Park Inn York blog

A Warm Welcome to Our Blog

We have lots going on at Park Inn by Radisson in York, and we hope you'll enjoy reading about our events, from things to enjoy at the hotel, to our active involvement in the community.  Please feel free to comment about our posts, we love to receive feedback from our guests.

Don't miss out on our festive fun!

If you haven’t yet booked your Christmas party, we still have a few dates left – but don’t leave it much longer!

Or may be you’re thinking about how to see in the New Year – where you can get a few friends and family together and celebrate in style. Where better than here – a great city to meet up and we offer some great rates for people choosing to stay with us after a party here.

We think we’ve really got something for everyone this festive season – whether you are looking to really party with your friends, or want a more sophisticated atmosphere, and it’s all about the food.

Our Top of the Pops buffet is the way to go for music lovers – it’s priced to give you great value from just £18 per person, and lets you dance the whole night with some top DJs working the decks.

Top 10 places to see in York

Telegraph readers this week voted York as their second favourite city to visit in the UK, having chosen Yorkshire as their number one UK holiday destination just last month. 

All of which got us thinking about the wealth of riches we have on our doorstep. One of the most frequent questions we are asked – and it’s a question we don’t really get tired of answering to be honest! – is where are the best places to visit in York?

The answer, of course, is there are so many, it can be tough knowing where to start! It depends on the age of visitors – some attractions may not hold so much interest for younger guests and vice versa – and how much time you have.

But in no particular order, here’s a top ten of places we think you’ll really enjoy, and shouldn’t really miss out on if you want the real York experience!

1. York Minster. No real surprise here is there! But this marvellous building is a must-see, and be prepared to spend a little time if you can, having a proper explore.

2. The Jorvik Centre. Really brings York’s Viking heritage to life, and great for the children – authentic smells and all!

Make the most of our two-night offer this Christmas

Fancy doing your Christmas shopping in one of the country's best-loved cities, where there's history around every street corner, breath-taking architecture, and a range of shops to rival anywhere in Europe?

We're talking, of course, about York. Spend a day browsing the fantastic array of city centre stores – a tantalizing mix of designer names, high street brands and unique independents – not to mention the great York Designer Outlet just a stone’s throw away.

And you’ll find the Park Inn offers the warmest of welcomes at the end of a ‘hard’ day’s shopping. With our riverside RBG bar, boasting one of the finest panoramas in the city and a delicious menu, you needn’t venture out again, which is great news for your aching feet!

But having whetted your appetite for our beautiful city, the only problem with a single night’s stay is it’s nowhere near long enough! So, make the most of one of our Park Inn by Radisson special offers and stay two nights – saving up to 20%!

It means you could have a busy shopping spree and relaxing dinner date, enjoy a leisurely breakfast and then head off to explore the sights of this wonderful ancient city.

The list of places worth visiting is as long as your arm, from the Jorvik centre, to York Minster, the York Chocolate Trail, the Castle Museum or the National Railway Museum. A walk along the city’s walls is also a must, as is a stroll down the Shambles (just in case you didn’t take in enough shops yesterday!) And I haven’t even started on York Racecourse, or nearby attractions such as Flamingo Land, Castle Howard and the beautiful York Wolds and Yorkshire coastline.

Doesn’t this sound like a nicer way to spend your weekend than dashing between retail parks and the same old shops, trying to sort your Christmas shopping?

Who said it should be a chore! Enjoy more at the Park Inn York. The offer extends into the New Year too, so it doesn’t have to be for Christmas shopping. Book on or before May 31st to make the most of it, and don’t forget to check our website for more of these fabulous offers.

Loyalty treated like royalty!

If you stay with us regularly, or frequently book meeting rooms or events at our hotel, why not find out about joining our loyalty scheme - Club Carlson – where you can earn rewards for supporting our brand?

We think it excels other hotel reward schemes – we offer  more points, at more places, with more than 1,000 participating hotels worldwide.

Young documentary maker puts Park Inn in focus

In the future, when you are sitting down to watch a fascinating documentary made by world-renowned film-maker Martin English – remember where you saw him first!

Martin very kindly produced our latest promo video for the hotel, taking some time out from his day job working in our RBG bar.

Martin is a 22-year-old York St John University graduate, with a degree in Film and TV Production, who has set his sights on a career making his own feature documentaries.

He is working at the hotel to help raise money to support his film projects, and also hopes to produce more corporate videos for the same reason.

Plans include filming comedy sketches written by his housemate and former university colleague, and an ambition to make a documentary about the Jonestown Massacre of 1978.

“I have been planning and researching this for the past year,” explained Martin. “918 people died in the massacre – this was the largest loss of American life in a non-natural disaster prior to 9/11.

Happy families at the Park Inn York

We like to think we are a really family-friendly hotel – and you only have to look at our staff to see this.

It’s a real family affair for some of the team at the Park Inn in York – take Carol Ward, our sales and marketing co-ordinator, who has been with us since 2006. Coming to work each day is like a family reunion for Carol!

Mum-in-law Denise works as our conference and banqueting assistant, whilst son Alex is a food and beverage assistant. Both have been with us for almost two and a half years.

Bake off piles on the pounds for charity

We really cooked up a treat to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer when we took part in the charity's World's Biggest Coffee Morning event.

We invited staff to help out by baking or bringing in some sweet treats for the sale - and boy, did everyone come up with the goods!

Debbie Hopkins, our restaurant manager, made a lemon drizzle which sold out first, whilst Kate Gillyon, our front office manager baked the most with 40 cup cakes and a delicious coconut cake.

Event organiser, Carol Ward, our sales and marketing co-ordinator baked chocolate brownies, white chocolate blondies and choc chip muffins, and general manager Sally Hughes GM also baked a Lemon drizzle - which she then bought back as her son loves them so much!

Lots more staff bought from shops and donated, and we were delighted that Robbie Chuliber, our breakfast chef, could join us for a while, as this is a cause so close to his heart.

Rain, rain , go away ...

Well, it's certainly been a wet week, and a number of places in York and around the region have had a really tough time of it, but thankfully, we remain unaffected.

Despite our enviable position right alongside the River Ouse, we have had no problems caused by the rainfall, and just wanted to reassure anyone booked to visit this weekend, or who is thinking about coming, that it is business as usual here.

Please don't forget, we also have our World's Largest Coffee Morning event on all day today (Friday 28th) so cheer yourself up after a long wet week with some fabulous cakes or buns, and help out a great cause - Macmillan Cancer - in the process.

Simply come along to our RBG bar.

 

Fund-raising is a piece of cake - and a cuppa!

We are so looking forward to our event next Friday (28) to raise money for Macmillan Cancer – and even more so now that we have our wonderful chef Robbie Chuliber on board.

Robbie was diagnosed with leukemia three years ago, and jumped at the chance to be part of our World’s Biggest Coffee morning event next Friday (28).

The 55-year-old was first diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia three years ago – a cancer affecting the body’s white blood cells and immune system, whose symptoms include  extreme fatigue, bone pain, abnormal bruising and loss of appetite.

Robbie admitted at first the diagnosis affected him badly, both psychologically and physically. He has to have regular check-ups to see what his white blood cell count is like, and could be faced with chemotherapy if his condition worsens. He needs to eat a healthy diet and get lots of sleep to have any chance of managing it.

“At first, I was really tired all the time, and needed so much support from friends, though some of them didn’t really understand what I was going through and didn’t know what to say to me,” he remembers.

Brushing up on our painting skills for Responsible Business month

Here's the happy band of painters who spent a day at our neighbouring church, All Saints, helping to keep the Grade One listed building looking its best.

Our staff volunteered to rub down the metal railings around the church, and repaint them.

It's just one of the many community activities that Rezidor staff up and down the country will be getting involved in this September, as part of our company's Responsible Business Month.