Worsley Arms Hotel

Called in for lunch adhoc on a visit to the area house hunting. What a fortunate decision as the lunch was absolutely delicious (best chicken & Leek pie I've ever had) & the black pudding starter was outstanding. Fair price for a wonderful culinary lunch. Plenty of parking to the rear & friendly staff.

The Worsely Arms Hotel has to be the best hotel I’ve stayed in for many years. Spotlessly clean and well-equipped rooms. The food (both dinner and breakfast) was excellent. The staff are truly wonderful, so much local knowledge and with exceptional customer care. Zack and the breakfast team, as well as the dinner service, were 2nd to none. A great choice of local beers, and local Slingby Gin (Marmalade was my favourite) all behind the bar. A great choice of single malt whiskeys as well. A lovely lounge with coal fires made the whole lounge area warm and homely. And dog-friendly too – with nice walks around the village. Some confusion with my booking on the booking website (not the hotels) - but the hotel manager Tony was able to sort it all out. A really lovely Easter weekend.

If I use the description 'faded elegance' about this hotel, I do so as a compliment. There is no gleaming cromium, no shiny glass wall panels, and no 'anonymous' sterile environment. Instead, there is an atmosphere of homeliness. The sofas in the lounge don't match and the walls are covered with genuine old prints and paintings, not mass-produced prints. The bar is warm and cozy with a real fire - very welcome in March when we visited - and there is another fire in the 'snug' just off the main lounge. Our bedroom was just fine. King-size bed and en-suite facilitites, TV, dressing-table, two comfortable armchairs, and a double wardrobe with one sticking door! :-) (We were too busy to spend other than 'sleeping time' in the bedroom, so more than adequate). The food is excellent. Great choices for evening meals that use, wherever possible, local ingredients. Breakfast (always my favourite meal) was first class, giving any number of choices. The key to any successful hostelry is, of course, those folk who provide the service. You would have to go an awful long way to find better than Tony, Sally and Daniella. Tony, essentially 'mine host', is the consummate professional with knowledge, charm, and style. Sally, looked after us with care and concern. She has a natural warmth that made the Worsley Arms our home-from-home for three days. Daniella is simply delightful and a very special young lady. Born and bred in the village, she is intensely proud of Hovingham - and the hotel - and her natural empathy and charm, certainly 'lit up' each breakfast! Reading this back, I realise that I have used the word 'charm' or charming on quite a few occasions...... and that's what the Worsley Arms is - charming. Geographically, it is ideally positioned to reach the City of York, the coast of Whitby or Scarborough, and the North Yorkshire Moors within less than an hour. Recommended without reservation - although of course you will need one to stay there! (Sorry)

I first visited the Worsley Arms in the late 1970s as a child with my parents and grandparents. The picture postcard village, which served a very traditional Sunday lunch always stayed in my mind. In 2022 to celebrate my father's 80th birthday, my brother and I, a friend and my father returned for the first time in over 40 years. It was wonderful to see that this historic early Victorian building had changed hardly at all. If you are looking for a modern characterless hotel with a huge TV and all modern cons then is not for you. But if you are looking for charm, and a touch of history, high ceilings slightly uneven walls and a quaint bar then you must give it a try. The hotel is also a great social hub for the local community, and its survival and old fashioned relaxed charm is down to the hard work of Tony and his wife who have owned and run the hotel since the 1990s.

Bitterly disappointed with the condition of the room on arrival especially as it was the end of a lovely day to celebrate a birthday. The room was freezing, radiator not working, there was an oil radiator but it was ineffective. The room was very tired & unwelcoming, dusty, old broken furniture, stained carpet, tiny tv for the size of the room. The bathroom was ancient, dead bugs all over the blind, cob webs all over the shower head, fortunately I don’t suffer with arachnophobia. The loo was dirty, stained & generally unpleasant. The staff were very nice & yes we could have complained there & then but on a Sat eve you wouldn’t get a decorator, plumber & deep clean I suspect.

Our 4th stay, says it all. Food is a particular highlight.

I am not someone who relishes giving poor reviews as my mother was a hotelier, most places I review are to give praise, but in all my years travelling I have never been greeted by such an antagonistic, inhospitable, damn right rude woman- this place is amateurville on steroids. We arrived to what appeared quite a quaint location. On check in a stern woman who couldn't even say hello or offer any welcome (she was more like a prison warden in her demeanour), shoved two breakfast forms at me and said they needed filling in immediately and handing back to reception. We nipped upstairs to leave our bags, the room was adequate a bit tired and the bathroom certainly wasn't pristine, but ok for 1 night. We came downstairs to get some lunch and a drink. We entered the bar and so began our second encounter with the hotel's equivalent to Nurse Ratchet, as a guest you are certainly going to adhere to rules, you're not to relax and enjoy, you need to dance to her tune. We picked up a menu and she literally snatched it out of my husband's hand and said "kitchens closed". We therefore just had a drink before heading back into York. Having finished our drinks we were going out, just chatting with our friend when the little dictator popped up from nowhere again and interrupted our conversation without an excuse me or sorry but just screeching "you going out? What time will you be back." My husband a bit taken back by this woman said humorously "Are we in trouble?" There was no softening of her tone, just further demands to know what time we would be returning, because the door would be locked. This is rather strange for an establishment with a public bar and restaurant open to the public. I assured the angry little woman that we would not be late and she thrust a door code into my hand somewhat grudgingly. No goodbye or have a pleasant afternoon and off she trotted. We had a lovely time in York returning to the hotel about 9.30pm and guess what the door was locked-heaven forbid guests are welcomed. We were planning on having a few drinks before bed and were heading into the bar. As we were chatting convivially "she who must be obeyed" appeared like a whirling dervish brandishing two breakfast forms- again no greeting just mockingly saying "what are these, they are filled out, incorrectly, why have you got two forms room 9" I managed to utter "I filled out two forms because you gave me two forms" I was not permitted to speak any more she interrupted as clearly I needed chastising. This strange little woman then proceeded to go through my forms, not willing to listen just point by point stating what had displeased her, making her lay in wait like a praying mantis to pounce on our return. To be honest for the first 5 minutes of her sermon I was too staggered to interject and try and explain we just wanted boiled egg and soldiers each. She was getting more and more condescending in her tone and mocked that I had got the date wrong even on her beloved form. At th

It was several miles out from York and Pickering, so you do require transport. We couldn't find anywhere else to have food locally and had to rely on the hotel. The food was all cooked fresh, but there were limited options. Apart from this the accommodation was comfortable.

The food served in the restaurant and at breakfast was very good. The hotel staff were always friendly and helpful. Not much goes on in Hovingham but it's a good base for walking or exploring the Moors and the Howardian Hills.