Best Western Monkbar Hotel - York, United Kingdom 

My boyfriend decided to treat me over Easter to a nice hotel in the centre of York. We chose the Monkbar following good experiences at other Best Western hotels, and the general good reputation that Best Western portray. I have to say we were very disappointed and it spoilt what would have been a nice romantic weekend. We opted for the 2-level rooms with jacuzzi bath as we wanted it to be a proper pampering weekend. We arrived on the Saturday afternoon and were taken away from the main hotel area, to another area at beyond the "cramped" car park. We instantly noticed that the downstairs level had an odd smell to it, kind of a musky air freshener that seemed to be covering something up. Anyway we made our way up to the bedroom level. Access is via a spiral staircase, which I struggled to manoevoure around to get up without my suitcase...I'm only a size 12! We were advised this may be on the small size, but I never imagined squeezing sideways to get up to our room! Put it this way, I would not like to come down that staircase in an emergency! The room was pokey, one of the bulbs had gone and it was filled with the aroma of curry from the restaurant situated beneath us. We were not advised of this! Whilst having a shower I was scared half to death by the pipes banging!!! I complained to management and we were offered a ?45 discount and were given the house maid's air freshener to mask the curry smell! We were also promised we could move to a Kingsize room for no extra cost the following morning. This room was lovely..."at a glance" but then on closer inspection the Kingsize bed was actually 2 singles pushed together and there were at least 4 water drips running down the wall between the bedroom and ensuite, some running straight onto electrical sockets! I have since found out that all the jacuzzi rooms are situated near the Indian Restaurant, so if you want a relaxing romantic weekend avoid the Monkbar and opt for the good old Travel Lodge...at least thats value for money!!!

This hotel is not the most luxurious hotel in the world but it has bags of character, incredibly helpful staff and is also in a fantastic location right in the centre of York. I would definitely go back here if I were on a trip to York.