Exterior

Reviews of The Royal Oak Hotel

3 out of 5
The Royal Oak Hotel
15 Market Place, Helmsley, York, England

Reviews

8.0

Very good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 25 out of 74 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 31 out of 74 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 11 out of 74 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 4 out of 74 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 74 reviews" "

8.6/10

Cleanliness

8.6/10

Staff & service

8.4/10

Amenities

7.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Kevin

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Arthur

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very nice property in center of town. Walkable to all the attractions. Enjoyed our stay room was very cute and well decorated.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Brian

Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Dont advertise free wifi when there isnt any
Spacious room, nice view over market square. Shower room needs refurbishment. Very disappointed that there was no free wifi in the public areas nor in the room.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

wendy

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good overall
Nice sized room. Right in the square. Bathroom a bit manky.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Stephen

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great location and staff member at check in and during the afternoon in the bar was very helpful & knowledgeable. We found the room and facilities to be excellent, other than the bed which was a little uncomfortable. Disappointed to return at only 1045pm to be told last orders had been called at the bar and we couldn't have a final drink. Other than that would recommend and would stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

2/10 Terrible

Jenny

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Peter

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Shirley

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2023

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very clean but dated premises. The room was specious & bed comfortable. Staff were very friendly & noise from the bar area below not a problem. Breakfast was a little disappointing but good pre-selection the night before. Parking outside was convenient but council run public car park free between 6pm & 9am. All in all a decent stay for the convenience & friendliness.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2023

10/10 Excellent

Peter

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

8/10 Good

Terry

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2022

2/10 Terrible

alan

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Dreadful, Things old and some not working (including some lights and Wi-Fi) but worst of all very loud music from down below till 11pm so couldn’t hear myself think. (All recorded) Awful, worst of places I’ve been and all for £100!!!
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2022

10/10 Excellent

terence

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Beautifully set-up room with comfortable bed and pillows, and useful other units. Provision of water bottles and good range of teas and coffees was excellent
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Robert

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2021

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2021

6/10 Okay

Craig

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
TV Didn't work
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

8/10 Good

Fiona

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Friendly small hotel.
Pleasant stay in a friendly small hotel. Manager was helpful, room was comfortable and breakfast was good. Only downsides were: no TV reception, one of the sockets didn’t work and the toilet macerator was really noisy. I parked outside the hotel at what appeared to be hotel parking, but received a parking ticket. I wish I had been informed that the parking didn’t belong to the hotel and would need to be paid for.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Jonathan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Helmsley & the Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is well positioned in the market place and is run by friendly welcoming staff. The Pub Grub menu is limited but the the food was excellent and the beer was superb. Helmesley has a lot going for ir, we would definately go again!
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2020

10/10 Excellent

Trevor

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Date night
Pleasant trip away, staff were excellent and the food and service was top notch A++++++
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2020

8/10 Good

Fiona

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
The room was pleasent and clean although the pub itself was very "tired". Breakfast was nice but i asked for sausage bacon beans on toast, and they basically gave me a childs portion - one sausage, 2 bacon 1 toast and a spoon full of beans. I do not think ths was worth £100 a night.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Fiona

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Delightful
Booked here because it was dog-friendly and convenient for an event I was attending nearby. The Royal Oak massively exceeded my expectations with a comfortable room which was immaculately clean, friendly and helpful staff, and a really great breakfast. even had a great view of Helmsley Castle from my window!
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Not great
Hotel very tired/shabby looking & Not cleaned properly
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

John

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Difficulty finding free parking near to hotel
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff were very friendly. TV a bit small and could be in a better place
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2019

10/10 Excellent

sarah

Stayed 2 nights in May 2019

6/10 Okay

mark

Disliked: Room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

2/10 Terrible

Amanda

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The noise of banging doors in the bar below did not cease until after 2:00am as a result we had a very disturbed nights sleep We go to Helmsley frequently but will not be returning to this establishment
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service
Didn’t like booking a twin room and getting a double and then being offered a twin for more money
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2019

6/10 Okay

Janice

Lovely friendly staff and excellent food. However, we had to wait half an hour before they could tell us which was our room. After the first night our room wasn't serviced and we were told its only done in the morning(Didn't understand that). Exceptionally small tv in the room miles away from bed so not much use. Room very noisy as over a bar and to top it all off someone came banging at the front door about 5 am on our last night shouting for someone called Emily for about 10 minutes. Breakfast excellent and we ate there in the evening. Food freshly cooked and delicious
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2019

6/10 Okay

Kevin, Doncaster

Disliked: Staff & service
Not my problem !
I booked a twin room and was given a double on arrival (we were two men travelling) the owner insisted even though I had confirmation that it was Hotel.com fault, suggesting I needed to contact them to sort it out. Eventually we were given a twin room. Breakfast service didn’t start until 8.30 and we needed to be away by 8am.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2019

6/10 Okay

Elliot

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Lovely base for exploring but needs updating
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2019

10/10 Excellent

Tracy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2019

10/10 Excellent

Chris

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great base
Lovely place. Nice walks and very friendly place.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018

8/10 Good

Neil, Los Gatos

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nicely located, spacious room great breakfast Staff very friendly
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

8/10 Good

Martin

Good base for sightseeing
Nice clean bedroom, friendly staff, good location. Restaurant menu ok but just basic pub grub
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Jul 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
charming village, small hotel
Hotel is on the main square with plenty of available parking round about. The hotel has only a few rooms above a pub restaurant which serves food until 8.30pm. Bedroom was reasonably spacious and bathroom also had a proper bath. Only drawback was not enough hot water when I had a bath late in the evening. Cost of room and evening meal good value and staff were friendly and helpful. We only stayed one night as we were motoring on to see Rivault Abbey the following morning but the village of Helmsley is very attractive.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018

10/10 Excellent

Steve

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2018

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Dingy, tired, shabby, dirty.
Stayed 1 night in May 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in May 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Handy location for nearby attractions.Very friendly staff.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2018

10/10 Excellent

jennifer

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Perfect for an overnight stay in a lovely village
Friendly staff, nice room (bigger than expected), great location and lovely breakfast (with vegetarian options). Will definitely stay again as we plan to come back in the summer.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2018

8/10 Good

Artist, West Yorkshire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Central location
Warm welcome and good facilities, however awakened at 2.30 am by radio in nearby room, until 3.30 am, I presume inconsiderate guests at fault.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2018

10/10 Excellent

Martin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good pub-hotel
Really good pub-hotel with friendly staff and hearty breakfasts
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2017

8/10 Good

Tim

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very welcoming - a pleasant weekend away
Very friendly owners and staff in a traditional pub. Room was clean and well equipped. There was some noise from the extractor fans for the kitchen, but this went off as the kitchen closed down. Good breakfast and very dog friendly. Would recommend it.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
What's Your Priority
Unfortunately there is noise from the 2 bars which are directly beneath the rooms - fine if you intend being in a bar but not if an early start next day. Breakfast fine other than cheap bread used for toast and even if requested crispy , served limp. Also staying 2 nights and room not attended to after night one i.e bed not made , bin not emptied etc. I paid £90 per night per room and this is fairly basic stuff for any room booked on Hotels.com I had thought. Also no car parking other than Pay and Display public parking in the old square. It is a very nice location in the town centre.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2017