HOTEL INDIGO: YORK

20-21/12/17

By Beth

WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT:

To stay in Walmgate, a lovely part of York
Take in the modern and stylish interiors
Tuck into a varied and hearty breakfast
Enjoy the gorgeous bathrooms and cosy rooms

DESTINATION:

This was my first proper visit to York and it did not disappoint. York is a picturesque walled city and it's an easy and lovely place to walk around, taking in lots of sights as you go.

We were staying in the Walmgate area which had a feel of Bruges to it, with winding streets filled with independent restaurants, bars and shops.

Hotel Indigo is situated near the bottom of Walmgate and it was only a short and enjoyable 10-minute walk into the centre of York. We discovered some great places near to the hotel including a very cute little wine bar, Cave du Cochon, where we indulged in some refreshing wine and the best Comte cheese I've ever eaten.

DECOR:

The Hotel Indigo York is very stylishly designed with a modern shabby chic feel to the bedrooms and an industrial vintage style to the communal hotel areas.

Steve and I were staying in a Superior Room, which was spacious with a king sized bed, desk and chair. The room featured lots of interesting details including a gallery wall above the bed and quirky lamps and included a fridge filled with complimentary waters, milk, chocolate and raisins. Always a nice touch!

The bathroom in our room had a real wow factor with a mixture of both metro and patterned tiles, a stylish mirror and a built in shelf with complimentary local toiletries. The only thing which could have made it any better was a bath, as I did miss having a nice soak after a long day of walking around York! I had serious tile envy and it has given me some inspiration for our own bathroom re-design one day.

DINING:

On our first night at the hotel, we were trying out dinner and our stay included breakfast on both mornings.

DINNER:

The restaurant area, named 88 Walmgate, is really spacious and was pretty quiet on the night we chose to eat so we could pretty much choose which table we wanted and sat in a snug corner.

The restaurant offered both a Yorkshire Tapas menu and a Christmas menu the night we dined and we chose to order a few tapas plates to share. Here is what we ordered:

To Share: Cheese Gougeres (£4.50), Tandoori Scallops (£9), Shredded Duck (£9), Yorkshire Rarebit (£6) and Skinny Fries (£3).

To Drink: Slingsby Gin and Tonic and a pint of Moretti followed by a Marmalade Whisky Sour and a Rosemary Mojito

The Yorkshire tapas dishes all sounded quite different and were presented nicely on arrival and we were excited to tuck in. The rarebit was creamy and cheesy and worked well on the crisp sourdough and the Cheese Gougeres, which were like little cheese souffles, were balanced well with the beetroot they were served with. The duck had crispy skin and succulent meat and was a little like peking duck, but with Henderson's Relish instead of Hoi Sin Sauce. It was our favourite dish! The scallops on the other hand were really disappointing as they were overcooked and tasted incredibly salty, so much so that we couldn't eat them. The chips were also quite poor and didn't taste homemade.

Instead of dessert, we decided to try a cocktail each but these were also disappointing. The Whisky Sour was really sweet and not sour at all and the Rosemary Mojito just tasted like lemonade with bits of rosemary in it that had definitely seen better days!

After mentioning the poor cocktails in passing the following day, Leanne apologised and told us that the cocktail menu is under work at the moment but to try the Espresso Martinis, which were great. So before we headed out for dinner that evening, we gave them a go and they were indeed delicious!

BREAKFAST:

After a good night's sleep - the rooms are really quiet and the beds are nice and comfy - we went downstairs for breakfast, which is a part I always love about staying in hotels!

The breakfast is quite something at the hotel, with a continental buffet of the usual cereals, fruit, yoghurt, meats, cheeses, pastries and toast but also on offer is a waffle station with maple syrup, smarties and marshmallows, a juicer to make your own freshly squeezed orange juice and a Virgin Mary station. And this is all before you get the chance to order a hot breakfast off the a la carte menu! It's was a really good breakfast offering and something I think would be great for families as there is a choice for everyone.

We enjoyed some fruit, cheeses and pastries before ordering a Full English and Pancakes with Bacon and Maple Syrup, which both included local produce. Both were enjoyable and presented nicely.

DEBRIEF:

We really enjoyed our stay at Hotel Indigo and it's somewhere we will definitely look to return to for another stay. It's located in a great area of York and I loved the stylish interiors and varied breakfasts on offer.