Are fire alarms going off nightly your idea of fun?
by TripAdvisor Member badders1
I have just returned from a weekend at this hotel and wouldn't stay there again unless there were no other beds in York (or even Harrogate)!! It is not recommended for elderly, infirm or pregnant guests and certainly not if you have children.
As others point out it is in need of internal work to bring it up to the standard of other Moat House hotels but I am most worried about the state of it's fire alarm system. To have a fire alarm go off once in a weekend is unlucky (12:50am Sat), twice is getting annoying (10pm Sat) three times is just neglectful management (around 11:30pm Sat) ESPECIALLY if the management team declare 'we don't know why it's happened'!! Either they are not being truthful, they can't control their guests attending Xmas functions or it is faulty. So would it work if it was needed? Each time the alarm goes off less people beleive it's real. If they had a real fire at 2am how many guests would have perished thinking it was another false alarm? Along with other guests we complained but none of the management appeared to care.
I wouldn't stay again and know of many others who feel the same.
Good weekend break
by TripAdvisor Member harters
Just back from a 2 night break. The hotel is in a great location - 5 minutes walk from the city centre across the river. Staff are friendly and welcoming. Our deal, for the two us, included dinner, bed and breakfast and was a total of £190.
Rooms are fine but nothing out of the ordinary. Good buffet breakfast. Dinner is either starter, carvery, dessert & coffee OR a £15 contribution towards a la carte. Very good value. Tables are too close together so you felt you were almost part of the conversation going on at the next one.
Saturday night was busy in the restaurant. We had forgotten to reserve a table so had an hour long wait. It wasnt that there were no tables - it seemed simply that they had insufficient staff on duty.
Our only other criticism was a minor problem in settling the bill. The computer system had only "booked" us in for one night - so we had been charged full restaurant prices, etc for the second night. Not a major issue, just a bit of hassle getting them to delete the wrong charges.
Car parking is undercover and there is a charge of £10 a day (although they forgot to charge us for the second night).
Recommended, in spite of the minor hassles, just for it's location
Never again!
by A TripAdvisor Member
My wife and I stayed here for one night. Wallpaper was peeling off the wall in places, the mattress was soft and lumpy and had no cover, the entrance door was dirty, the paintwork chipped and the decor dated. The shower was antiquated, the bathroom door's paintwork was chipped and part of a tap was missing. The towels were ancient, threadbare and skimpy. I complained to reception staff and was told that they 'had refurbished the ground floor but hadn't got around to upper floors yet'. To cap it all, they charge 10GBP for parking, a fact that is not made clear when booking online, and the car park has no lift access to the hotel, meaning that luggage has to be transported around 50 metres down the street and up several steps to the foyer. At breakfast there was no muesli and no question that the staff would obtain some for my wife who is on a strict diet. Surely muesli is a common breakfast cereal and should be available in a hotel that claims to be 4 star.
We are visitors from Australia and have stayed in many similarly priced hotels in the UK, all of which have been vastly superior to the Moat. In conclusion? -should be 1 or 2 star, not 4 star, overpriced, shabby, we won't be staying there again.
Fair hotel, thin walls, excellent breakfast
by A TripAdvisor Member
Stayed at the Moat for 6 nights in January at a conference booked at 75 pounds a night with breakfast,on the 5 th floor facing the Ouse River. Breakfast and dinners in the restaurant along with the service were excellent. The view from the room at the river and Minster was very nice. However, the hotel rooms need updating and cleaning service was spotty. Although our double was larger than most rooms we stayed in in the UK, the bed was lumpy, the towels were threadbare and they didn't change the drinking glasses regularly. Moverover, in 6 days, they only changed the duvet cover once. The shower/bath was moldy enough that I went to a local store and bought a bleach cleanser and brush to deal with it. Other reviewers mention the noise from the river and from revelers. The boat tours were not running past the hotel at the time of our stay, but nightly roving groups of drinking teens and 20 somethings shout down the river. There is a popular pub on the river's edge across from the hotel that adds to the late-night screaming. Locals told us that the roving groups of drinkers is a phenomena that has popped up in a number of cities in the UK and has led to some folks not going into the cities at night to drink at formely favorite pubs. We didn't feel threatened, but ear plugs would make your stay more enjoyable. The same applies to the rooms. The walls are thin, and we came to know the infant crying next door, along with the snoring habits of another guest next door. The showers apparently set off the fire alarms and there are signs asking guests to keep the bathroom doors closed in order to avoid that. Nevertheless, we were startled about 7 in the morning to what turned out to be a false alarm. Take the shower warning seriously.
Good service
by TripAdvisor Member allyf
My company booked me into the York Moat House as I was working Night shift in the York area. My room was booked for me to arrive at 11:00, but it was not ready for me. I have to thank the staff for quickly making a room available after the mix up was pointed out to them. The room was very clean and comfortable. The only complaint that I have is about car parking if the hotel is busy as they only have space for 90 cars which you get charged £10 for. If their car park is full you can use a NCP car park nearby, the hotel gives you a voucher for half price.
After arriving home I realised that I had left a jacket in my room, when I phoned the hotel they quickly arranged for it to be posted to me. The parcel arrived the next day, good service indeed.
I would recommend this hotel.
Don't stay here
by A TripAdvisor Member
I booked thid hotel through Expedia and got what I thought at the time was a good rate. After staying there I feel I paid double what the room was worth. It was the smallest room I ever stayed in - no more than 6ft wide. It looked and smelt like something from the 50s.
It was a truly horrible experience and I would not hesitate to advise anyone to look at one of the other hotels in York.
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