washed so were hot. The plates for cooked food were cold, I had to wait for sausages and fried eggs. First time I’ve had a cold ‘hot’ breakfast! The pancakes must have been frozen as my granddaughter said it was hard and cold. Overall I would return to this hotel as it’s not far from the station, a good base for the races or sightseeing but I wouldn’t have an evening meal again. I would only consider having breakfast if we had the granddaughters with us again as it was cheaper to eat in Wetherspoons.

Stayed overnight on Sunday, booked a Premier Plus room. The member of staff on reception on arrival was lovely, as was the room. (316). We ate elsewhere last night through choice. However, breakfast this morning was a complete farce, one poor member of staff seemingly dealing with everything, including a number of very unhappy customers. Tables not cleared, food not replenished. I understand finding staff to work in hospitality is difficult, but Premier inn seriously need to get their act together because otherwise customers will vote with their feet.

Great place to stay, breakfasts were lovely, though they needed more staff in the restaurant to keep up with demand. Comfortable bed, great shower, TV, easy check in and check out Will definitely go again.