Hedley House Hotel — Hotel in Great Britain

Through their website, I booked two nights for August at the cancel later option rate. Even though their policy stated that no money will be taken from my card at the time of booking, they took a $90 deposit. When the confirmation came to me by email, it had dates that I did not select while booking online. When I contacted them about this error, they said that my desired dates were 50 GBP more per night. They did offer to refund my deposit but offered no explanation as to why their booking system did not work properly. I requested an immediate refund as I did not want to pay the higher rate. Over the course of the following two weeks, I contacted them three more times (email and Facebook messenger). All of my efforts were ignored until I disputed the charge through my credit card company. Magically, they returned my messages with a non-apologetic reply that my refund would be processed. Of course, that amount was lower because of a different exchange rate that day. Beware of their bait and switch tactics and uncooperative attitude! RE Owner's Response: YOU are such a liar! Seems like YOU are more interested in covering your own backside. YOUR confirmation email clearly states that "Your card will be charged in full only for ADVANCE PURCHASE rates which are non refundable. Otherwise, your credit card details guarantee your room and no money will be taken from your card at this stage." I emailed YOU within minutes of seeing the wrong dates in that confirmation and requested it to be corrected. YOU held no room for me because there was no reservation for more than a couple minutes. YOU ABSOLUTELY did NOT email me asking me if I was coming - biggest lie of all here! As I said, I contacted YOU in minutes, not days or weeks. I did NOT say that I booked the wrong dates. I said that YOUR booking system saved the wrong dates and were NOT the ones that I put in when booking on YOUR website. THIS is why YOU deserve a bad review. Of course, YOU know all this because YOU received all of my communications. Pathetic. Why not be an adult and admit that mistakes were made...

We'd spotted Hedley House on Groupon and thought it looked worth a punt. When booking we upgraded our room which gave us a larger room, better equipped bathroom and Apple TV. It was a hot sunny evening when we arrived and the hotel looked charming, located down a terraced street of large town houses. Once we'd checked in we were advised to drive down the street behind which gave us access to the hotel's carpark, this was secluded enough to give us the feeling our car should be fairly safe for the next two days. We'd been given room 11 which was on a landing two flights up, enough stairs to make you glad to be able to sit on the bed and catch your breath. The room was indeed spacious and comfortable. A quick shower turned into a long shower as it was so relaxing. Our Groupon deal gave us dinner on the first night and breakfast on both mornings. The hotels dining room was well appointed and comfortable. The menu had enough choice to suit our needs perfectly. I opted for the starter of locally produced mushrooms in peppercorn sauce, the main of home made Thai green curry and my wife chose the salmon followed by the homemade chocolate brownie. We were told everything was freshly prepared in the hotels kitchen, the whole meal was delicious. Breakfast on both mornings was an enjoyable experience. A selection of cereals to whet the appetite before a generous and very tasty full English breakfast. Hedley House is perfectly located to be able to take a 10 minute stroll and be in York's centre which allows the option of easily returning after a mornings sightseeing for an afternoon siesta. There's a Tesco extra between the hotel and the city so stocking up on nibbles etc is very easy. We had a thoroughly enjoyable stay. The hotel staff were friendly, had excellent local knowledge and were...

Adding this review as I received an email inviting me to. I was amazed that this hotel scored so highly. I was expecting a boutique hotel for £269 but in actual fact it was more like a guest house. Some issues we had which may be of use to others.

Good points

Colleen at front desk was fantastic and very friendly and helpful. Hotel location was good and only a short walk to York Minster. Free breakfast "upgrade" on account of the parking shambles.

Not so good

I reserved parking by the message facility and had this confirmed. On arrival there was no space - in fact it was rammed. Cars parked in with no way of manoeuvring without moving other cars. If you wanted to park you would be "parked in" and have to leave your car keys with reception! If I had known this before booking I would have chosen somewhere else. Not mentioned on the booking listing. At £18 to park I can see why they ram is as many cars as they possibly can. Maybe it being a York race weekend didn't help.

We paid for breakfast included on our booking. In actual fact what you get is the absolute bare minimum and you have to pay an additional £12 each to get anything cooked (making that £24 each). Again not clear on the booking.

We had the family room #55. It was a little small and a little bit tired (curtains hanging off rail, misted up double glazing and broken bedside lamp.

I guess a sign of a good hotel is whether you would stay there again, and I cannot say I would stay here, certainly...