Bed & Breakfast at Gray's Court Hotel, York (UK)

Gray’s Court Hotel, York was our choice of hotel for our recent visit to the medieval city. Its location right next to the York Minster was a such a convenience. It was easy for us to find our way to the hotel by simply looking out for the tall imposing structures of the Cathedral which are visible from many parts of the old city.

Gray’s Court Hotel, York , view from city wall with York Minster in background

According to the hotel website, the house was originally built in the late eleventh century and is “one of the most historic buildings in England; Grays Court is the oldest inhabited house in York”. The building certainly has a lot of character. The common areas – the restaurant, the lounge and the library are very attractive places. The 12 rooms do not have numbers but names instead. Each one is unique in design. There are pictures of them in the website.

The nice thing about Gray’s Court Hotel is the balance between the house and the garden. They are both sizable but the scale and design seem to be so well balanced. The hotel is sandwiched by two of York’s two major sightseeing landmarks. The cathedral to the back and the city wall in the front. The Minster is said to be the largest medieval Gothic cathedral in Northern Europe. The medieval city walls are mostly in good condition. There is access to the wall at many points in the city, one of which is near Gray’s Court. Our picture of the hotel at the beginning of this post is taken from the wall.

The Scones

As you can imagine for a hotel with only 12 rooms, service was very personal. We were warmly welcomed at check-in. A light version of afternoon tea was served. Scones with clotted cream and jam were served with tea and coffee.

The scones were light with just the right amount of crumbliness. The strawberry preserve was memorable. The individual stawberries were still intact but soft enough to be easily spread onto the scones. Together with the clotted cream, these were the best scones we tasted during our trip to the UK.

Breakfast at Gray’s Court Hotel, York

Breakfast was served in the Bow Room restaurant of the hotel. We had a table by the window that looks out into the garden and a part of the city wall. The perfect setting for a quinessential English breakfast in York.

There was a choice of main course for breakfast. We selected the Traditional Full English breakfast and the English Muffin with Ham, Avocado and Poached Eggs.

Gray’s Court Hotel, York (Breakfast Menu)

A spread of bread with cream and jams and some charcuterie items was first served. We enjoyed all of them especially the orange marmalade and the strawberry preserve which made a welcomed repeat appearance.

The Traditional English Breakfast (picture above) does not win any prizes for appearance, but was certainly substantial. The English muffin with poached eggs was a lighter main course. We selected spinach as a topping and liked its rich earthy taste.

The satisfying breakfast at Gray’s Court Hotel, York is certainly another reason why we would probably stay there again on a future visit to York.