A family-friendly break at Novotel York

If you’re travelling to York as a family, you might be looking for a hotel. We stayed at Novotel York during our city break and it was a great family-friendly place to stay. 

Address and contact information

Fishergate,
York,
YO10 4FD

Telephone: +44 113 396 9004
Email: H0949@accor.com
Website

Check-in / check-out time

Check in is at 3pm. You are welcome to arrive earlier than this, as we did. Although our room wasn’t ready when we arrived (early), we were able to leave our car in the car park and come back later.

Check out is at 12pm. You can do this easily and quickly by dropping your room keys into the box at reception.

Car parking at Novotel York

Novotel York has a good sized car park, which guests are welcome to use. Unfortunately, there is no free parking here and you will need to pay a fee of £16.50 per night. You can come and go as you please during this time though with a code obtained from reception.

How to get into York city centre

Parking is expensive in York so the good news is that you can walk into the York’s city centre from the hotel. It’s roughly a 9-minute walk, depending on which area you are heading to. There is also a bus stop around the corner from the hotel, which serves both of the hop on/ hop off bus tours. 

First impressions

Novotel York is a 4-star hotel so we were hoping for something really nice and we were not disappointed. As we entered the hotel, we were met with a nice reception area. While I checked in with the friendly staff, Erin and John went to check out the small children’s play area. Here, there were soft toys, books, games and a small pool table. 

Staying in a family room

We booked a family room which consisted of a queen bed and a convertible sofa bed. We walked into a nice big room, which had plenty of space for everything. It was really nice not to feel cramped in a small hotel room and also to have a great view of the river from the window. 

The queen bed had space on each side with a bedside table which also had a shelf underneath. I appreciated this as it meant there was somewhere to keep pyjamas as well as the shelf for your phone or a drink etc. It was also nice to have a variety of lights to choose from, which could be turned on and off from the bed. We had an incredibly comfy bed and we all slept so well during our stay here. 

The bedroom had lots of additional features too such as a large TV, coffee table, mini fridge, lots of clothes storage space and a safe. The bathroom was separate to the toilet, which was a very welcome aspect of the room. As a family, it meant we didn’t all have to rush in the shower because someone needed the toilet. Speaking of the shower, it was huge and we had plenty of space. We really couldn’t have asked for anything more from this room. 

Food and drink

Breakfast

Breakfast was included with our stay and is held in the restaurant each morning. You need to book a time to eat with reception as it can get very busy. There were a few tour groups staying at the hotel at the same time as us so sometimes, breakfast was very busy. 

I really enjoy a hotel breakfast and the Novotel York Centre hotel offers a great one. You can expect a buffet of hot food such as sausages, bacon, black pudding and beans which is perfect if you fancy a Full English breakfast. Other breakfast items include cheeses and meats, cereals, fresh fruit, pastries, muffins and a wide range of drinks.  You can’t beat starting your day with great food and this is exactly what you get with a Novotel breakfast. 

Room service

Although we didn’t use it, something I loved was being able to order 24-hour room service. Sometimes, when you’re travelling with kids you can’t leave the room so to be able to order room service is perfect. This consisted of full meals, light bites and drinks.

Gourmet Bar

If you fancy having dinner in the hotel, you can get a range of dishes from the Gourmet Bar. This ranges from light snacks and starters to international cuisine and British dishes as well as afternoon tea. You can expect to pay around £18 for a burger, £17 for a curry and £14.50 for a ciabatta. 

Swimming pool

This York hotel does have an indoor heated pool but unfortunately it was being refurbished during our visit. I think being able to use the indoor pool would have made our stay that little bit more special but it also wasn’t a big deal that it was closed as we knew about this in advance.

Would we go back?

We loved our at family-friendly stay at Novotel York. Not only was the room nice and spacious but there was a lot more on offer at this hotel. Nature lovers can take a walk down the idyllic banks of the River Foss, the historic city walls are only a 4-minute walk walk away and the National Railway Museum is only a short drive away. Although the 4-star Novotel York Centre hotel is on the more expensive side compared with budget friendly hotels, you do see a big difference in quality and comfort. If you’re looking to visit York then this is a great hotel to stay at with your family. 

Other great things to do with kids in York: