Find Out What We Thought of This Luxe Hotel on the Yorkshire Coast
We make for the Yorkshire coast to spend a weekend at the quietly luxurious Wrea Head Hall
Inside a warm welcome awaits and we’re greeted with a cream tea – just the thing on a cold winter’s afternoon. Sitting in the comfortable bar, we enjoy a pot of tea and a plate of warm homemade scones with jam and clotted cream. We’re loathe to leave, but there’s still some daylight left so we head along the road to Scarborough, parking in the town and taking the pleasingly old-fashioned Central Tramway cliff lift down to the seafront for the not unreasonable sum of £1.50 each. My partner, an engineer, spends far longer than I’d like to recall examining the mechanisms of this piece of Victorian engineering before we set off to walk along the promenade, heading north past the brightly-lit amusement arcades of South Bay towards the headland, Scarborough Castle, and beyond it the quieter North Bay.
‘The team in the kitchen here focus on seasonal Yorkshire produce, and it’s evident that the food they produce is a big draw for many guests’
By the time we turn back it’s starting to get dark, and this time we bypass the Central Tramway to return via the cliff lift at Scarborough Spa (another bargain at £1.50 each, although we find that the original fare in 1875 was just one penny). Walking back from this end of town gives us a chance to see some of Scarborough’s more impressive architecture, hotels, streets and bridges that would surely have been spectacular in the town’s heyday, but are still busy and bustling, glowing with welcoming lights on this dark afternoon.
On returning to Wrea Head Hall, we head straight upstairs to change for dinner. Our room is spacious and well-furnished with heavy wood pieces, including a beautiful bureau and a full length free-standing mirror. There’s a seating area with two sofas by the large windows, and a fabulous four-poster bed. The bathroom is more modern, but no less opulent.
Downstairs we settle into two comfortable chairs in the bar for a drink, examining the menu for dinner and choosing a bottle of wine, which is waiting for us as we’re shown through to 1881 restaurant in the hotel’s original oak-panelled dining room. It’s a spectacular space, with gilt-blocked wallpaper, antique mirrors and flickering candlelight.
The team in the kitchen here (led by head chef Andrew Riley) focus on seasonal Yorkshire produce, and it’s evident that the food they produce is a big draw for many guests. After fresh bread and butter, we start with a crisp salmon, lemon and dill fishcake (for me) and locally-shot, home smoked pheasant for my partner. For his main course, he’s chosen pork fillet, which is served on a tender beetroot and wild mushroom risotto with roasted cherry tomatoes and parmesan. My main course is slow-braised shin of beef, cooked until it’s falling apart deliciously and pairing perfectly with our Badet-Clément Pinot Noir. It’s served with creamed potatoes, vegetables, a rich beef jus and a pot of fabulous leek and mustard gratin.
We take our time choosing desserts (the main courses were generous, but not off-puttingly so), but in the end my partner plumps for a classic vanilla creme brûlée with shortbread, while I can’t look past the Yorkshire cheeseboard, which includes Yorkshire Gouda from Botton Dairy, Barncliffe Brie and Northern Blue, and is served with crackers, grapes, chutney, celery and a hearty chunk of fruit cake.
The next day, we have breakfast in the Library, which was originally the hall’s Morning Room and is filled with sunlight when we take our seats by the window. We don’t wait long for our breakfast, but I could have spent hours examining the books which line the room – from weighty, leather-bound law reports to biography and fiction. With fresh juice and a large pot of tea, we spend a leisurely time enjoying a full English (for him) and eggs Royale (for me), and chatting to a friendly couple sitting nearby. They tell us that Wrea Head is a regular destination for them, travelling down twice a year to enjoy the great cooking and service the hotel is known for. They’re checking out today too, but they’ll be back in the summer – and even as we leave, we can see why.
