Our New Year Break

[david63]

We normally go out for New Year’s Eve and stay overnight but a few years ago we booked a three night break in Scotland which we enjoyed very much so we decided to have another three night break this year. Not having anywhere in particular in mind a trawl of the Internet was called for earlier in the year and we eventually settled on The Black Swan in Helmsley. The break was to start on Monday the 30th December and finish on Thursday 2nd January.

It is now Monday and off we set in somewhat stormy weather (the forecast said that it would have stopped raining by now!). We decided to take the more scenic route of going cross country rather than using the motorway for most of the journey. This did not prove to be too bad apart from trying to get through Colne (sorry if anyone lives there) as I had forgotten what it was like – especially when Boundary Mill has its sale on!

Now one part of this journey that I have not mentioned is the fact that we have to cross over to the “wrongside” (in other words entering the county of Yorkshire) so dodging the border guards was essential. Once that was achieved then the rest of the journey was relatively straightforward. We arrived in Helmsley just as it was starting to go dark so all of the Christmas lights were on which made the place look very welcoming.

Now problem number one – where to park? The car park at the front of the hotel was full (not that would take much doing as it only holds about a dozen cars) so I dive into the place to ask where to park – “just go up the narrow entrance next to the hotel, there is plenty of parking up there”, wrong! There was plenty of parking but it was all occupied. Eventually found a spot and abandoned the car, unloaded the cases and trundled back down to the hotel.

Now they say that first impressions mean a lot and the first impression here did not disappoint – the hotel is an old building full of character and had Christmas decorations that reflected the character of the building, so that set us off in the right mood. Check in done and off up to find out room.

We had booked one of the “feature” rooms and it certainly was. Upon entering there was a sort of hallway, that was bigger than some hotel rooms that I have stayed in in my time, off of which was another small room where the wardrobe was (plenty of hangers and more than adequate). On the other side was a door into the bedroom which had the features of creaking floorboards, sloping floors and uneven walls.

After unpacking we went down to the lounge where there was a welcome glass of fizz and a “sweet treat” waiting for us which was most welcome. Next, back to the room for a rest before dinner (which was included). A shower and change of clothes was required before back to the bar for a pre-dinner drink after which we had our first encounter with the restaurant and it certainly would not be our last. Whilst the menu was quite small, as were the portions, the quality was excellent and nothing was too much trouble. An after dinner brandy with the coffee was called for before retiring to bed.

One interesting thing about this hotel is that they accept pets so there are a few dogs in the hotel which appear to be well behaved (so far).

It is now New Year’s Eve and the day starts with breakfast. Now here I make an interesting observation – the toast rack has the THF logo on it. Later I come across some old photos of the hotel and it was in fact part of the THF group in a previous life and, apparently, this hotel was one of Charles Forte’s favourite hotels where he spent quite a lot of time. After breakfast an “explore” of the village is the order of the day (well the morning anyway). Helmsley is a quaint village but it soon becomes apparent that it is a tourist place – I can just imagine it heaving with visitors in the height of summer. Anyway after a couple of hours mooching around it starts to rain so we head back to the hotel for a bite to eat followed by an afternoon snooze (well we are on holiday)

Tuesday (NYE) is the main event with a Gala Black Tie dinner so we need to “scrub up”. The evening started off with champagne and canapés (which were excellent) and was then followed by a seven course dinner which lived up to expectations – the only problem being that copious amounts of wine had to be consumed! At midnight everyone goes out into the Market Square to celebrate the start of the New Year with a piper, fireworks and, of course, the obligatory champagne. Dancing then followed until the wee small hours.

Now why is it that when everyone knows that it is a “black tie” event when they book there has to be one who not only did not have a dinner suit on but no tie at all?

New Year’s Day started off with brunch (basically a slightly extended breakfast menu) and then we had about an hour’s walk before the rain came down – and that was it for the rest of the day, so we had to stop inside and read, chat and have an occasional snooze. New Year’s Day night was another meal in the restaurant followed by a film in one of the lounges. The film appeared to be by-passed by most as, probably, we would all have fallen asleep.

Thursday morning has now arrived and off we have set back home after what has been a truly exceptional break. It makes a change to go to an hotel where all of the staff know what they are supposed to do and actually do it with a smile on their faces. The highlight of the break though was the food – I cannot see that if they carry on like this that it will not be too long before Mr Michelin is paying them a visit. In fact we enjoyed it so much that we have provisionally booked for this year.

[GillD46]

Sounds very nice. Glad you had a good time.