RichardInSF

One of the the things I love about staying at a really great hotel is the feeling that anything legal I ask for is possible.

The Principal is the opposite of that -- everything I asked for was impossible. Not having any status with IHG, I booked (and paid for) the most expensive suite. on their reservations website The good news is the two rooms that make up the suite are of good size. The furniture is of decent quality because the hotel was apparently refurbished two years ago but the carpet already shows numerous stains.

Bathrooms in old hotels are invariably tiny and it is generally expensive to change this in a refit. The Principal clearly not to make that investment, but they must have converted the bathtub to be a larger shower as the suite has no bathtub. The bathroom has no counter space for personal items. The room is supplied with one bar of soap, presumably to be shared between the sink and the shower, and two of each type of towel.

The original heating was left untouched but three electric heaters (including one Dyson) were put in the suite. Only suites get the Dyson and the room without it gets cold. York likely doesn't often need a/c which is good because the room has none. Windows can only be opened 10cm.

Lighting was dark and gloomy. They do not have any additional room lighting available. The maintenance man suggested that instead I should remove the lampshade on one of the lamps, which he helped me do. It didn't make much difference. What used to be a fireplace in each room was tiled over but curiously, the mantles were left.

In lieu of a welcome note, there was a letter stating that having breakfast after 9am could result in having to queue.

If this room is the best this hotel has to offer, I would not want to see the worst. I do not think I will be back.

scubaccr

shower only in such supposed standard/trget-audience-hotel is totally unacceptable, unless disclosed in room description at booking time, especially a suite versus superior/deluxe type room

I have walked myself from 5* hotels who did such to me, including hotels where only some rooms have baths, example Hilton Park Lane, DoubleTree Amsterdam station, Kimpton Amsterdam, Conrad Manila

BarneyMcGrew

Having stayed at this hotel fairly often since the 1980's (through all its re-brands including the current one) and in most of its rooms, I think this is one hotel where 'less equals more'.

The Executive rooms (in the main building as opposed to rooms in the annex) seem to be far better than the suites, notwithstanding the extra 'living space' you get in a suite. It does point out on the website about some suites having rainfall showers with some having roll top baths (scroll down the panel in the ‘suites’ section of rooms). Personally, I prefer a room with a shower, but I understand that doesn't please everyone. It is always worth ringing the hotel directly in advance of your stay if you want a room with a bath. The staff are also pretty amenable if you ask at check in, unless the hotel is totally rammed.

Also re the air-con issue, this has been a chestnut there for years. Basically due to its historic Grade 2 listing, individual aircon exterior outlets cannot be fitted externally. Putting it centrally inside would necessitate huge interior re-modelling for all the trunk work needed to ‘pipe’ air-con to every room. The hotel was just not designed for todays comforts back in the day.

Despite its faults it is what it is, a large Victorian 4 star hotel with 'quirks' - mainly due its age and 'historic listing'.

RichardInSF

I think the unwillingness to help alleviate the inadequate lighting bothered me more than anything. They just said outright that they didn't have any extra lamps and claimed the suite was kept dark so I could "better watch the TV." Also, cheapness in stocking the bathroom -- no extra towels, just one bar of soap, etc. Finally, they did have a desk but no desk chair (and the other chairs in the living room were way too large to move), although they did find a chair when I requested one.

I still can't imagine why they didn't enlarge the tiny bathroom during renovation given this was a suite. It was in the main building, room 129, by the way.

Those weren't quirks, they were inadequacies.

By the way, no one asked me how my stay was when I checked out. I suspect they already knew.

turner32

Just returned from a 1 night stay here. I wanted to stay as part of the free night promo, but also to see how Principal hotels would fit within the IHG portfolio. I was hoping this property would eventually become an Intercontinental.

I had booked an entry level double room and was upgraded (spire) into the same room as Richard, 129. The room wasn't ready upon our 2pm arrival, but the girl on the front desk said she would call us when it was. This didn't happen.

As far as the room is concerned, I can only re-iterate what he has reported. The bedroom is pleasant enough, the bathroom clean, but sparse with few amenities, and the huge shower which obviously used to contain a bath. The bed and pillows were uncomfortable.

The living room was a hot mess of what looked like quite expensive furniture, but it was poorly co-ordinated, and just looked odd. Not cosy or homely. Controlling the room temperature was the biggest issue, and as mentioned the windows only open very slightly. Difficult to strike a balance, even with 2 x fixed radiators, 2 x Oil-filled radiators and the Dyson heater.

You can clearly see where the money has been spent in the public areas. They are stunning, but you only need to walk a few steps to the toilets on the ground floor to see where the cash ran out. The men's toilets, particularly the long urinals looked and smelt as if they belonged in an old train station. Pretty disgusting.

We visited the Chapter House bar for a drink and some food. It's a small place for a hotel of this size, and was quite cramped, even with only a few people eating/drinking. The two guys behind the bar were pleasant enough, but annoyingly, one of them still managed to screw up a very simple food order. A free drink was offered as compensation. The food wasn't particularly good. It was quite bland and was not worth the price paid.

The staff were a little hit and miss. Some great, some indifferent and in need of training. Overall, with a few tweaks, this could be a great property, but it needs to address the lack of air conditioning and the F + B offering, in particular.

Smythmeister

Has anyone been here more recently?

I went in May, the first weekend after things opened up in England. Lovely building, decor etc but service severely lacking. We sat in their lounge area for a drink for almost 30 mins before finding a staff member to ask for a drink. Further 20 mins went by with no drink. Chased it up and when it came, the order was wrong. We tried the lounge again the following day but trying to find someone to order was impossible, so gave up.

Looking at TripAdvisor suggests service is a common problem here. I personally gave them the benefit of the doubt given the hospitality industry has suffered and staff were all clearly new. I also had stayed on a free night cert. Had I paid the £200 plus per night they ask, I'd be disappointed. The above was one example of poor service, we had a few others including a slow room service order which arrived with the wrong items. On the plus side, they didn't charge the order at all at checkout.

I'm due back in Oct for one night, to give it another go. Again on a free night, so I'll see if things have bedded down. Just interested to know if others have any experiences more recent than May?

turner32

Not stayed recently, but I can only add to the comments here.
Stayed on a free night 2 years ago just after it joined IHG.
A beautiful property and one that I really wanted to like, but the service was just terrible.
Two years on and they still haven’t rectified this. They need to shop out the current management, because I’m not sure how much longer they can continue without improvement.
I would imagine that this property would be earmarked, certainly as. Kimpton, but possibly an IC. However, until they get their act together, I can’t see either happening.

davidw70

I stayed in June and tend to agree with comments here. Thought it was a beautiful property in an excellent location but reception (check-in/out) and restaurant service left a lot to be desired. It will be very interesting to see what brand it eventually becomes.

Smythmeister

Interesting to hear comments but surprised to know service has been that bad for so long. Something that I always think is so easy to get right, particularly when your room rates start at £200 per night!

It definitely "feels" like a Kimpton when you're in it, from a hard product point of view. I'm a little nervous about my second visit in Oct. I'll feed back on it once I've been.

Booked the Oct visit on a free night cert and it's been upgraded to a king superior already, so a good start, but I'll reserve judgement for now.

Raffles

Kimpton hotels must have aircon which this does not IIRC.

I had a bad stay here two years ago and got a call from the GM afterwards. Basically, her view is that the opulent public areas are a curse. People see them and expect five star luxury, but the rooms are small and dark in the main building and (she told me) worse in the new building from where guests often ask to be moved out. She sees the hotel as a 3-4 star which just happens to have public areas which are nicer than The Savoy.

Smythmeister

I suspect though they trade of those public areas and their looks or they wouldn't have such high entry level room rates. It sets expectations of something 4 or 5 star with prices they set.

​​​​​​It's a real shame, a step up in service would elevate the place massively.

NoY

Any recent status stays here? Have a booking later in the year & am a tad nervous! LOL

residentx

I was here in October and it was just scraping an OK. I booked the lowest cat.- no upgrade. It was October and tiny room was so, so hot. The window opened a couple of inches and even with the radiator switched off it was hot due to large pipes warming the room up.

I had to ask for the welcome drinks vouchers. The reception was terrible. Shower pressure good and temperature reliable.

The bar ran out of all drinks, the service was terrible. No service in the beautiful lounge. The queue at breakfast was huge but the selection OK, think standard Hilton in the UK.

That said, the location is excellent right next to the station and a short walk to town. There is on site parking. The building is the standard Principal excellent refurbishment of beautiful traditional architecture.

York is a tourist town and always busy so they don’t have to try.

Ffwdorguk

I have stayed there most years even before it was Principal hotel.
Rooms are poor.
Hotel main areas and gardens are great.
Location is very handy for station & horse racing (bus) and town.
I like the bar, small swimming pool & sauna.
​Love the breakfasts, very English.
A few of us are staying there in May so will report back on service.

Raffles

I was connecting via York station overnight last month and decided to ignore the Principal and stay at the new-ish Hampton which is 7-8 mins walk from the station - both were similar price albeit breakfast free at Hampton. Given that the lobby refurb at the Principal probably cost more than the entire build cost of the Hampton you can see how much I dislike the place!