Best Western Forest And Vale Hotel

I had reason to be in North Yorkshire for 2 weeks business during May and stayed at The Forest & Vale. I was given a room in the Garden annex which was large, airy and bright. The double room had good facilities with a desk and plenty of power points for laptops charging phones etc. The bathroom was great with an over bath waterfall shower, and was light with a large wall mirror. Food in the hotel was of a very good standard both at breakfast and during the evenings and staff were very accommodating. As the weather was so good it was very nice to be able to sit in the beautiful gardens after a long day at work! I would not hesitate to recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a good standard of accommodation in the area. less

We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights over the late May Bank Holiday. After being stuck in traffic for hours we arrived exhausted and just wanted a nice meal and an early night. The location of this hotel is right on a busy junction and very noisy. Luckily the room we were shown to by Tom, who is very helpful and polite was at the back overlooking the lovely garden so we were hopeful that it would be quiet. The room itself was very clean with a nice big bed and good toiletries. Negatives were the tiny TV, dated décor and the tea provided is horrible. There is a Co-Op just up the road! We were happy enough overall with the room. Upon looking out of the window we quickly realised that there was a wedding reception being held in the hotel. There was no mention of this on the website and having experienced this before would definitely have not stayed if we had known. I had booked a table for dinner in advance (again no mention of the wedding) and were looking forward to celebrating our wedding anniversary with a nice meal. When we went down for dinner we were told that dining was "bar/bistro" rather than in the restaurant. The bar was packed with wedding guests and was really noisy, not the experience we had signed up for. The food wasn't great. The chicken and leek pie was just a bowel of tarragon flavoured cream with no leek and after a bit of search 2 tiny pieces of chicken with a bit of pastry on top. The chips and peas were under cooked and basically I just left it. My husbands meal looked horrible but he said that the fish was OK. It came with 3 new potatoes so he ate my undercooked chips. We ordered desert but I abandoned mine due to the noisy surroundings and by now a band was playing. Rather than being able to enjoying a nice evening we ended up shut in our room with the window closed (it was boiling hot) waiting for the band to finish at midnight so we could get some sleep. Not the evening we hoped for at all. We did complain when we checked out and, to be fair they compensated us for the inconvenience but it spoiled our weekend. We were told that there would have been something on the website regarding the wedding which there most definitely wasn't and that dining was always in the bar and there was no restaurant. Website clearly states that there is an other reviews have spoken about dining in the restaurant. Overall it was not what we hoped for and is not special enough for special occasions. The location is good for exploring the area though so my advice to anyone who is considering it I suggest that you call them to check if there are any events being held and make sure you get a room at the back. Don't rely on the information online less

What a lovely hotel. Such a shame that when I made an enquiry about booking an accessible room, the only one there is is on the second floor with no lift. What's the point? Surely a hotel chain of this size should consider people more who have mobility issues. Maybe the next time they refurb they should consult a disability expert for advice. less

Just had a lovely 3 day break in Yorkshire staying at the Forest & Vale Hotel. Hotel proved to be excellent with good food, Sunday roast especially good, with lovely friendly staff. Our room was very clean with a very comfortable bed. Highly recommended. less

Although we didn't stay at the Forest and Vale on this, our most recent visit to Pickering (we have in the past and it was great) we did eat there every evening. The meals were all wonderful - full of taste and beautifully cooked. I particularly like the vegetarian dishes. The chicken pie was delicious, too. Many thanks to Ben for finding a table for us each evening (even when they were busy and we hadn't booked) and for looking after us! We always feel very welcome at The Forest and Vale.The staff are so helpful. less