Spa and Afternoon Tea at No.1 York Review – we were recently invited along to review a spa and afternoon tea afternoon at No. 1 York a new boutique hotel on Bootham near St Peter’s School.
First impressions of this Grade II Listed Regency townhouse were very favourable and I have to say that it is a stunning hotel both inside and out.
At the front of the hotel you will find this gorgeous outdoor terrace complete with patio heaters for cooler evenings (which most are, let’s face it!).
The hotel has resident’s only parking, but we parked in Marygate car park which was surprisingly spacious and had plenty of available spots. It’s just a 6 minute walk to the hotel from here.
We started our afternoon in the hotel spa, which is down a set of stairs into a lovely comforting space. Here you will find treatment rooms and a stylish relaxation room. This cool room was bliss on a hot day, and we could have easily spent more time in here.
We were then taken through to our treatment rooms, and I was treated to a 60 minute ‘Lessen Your Stress’ ritual.
This ritual starts with a targeted massage that releases the tension held in your neck, back and shoulders. As your therapist works on areas of tightness, your circulation will be stimulated, your levels of the stress hormone cortisol lowered, and inflammation and pain reduced.
Then, you will receive a full organic facial to restore the natural balance of your skin. And a scalp massage will deepen your level of relaxation even further, while a rosehip and rose clay mask works its soothing, detoxifying magic. The combination will leave you feeling released, realigned, hydrated and revitalised.
This, as you can most likely imagine was pure bliss. My therapist listened to my concerns and adjusted my treatment accordingly. I felt pampered and looked after, which as a busy mum who looks after everyone else is as good as it gets!
The treatment room itself was beautifully scented (they use products by the eco-luxury British brand Pinks Boutique). The lighting was subdued and cocooning.
After my hour of pampering, I emerged relaxed and happy and ready to face the world. It helped that the next part of facing the world involved afternoon tea in the stylish Marmalade Lounge. Actually ‘stylish’ pretty much sums up all the public areas of the hotel – much thought has obviously gone into the design of the décor
Who wouldn’t want to spend an afternoon here? We were offered our choice of tea and these arrived quickly served in these huge silver teapots. I do like a big teapot – I am not a fan of these ‘one cup and you are done’ jobs!
Then came the main event – the afternoon tea itself!
The savoury layer included various delicate finger sandwiches such as York ham and grain mustard mayo and Wye river smoked salmon lemon and cracked black pepper. My favourite was the Lishman’s of Ilkley traditional pork pie – delicious!
From there, it’s tradition to move onto the homemade scones with jam and clotted cream:
Before hitting the top layer of sweet treats, These treats included the very pretty Lemon meringue pie:
As well as this divine chocolate cake:
There was also the No.1 Chocolate Bar in association with Andrew Thwaite Chocolatier (which I took home, hid from the kids and ate in secret. Shhh!).
I was genuinely impressed by the hotel and would recommend it to anyone (in fact I already have).
If you are planning to stay overnight, they also a have modern restaurant and cosy bar. A lovely place to visit and a lovely place to stay.
We were invited to visit and review the spa and afternoon tea. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.
