The Black Swan Helmsley

Last night my husband and I spent the most wonderful evening at The Black Swan, Helmsley during our late weekend trip to the countryside and to celebrate his birthday.The Black Swan Helmsley is a 500 year old four-star boutique hotel featuring a three AA-Rosette restaurant, an award winning tearoom and exquisite pieces of contemporary art and antiques. The hotel is situated in the heart of Helmsley overlooking the bustling marketplace and is the perfect pitstop for walkers, travellers, romantics and those looking for a midway point near all the costal Yorkshire towns.

The Black Swan Helmsley has a history spanning over 500 years and was first established as a fine hostelry. Since then the hotel has taken many forms from an Elizabethan Coaching Inn to the hotel it is today. I love hotels with an abundance of charm and I'm such a history geek, when researching hotels in Helmsley, this sounded like the perfect place to visit. Add in a fancy restaurant and beautiful decor and I couldn't resist.

We arrived at the hotel promptly at 3pm for check in and we were greeted with the friendliest of smiles from the reception staff and given all the directions we would need for the evening. From entering the hotel you could see the cosy lounge area with the log fire to the left and the most beautiful paintings all across the walls. It felt warm and homely from the moment we stepped in and I couldn't wait to see our bedroom. 

The hotel room was incredibly spacious with a large king size bed, a decent sized and very clean bathroom and a hallway with a large dressing mirror. The room was full of quirky and fun items such as a teddy bear on the bed (which was so huggable, I didn't want to leave it), a retro telephone on the bedside cabinet and even a chess board underneath the television - both my husband and I are partial to a game of chess every now and then so it was a lovely to see a board in the room. The bed itself had the most luxurious fluffy duvet and gigantic pillows for optimum comfort. If I was to critique only one thing about this hotel it would be that the duvet was far too heavy for a hot summers day, but once I got comfy and relaxed, all was forgiven. 

As Sundays are often a low point of most hotels, The Black Swan Helmsley has a 'Make More of Monday's' package at £249 per couple. The package features accommodation upgrade from a classic to superior or feature room, a six course tasting menu with accompanying wines, full english or continental breakfast served in the hotel restaurant or in your bedroom and late checkout. My husband and I often splash out on hotels and that rarely includes a six course tasting meal and drinks so I think this is a pretty good offer. Plus the feature rooms are so unique that visiting The Black Swan Helmsley feels like a special and memorable occasion. If you're looking for something different and fancy taking a trip to the countryside for a special occasion, keep the Black Swan Helmsley in mind.

Have you been to The Black Swan before?

*Our stay at The Black Swan Helmsley was complimentary, but I still would have given this place an amazing review if I had paid!