Feature Getaway Special: Pinch the Pennies
We try out York's cheap but luxurious hostel, The Fort
Feature: Getaway Special: Pinch the Pennies
York is one of the most visited cities in the UK and The Shambles was last year voted the most picturesque street in Britain in the Google Street View Awards. But despite living 20 miles away, I’ve never stayed in the city past about 5pm – marking as it does shop closing time or the full-time whistle at Bootham Crescent, depending on my inclination towards yelling at referees vs a new pair of tights.
With the recent opening of The Fort, a one-of-a-kind boutique hostel in the city centre, I spotted my opportunity to change all that.
Opened above Kennedy’s Wine Bar last year, The Fort offers one single dorm room and four double rooms with en-suite wet room, from as little as £20 a night. The result of a graduate design competition, each room is decorated in a unique style; from a wood cabin design by a fine art graduate, to a bold monochrome room emblazoned with collages of York scenes.
We arrive on Saturday afternoon and, led by a member of staff from Kennedy’s, make our way up the Banksy-style graffiti-lined stairs to multimedia design graduate May Chung’s underwater-themed room. Wallstickers cut into swirling bubble patterns and cheery underwater characters complement calming teal hues, hammered silver bedside cabinets and stripped floorboards. There’s a sumptuous wet room with Au Lait liquid soap and hand cream on the side. The room is better than many hotels’ and an awful lot cheaper and more unique. There’s also a common area with a microwave, tea making facilities – with several teas to choose from and caramelised biscuits – sofas, games and magazines. The only strange element is the left-behind bottle of hair spray next to the toilet in our bathroom; I suppose it could come in handy, though.
After a spot of shopping and the obligatory five minutes standing in the foyer of York Minster wondering if it’ll be worth the £9 each to look round – we always decide it will be, next time – my partner and I return to Kennedy’s for tea. It makes sense, since The Fort residents receive 20% off food in the bar. I have a tasty butternut squash and feta salad while my partner has a fairly plain plate of pasta; we later agree that, for veggies, the breakfast is much better than the dinner offering. The house shiraz though tastes a lot more expensive than its £13.95 price tag and when we leave to experience the rest of York’s nightlife, the bar is packed.
It’s Kennedy’s popularity which throws the only spanner in the works during our stay. Our window looks out over the higgledy-piggledy rooftops of the ancient city. It also overlooks the bar’s balcony, where on our return at around 11pm drinkers still talk loudly over the DJ’s funky house. It’s too noisy to sleep and we finally get our heads down at around 2am, wishing we’d spent a few more hours exploring the city’s nightlife.
It’s such a shame; apart from the noise, the hostel is fantastic, truly. Next time we’ll just have to pack earplugs.
1 Little Stonegate, York, YO1 8AX, 01904 620 222 / 01904 639 573, www.thefortyork.co.uk
Posted on Wednesday 16th November 2011
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