Craigsland Hotel, Ilkley, Yorkshire. Good value hotel ideal for wedding and events

by Gary Bembridge · April 23, 2012

Craigsland Hotel, Ilkley, Yorkshire

The deal we got was very good and included 2 nights, afternoon tea and full breakfast. We stayed on a Saturday and Sunday night, and did pay £20 to upgrade to a deluxe room, and there was a £30 Saturday night levy as part of the deal.

The hotel clearly is targeting attracting weddings and events. They have some large and pleasant rooms to hold the service and also the party, and seemed to offer good prices and packages. They also hold regular event evenings with tribute bands.

Most positive things:

– Good sized room and bathroom. We were in Room 239 (which is the top guest floor) and the room was a good size, with a huge and comfortable bed. The bathroom was also a good size (although the bath seemed very narrow!). The view was non existent as looked onto some houses, but that was fine for what we were paying for. The room has been renovated and although not glitzy, it was neutral and comfortable. It is not plush and fabulous – but this is not that sort of hotel. It so comfortable and welcoming. There was a flat screen TV with a fairly decent selection of channels.
– Very clean and spotless. The hotel is very clean throughout, it really did feel well looked after in that regard.
– Good food. The breakfast buffet was expansive and very good, offering both fruit and cereals as well as full hot breakfast (bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, hash browns, mushrooms, black pudding, baked beans). On the Sunday it was in a huge and very bright room, and on the Monday in the Brasserie 1 restaurant area. We had dinner one night at the Brasserie, and the menu was varied and the food excellent, with good service.
– Free WiFi. We could not get it in the room, but in the more central parts of the hotel worked fine and was pretty fast. It is so good to get free wi-fi – and seems that more reasonable priced hotels offer it included but higher star ones don’t!

Fairly good things:

– Service. Overall service was good and friendly, without being intrusive. The hotel was holding a Wedding Fair on the Sunday and service was a bit less good as everyone as focused on that, but once we asked they made sure we were seen to. Reception was a bit off hand on arrival, but warmed up over the stay.
– Afternoon Tea. It was included in our deal, and from that perspective was greta. We had a friend join us and it costs £12.50, and not sure if it was worth that much. But it had good sandwiches, scones and brownie and choice of tea (plus glass of wine if you wanted it). It is served in the bar. Not sure it would be worth making a trip to the hotel for, but fine if you staying.

Overall we had a good time there, and thought it was excellent value.

Watch the video I made of Room 239 we stayed in: