York - need a hotel for me, dh and ds (3) for a night - we are going to the railway museum (sigh)

[Pruni]

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we have to do the museum every time we go to see the Gramps. My 4yo loves it! We've been taking him for a while so your 3 yo should have a fine time. Parking is quite expensive but if you stay in the centre of town it's quite a nice walk through one of the parks. You can see Mallard, a Shinkansen, Rocket etc etc. If you time it right you can see the turntable working. You can also go on the Yorkshire Eye which gives a fantastic view of the station and all the East coast trains zooming through. The cafe is surprisingly good and surrounded by trains which goes down very well with my ds. There's a play area outside and somewhere to picnic if that's your thing. The only real pain is that it's on both sides of a road and to get across you have to go through an underpass - a real nightmare if you have a buggy and the lifts are broken.

I think you might surprise yourself and quite enjoy it if you let yourself. Good luck

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Not in York itself, but Howden, not that far away is Loftsome Bridge The rooms are really spacious and you can have 2 under 12s in each room, with parents.

Pruni, Travelodge have £26 room deals on sometimes so you could try to book your trip around that. They have family rooms with a double and a sofa bed and although they're basic, even at full price (£50 odd, depends on area) they're clean, no frills, ok places to stay. here, and you can search by area or by £26 availability

And they do have everything you need: an ensuite bathroom/shower, kettle, towels, a tv, absolutely fine for the odd night, esp if the purpose is going out to see something, not lolling around a hotel.

WE've been to York for the weekend by train. I saved up tesco vouchers and booked the Ramada Jarvis - so not sure what the cost would be but worth looking up.

Very central - we could walk around York no problem. Kids were 8 and 6. Very comfortable family room and fabby breakfast.

Once me and dh went to York by train for a weekend. Stayed in a b&b, think it was called Tree Tops. Also very central, very pleasant. The owners had a young kid of their own so would be quite child-friendly. That was 4+ years ago though I think.

don't go to the best western Kilima!!!!

oh and you can go on the YOrk Wheel (at the railway museum) like the london eye and you can see all the way to the white horse at thirsk. Buns from betty's yummy!!!!!

If you're coming by train don't go for the one at howden - you'll never get out to it!

York is so small that if you stay within the city walls you are at walking distance from the station and the museum.

I don't know how much you are willing to spend but cheap and comfortable... I would say probably the Ramada Encore or the Premier Travel Inn. However, with time to shop around I would probably choose a nice bed and breakfast that could be a bit more welcoming and further away of main streets that could be noisy at night if you end with a room facing the main road.

BTW, my heart is not either at the Railway Museum but DS who is 3, can guide you around and even add comments regarding which locomotives are the same models as Thomas friends. Perhaps coming during a Thomas day may be more attractive? the city is very nice with plenty of good restaurants and...shopping!

Oh yeah - leave dh and ds at the railway museum. There's loads better things for you t o see.

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oh don't worry for that, DS wanted to drive a train, now his preferred profession is bus washer

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I think you'll surprise yourself and enjoy it, too. The main hall is really impressive, even if you're not a "spotter". And they have the Royal coaches, which are worth a look. Bet you'll have a great day.

DS is porbably too young to appreciate it, but the tour underneath the Minster is very good, lots of amazing history. More impressive than the Minster itself IMO.

Hope you have a great stay

I'm going yo York with my daughter in May. We're going to stay at a Youth hostel for 2 nights (£15 per adult, £8 a child) and then at a convent for the 3rd night (£52 a room for a night my daughter and myself).

I contacted the York Tourist Information Centre and they sent me a brochure which lists most of the hotels and guest houses etc...very useful. Some very central accommodation at cheap rates.

York's great..you can spend all day at the Castle museum which has Victorian streets etc and there's the Yorvik Centre, which takes you throught the old smelly streets of the Viking times!

Pruni what is your budget? The Royal York is next door to the railway museum but 4 star so quite pricey. There is a lovely one in the city centre called monk bar and there are loads of nice B&B's around the city.

The railway is fab btw, you'll all love it I promise!

when my friend goes, she stays at the marriot with her Tesco vouchers - worth 4x the value - think it's about £20 for all her family....

Ramada Encore is okay - clean, basic rooms, but very central....(try laterooms.com)

If you want really cheap, DH and I stayed in a B & B called Blossoms which I think is the cheapest in the whole of York!!! We even had a budget room which meant it was even cheaper and smaller than all the rest! We were desperate for a night away and a park bench would have done if it didn't have two small children waking us up from it. It is out on Bootham and about a 10 min walk from the Minster end. Oppostite St Peters school if you have a map. As i say, it's budget but clean!

Havent time to read full thread so sorry if repeating.

At the museum its worth going on the tour with the man who has the keys to some of the old carriages. Im sure if you ask when you go in they will be able to give you the times.