Royal Whitby

Tired and dated sums up the condition of the hotel. Signs of an update coming but only in the reception and bar/restaurant. The rest of the hotel was like taking a trip back to the 80s, but with peeling paint and a general poor condition. Also the hotel is currently covered with scaffolding so glad I didn’t pay an upgrade for a sea view since it would have been obscured. Breakfast was very average but the stewed coffee was terrible, not worth the £13:50 charged. Honestly a stay at a premier inn would be far superior to what was offered by the hotel. Finally, the very limited parking is very difficult to navigate safely and so the more expensive on street parking nearby was at least a safer option to avoid damaging your car in the sloped gravel free for all car park.

Historic hotel which is currently working hard to bring itself back to it's best with a really big re-vamp. Great location right above the famous whale bone arch, walking distance into Whitby itself was less than 5 mins. Good bar/restaurant and nice, clean and comfortable rooms.

Beautiful room with a great view. The hotel is under renovation for the next year or so and our renovated room was very well done. The parking is not ideal. Best to call ahead and reserve a spot.

Nice place. Nice view.

The staff extremely friendly and helpful.Hotel lovely with comfortable rooms.

Good

Lovely stay

carpets were covered in large stains especially around the en-suite, walls had marks allover, The bath had rust around the plug hole. Someone kept using the fire door in the corridor next to us banging it everytime they had to close it. Outside were lights that shined up and even though the curtains were thick it still shone through, overall we were very disappointed with our stay and won’t be staying again.

Large but not impersonal.

The hotel is under refurbishment and our room was excellent

Staff were excellent. Only real negative was the hotel being renovated which caused some issues.

Clean room,comfortable bed no view, very basic, old heater no central heating . Basic shower. Cleaner only dropped towels in didn’t make bed or clean around. Even tho I requested it. Staff could be better. Reception team ok. Restaurant staff not great. Bar staff ok .. I asked for decaf tea and coffee he says they didn’t have it. The restaurant did . They should know these things .. doesn’t cost the earth. Lift tiny but working and new. Property starting to look nice.

Great character hotel on the cliffs overlooking Whitby. Newly refurbished rooms. Good atmosphere in bar and restaurant

Not quite got to decorating in the room we stayed in this time which was a shame and the portable heater didn’t work

Great location with the cliff walk across the road. It was fine, but under renovation so the "view" I paid for was blocked and the lobby had some construction going on. The room was ok, but dated and a little musty. It's what you'd expect in an old seaside town - old motel that's being updated, but has seen better days

Hotel is currently undergoing renovations so it was quite noisy sometimes. Our room was dated but clean. Unfortunately we were right next to the corridor door so you could hear people going through and letting it bang morning and night. The breakfast was ok, buffet style full English, cereals, some fruit, pastries and toast. During the weekend they kept running out and not quick at keeping up with replacing items, the week days were better. We went out to eat every evening so cannot comment on the meals. Note there is very limited parking for such a big hotel which you have to prebook. We weren’t aware of that until a day or so before arriving so weren’t able to book. But i have a blue badge and was able to park for free outside on the road. It was very busy at and of sept so it must be impossible during the holiday season. Free wifi, tea and coffee in room, hairdryer, towels, extra pillows, hand wash and body wash in dispensers on wall. Most of the shops are on the east side, and there are lots of steps and slopes to get to them, or you can drive as there are plenty of disabled spaces. At the top of 199 steps is the abbey, which costs to go in, but you can use the cafe and shop for free. There is also an amazing micro brewery which was great in Sunday to sit outside and they had a band playing. Again you can drive round to this. The old town shops are lovely to walk around. There is a Whitby tour bus that travels around but we didn’t use, just saw it a lot!

Convenient location. Nice room and clean. Street parking which turned ou to be cheaper than the hotel's own parking of which there are very few spaces but this was not communicated at booking. We were lucky to find a space in front of the hotel so all turned out fine. Try and get a sea view rather than the car park! Reception area dark and tired and rather small. Staff not over friendly!

The hotel was in mid refurbishment when we were there. The hotel bar (Fat Badger) was the best hotel bar I've seen. Be aware that the "cosy double room " option was obviously a single room with a double bed, which was up to the wall at one side, and would be unsuitable for older couples or people with mobility issues. Great views, but a climb from the harbour.

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The Royal is large traditional hotel that is undergoing renovations to bring it up to date. the work is ongoing but did not affect the enjoyment of our stay. It was warm,well equipped and we had a good breakfast.

The hotel is undergoing some improvements but the stay was still perfect

Other than a lick if paint the room I was given was decent with a great view if the sea and the Abbey Staff were very helpful with my requests, WiFi was immediate and no lag

The parking was expensive all around, hotel being renovated painted black. Breakfast was given sandwich plates to put your breakfast on. Never had this before always dinner plates. I won't be going back to this hotel. Not recommended.

The reception staff are not friendly at all and the car park was very rough the shower was so small had a job getting in and out

Had a great stay at the Royal Whitby. Wonderful views of the abbey and harbour. Easy to walk to the harbour and the abbey if you want to try the 199 steps. Lots of great seafood restaurants nearby. A stop in the Whitby tour bus outside too, which will take you to the abbey if you don't fancy the walk

This was our second stay there in a week. The first two nights were great with a decent room with a sea view (room 242) as paid for. We decided to therefore go back again later in the week and although we paid for the same type of room we were stuck around the side of the hotel in a room (room 312) that was terribly musty- to a point that when you entered it was hard to breath. The decor in the bathroom was horrible and the shower was so small that it was impossible to move. This room is certainly of a poor standard and I think dangerous from a health perspective for elderly people. Was due to stay 2 nights but left after 1 as we couldn’t stay there any longer…

Cant wait to see the rooms after they have been refurbished if there to the same quality as the bar reception and restaurant areas

On arrival we entered the room and found it to have a strong smell of drains. On reporting this to reception the staff couldn't do enough to apologise and find us a new room. This did not affect the stay we had and can't wait to go back

I didn't connect to the wifi do can't comment on that but the hotel is ifeally placed for the beach and shops but with quite a few steps and a slope down (there is a lift down to the sea front). Unfortunately, our room overlooked the car park but i imagine there are rooms that look out over the estuary and the piers

Huge hotel on the sea front. Great views . Food very good , very good breakfast choice. Room 8/10 . Staff very helpful. Would definitely go back there again.

Room was a bit tatty but v comfortable bed. Bedside light with nowhere to plug in! Food was OK

We booked 2 rooms for my wife and 2 friends, we both paid the same rates for both rooms, the room for my wife and i had just been refurbished to a very high standard. my friends room was terrible. they described my friends room as a cosy double the double bed had to be placed against a wall which made it very difficult to get in and out of bed, the window in the room was stuck open and the heating was not working in the hotel, many people complained, but the reception seemed totally indifferent. terrible customer service

Not as good as previous owners. TV in room not working. Promised Maintenance would attend...THEY DID'NT The one small lift had a mind of it's own

Lovely location, rooms were nicely decorated. Communal areas were nice and the bar was very busy but had a nice vibe

It’s a building site at present - wish it was made more obvious at time of booking. Room damp with damaged walls. No toiletries. Limited toilet paper! Parking useless - fire alarms went off in middle of night two nights running. Fed up. Would ask for a refund but can’t be bothered. Still, the views from hotel were nice.

Bathroom could be better: hot tap -faulty.shower tap difficult to turn on and off when wet. Poorly decorated.Bedroom curtains faded, dull and ill fitting . Car park £6 per day. 0nly one 6 person lift.

Great location

Clean bedding and bathroom on arrival

Booked a sea view room but is unfortunately blocked by the scaffolding. It would be better if we were informed beforehand. Sound proof of the room is not good as you can hear the people from the corridor also people from outside. Window's locked also broken. Facility is quite old and a lot of work undergoing in the building atm. But location is great. 5 Minutes walk to the seaside and about 15 minutes walk to 199 steps and the bus station.

Even though the property is undergoing refurbishment, it didn’t disturb our time at the hotel.

Hotel was being refurbished in some areas but it didn't bother us at all. Would stay there again

Newly refurbished room … good size with the most comfortable of beds

It was being updated in a massive way and we were expected to go up stairs with our walkers

The hotel is in a great location, high up, with great views of the Abbey and the town. There are steps up to the hotel from the town or you can walk up the road (Khyber Pass). There is limited onsite parking which needs to be booked in advance. Room 2 was clean and had a new carpet and bed. It was quite a large room with a sea view. At the time of our visit (Sept. 2025), there was a lot of noisy work being done on hotel improvements, but this will only improve the hotel for future guests. The staff were very helpful and we would definitely stay here again.

We have just had a wonderful stay here, the room was spotless with everything we could need and the staff were excellent in the restaurant. We will be staying again next year.

Mostly all good, would have liked a wider vegetarian choice in the restaurant, and at breakfast, also bigger plates at breakfast would've been welcome. Thanks

Great views of whitby and very frendly staff 👌

The property was a large old building, commanding on the cliff. There was a refurbishment underway, so some areas were better than others. The staff were very welcoming and helpful. Our room was large, and comfortable. We didnt eat at the hotel, but the bar was very welcoming and the restaurant looked lovely. We had a very enjoyable stay.

Great hotel. In the middle of refurb but still a good choice to stay in Whitby

Lovely stay for the faulty towers dining experience and good breakfast on the morning staff friendly and welcoming even to our dog thank you

Lovely hotel staff excellent but couldn’t understand why when I’d booked 2 double rooms for myself and daughter and partner up graded to sea view rooms for our one night stay that they ended up been both very different rooms? One being better than the other little touches like bottled water, biscuits, toiletries and a bigger room? We found this difference disappointing.

Even though hotel was being re- furbished at time of stay we still had a great time.Family room was excellent.Great breakfast and all the staff were very friendly and helpful.will definitely stay there again

When we arrived there was scaffolding around the building, in the lobby work was going on, the place looked a mess, got to our room to discover the door wasn't painted and the place stank of paint. The room had a broken door and lamp, I took photos and immediately showed the pics to the lady on reception, said she would get someone to fix them, this never happened. Always banging or drilling, something going on in the lobby and on the floor our room was on. Being charged full price for this is ridiculous. Limited menu in the restaurant. The parking was awfully expensive and the idea of the overflow parking at the venue, when you left someone else could get your place and you had to pay for the 24 hours regardless.

Hotel was in the middle of renovations. Which were greatly improving the hotel. Bedrooms need updating Staff were very helpful and friendly. Breakfast was the best of the 4 hotels we stayed in during our trip

The property is getting a lot of work done too it at the time of our stay so really cannot comment on the building,but staff and service was excellent and very pet friendly.Stunning view from my room.Only concern was a slow running hot tap in the bathroom but the shower was brilliant.

Close to main town and museums. Lift not working but did have help with our bags. Property undergoing major renovations.

My room was not as described in the booking. I was given an accessible room which was not what I had booked. The room I was given was below average and not worth the price I paid. One of the bath towels had a hole in it as it was so worn. The view was amazing, and the front desk staff friendly. I only stayed one night, otherwise I would have complained to management and asked for another room. The restaurant was really nice, recently renovated and breakfast was good. The location was excellent, beautiful sea views and walking distance to the beach and local landmarks. I felt the room was very overpriced for the quality and would not recommend this hotel to my friends or family.

Staff were all super friendly and welcoming. Room was spacious and comfortable, with a lovely view of the harbour and abbey. The bathroom could do with an update, and there were no complementary toiletries, but it was also spacious and the water pressure was great.

Stayed 2 nights in Superior room with sea view. Room was comfortable. Lovely hospitality tray. Carpet badly stained and needing renewed. They are in the middle of renovations. Painters and workers all around. Didn't bother us cos we were out through the day. Breakfast was nice with continental or cooked breakfast available. The Fat Badger was good for a drink too with excellent service. Was concerned about the parking before coming but we found spaces each day without difficulty. Would return but maybe when renovations are finishing. Enjoyable 2 nights.

Great Location.Booked last minute and reception staff very helpful in helping locate parking space.Very clean and modern in rooms . Good buffet breakfast with cooked and continental choice. Recommend and will stay again

Two day trip, knew there was restoration work getting done but not how much ie scaffolding at our see room view but was ok, the room was ok but a little small as one side of the double bed was up against a wall. Also advertised parking but was full and had to park and pay on the street. The hotel receptionist advised that we could have reserved a place but on booking I cannot remember to see the option? Overall it was ok, the staff were very friendly and the bar etc good.

Friendly and helpful reception staff. Great location!

Hotel could be good but let down by ongoing improvement work and scaffolding. Lift to floors not available for customers a big negative not to be advised when booking

Enjoyed the stay overall, but the bedroom needs a complete overall. However, the bed was very comfortable and the sheets were very clean. Would stay again.

The hotel is undergoing a major renovation which will continue for another 4 years we were told. The public rooms downstairs have been completed and look great. The room we stayed in was very tired and desperately in need of some TLC, so the renovation is very welcome. The location is superb. We had a view out across the harbour to the abbey which was stunning. The bar is well stocked and the restaurant delivered a very good breakfast. Once the works are complete this will be a very good hotel with a location to die for.

Positives; Hotel is in a great position and the room we booked had a lovely sea and abbey view. Reception staff were friendly and helpful each time i phoned to discuss booking a pet and to reserve a parking space. Negatives; room was very tired looking, stains on ceiling, doors and walls, skirting boards battered looking window paint peeling. It was very noisy when occupants of the room above turned on the taps, generally felt underwhelmed with the room and would not stay again. The outside has some scaffolding up so looks like it will be getting a face-lift but the communal areas leading to rooms and rooms themselves need major updating. The bar area and eatery looked lovely and i hope there are plans to bring the rest of the hotel to the same standard as the elevated position deserves it

The room we had was very old and needs updating. My daughter also stayed here in the other end of the building and her room was recently refurbished and was lovely. The two rooms where both family rooms so it’s the luck of the draw if you get lucky or not

I think that overall it was excellent considering that refurbishment was being carried out while we were there

Reservation work being carried out which we weren't made aware of. Paid for a seaview and all you could see was scaffolding. The room was clean but very basic, which for what we paid should have been much better. Food in restaurant was very good though. Would stay again when updated.

A great stay at the Royal. It’s an old hotel and some of the rooms are a bit tired, but are very comfortable, clean with everything you need. They have clearly heavily invested in the bar and restaurant area which is great and very tasteful! Also the bar has a superb and unrivalled range of real ales which something to suit every real ale drinker’s palate. The were super friendly and helpful. Great location and view across Whitby and across to the Abbey! Would definitely recommend a stay here!

So the Royal Hotel is definitely a hotel open while under refurbishment - which will take years to complete. The good thing is that they are refurbishing! Rome wasn't built in a day, and a huge historic building like this will take time to refurbish, and no-one can afford not to have an income while that's happening. We had a refurbished room, it was clean, pleasant and modern and we were very happy with it. The lifts were back in operation that day! Breakfast was good, efficient service, good quality offering. Drinks were reasonably priced for a hotel. The hotel was quiet. Yes there is noise from drills etc from around 8.30am to 4pm but that's inevitable. I personally don't like the gloomy dark green but hopefully they have plans up their sleeves for fancy lighting and mirrors that will lift it - we will have to go back to find out! Will we go back? Definitely.

We arrived to be told there was limited car parking spaces and would have to walk to find alternative parking possible 5 minutes to the leisure centre. The hotel is going through a refurbishment so we have half the hotel completed and the other half left with smells of paint and a dusty dirty look in parts of the hotel. There was no lift working and we had to go up to floor 4! The room was lovely and just decorated clean and spacious was happy however, no air conditioning. It was a very hot weekend, the bank holiday weekend. The reception staff not the most friendly when asking about parking and the restaurant to eat. Fully booked and like we should know this! Exactly the same with the parking issue "We have only 50 places and 150 rooms" and is this our problem as a guest? The breakfast was very good and particularly for me with a medical need and dietary requirement. 100% here and lovely staff in this part of the hotel. Thank you to the dining staff. So overall, for the money £199 for one night not happy and the dogs allowed in the hotel without notice. This does not feel hygienic in the restaurant areas.

Hotel was nice, but was in the middle of some renovation. We are pensioners with an elderly dog, the lift was out of order. We were on the third floor so we had 70 steps to go up and down when we wanted to go in or out. Our room was lovely. The food was great and staff very helpful. Would go back again in the future.

For a lovely hotel lack of complimentary bottle water tissues and biscuits in the room - had to ask for toilet roll- parking - not told to pre book

Very clean very friendly, lovely view not so good in second room.

It was great the room newly refurbished to a lovely standard . Hotel is under refurbishment so understandably some disruption. The bar area was nice and the staff were lovely. Didn’t eat there but the food looked good from what we saw. We will definitely come back.

Building is full of scaffolding but an enjoyable stay would go back again

Good location. Large spacious room and bathroom. Beautiful view. Will be nice when renovations are complete. Photo of the hotel looked like there was plenty of free parking in the grounds,limited parking at the rear, the grass area is not part of the hotel. Lump of hair on the window sill in our room. Was not aware that renovations were going on, especially the lift not working. Breakfast cheaper if ordered the day before, cost more if booking B&B

The hotel was very dark and oppressive what is shown on the expedia pictures is nothing to the reality , dog hairs everywhere and dust everywhere , on check in we were advised that the lift was out of use, my 76 year old mum had to walk 3 flights of stairs it nearly killed her we would not have stayed if we had known. We sat in the back lounge and felt water dripping on me there was a leak in the ceiling the staff didn’t present as being happy at all, definitely would not return.Awful

Love Whitby

Good location on the seafront at Whitby but the property was very basic

Compromised getting a larger room for a sea view and discovered that the view was obscured by scaffolding! We were not informed that he hotel was undergoing refurbishment although from the state of the place , it is desperately in need of a total refurb! Rooms were drab, tired and unwelcoming. Furniture old and broken. Dull decor. Reception was like going into a dungeon! Whatever possessed the owners to paint it dark blue? The same with the restaurant/dining room named the fat badger so maybe represented a badger sett) Dark blue walls with brown furniture and carpet. Decor lacking in taste . Very disappointed with whole experience. The only saving grace was the staff who were friendly and helpful despite having to work in such a depressing hole.

Be ok when they finished refurbishing and lift back working

the hotel is having a refurb, we stayed in one of the completed rooms on the second floor, comfy large bed, good shower/bathroom. We knew the lift was not working, but not about the painting in the corridors. The second floor was being repainted so unfortunately the smell of paint and dust hung about ,also very dusty in foyer. I am sure when its completed it will be nice ,but perhaps they should not have made these rooms available for the durations of the painting? Parking was stated to be available at the rear, its really hard to be able to get a space, perhaps because of the contractors also needing a space? be prepared to pay approx. 10-14 pounds a day for on street parking, some of the metres don't work, so it can be a faff to keep looking for a working metre. I think parking is free in the winter months. the hotel, being on the west cliff, has a lovely outlook ,and Witby its self is charming.

Hotel is currently being refurbished and we were aware of this before we booked. Parking is poor and we now know you should reserve a space when you book. Staff were all very good and breakfast was excellent. Location good. Comfortable bed. At the end of the day you get what you pay for and we enjoyed our two days in Whitby.

The location

The fact that I was on the 3rd floor - there wasn't a lift I suffer from arthritis & have great difficulty with stairs+ I was informed by another guest who was there the year before that the lift wasn't in use then either, the bathroom wasn't very hygieniv & smelt

Adorable, beautiful room, amazing sea view, easy walk to restaurants and the beet parts of withby. We will definitely go back there.

Lift out of order, steep stairs to rooms on 3rd floor

Excellent stay. Very spacious room and nicely decorated. Comfy bed. Only gripe was there’s no A/C and the room was very stuffy in the afternoon and early evening.

Location brilliant. Most of staff tried hard. Nice fruit at breakfast. However, wouldn’t book ‘standard room’ there again. I am aware as we booked at last minute we had a third floor ‘‘standard’ room, but there were still a number of areas which were disappointing. 1. We booked to eat in restaurant and on being placed in middle of diners I asked if possible to sit at one of many empty tables giving us a bit more space. Told no, all booked. Untrue, nobody arrived. Orange juice at breakfast unrecognizable as OJ- awful. Watered? Squash? Radiator in room rusty. Lift out of order but no one mentioned it- my companion found it very difficult walking up around 80 stairs as 3 rd floor is in fact floor 4. Carpets worn. No decaff coffee satchets, No biscuits - perhaps only in ‘better rooms’. No air con. Hope i am not being too picky- stress it was ‘standard’ room, but it was shabby and in need of tlc.

Refurbishment was on going and our room was next to the lift we’re they was working banging from 8 in morning we should have been told that there was refurbishment going on 😡

Beautiful Beautiful refurbished room. Excelkent location beautifully decorated we will be returning. Loved its dog friendly and all staff were so smiley and encouraging. Definitely made our stay we will.return.

What I didn't appreciate was coming back to the hotel and finding my motorbike covered in builders rubble and dust. Could have been easily avoided in so many ways ! Bar and staff were nice.

This hotel shouldn’t be open to the Elderley or disabled until the lift is up and working again as promises to put you on the first floor due to your health and that of your partners and then puts you on the 3rd floor is totally unacceptable, it made for a bad visit and we chose this place for our wedding anniversary and nearly ended up being something else

Excellent friendly staff. Shame lift was out of order still and air con would have been nice on the third floor. Loved the quirky steam-punk themed decor. Will stay here again.

The staff were all teally helpful and Sharon on reception was incredibly helpful when we had trouble with parking.

Scaffold up ask for sea view room all I could see was scaffold

Despite ongoing work at the hotel it was comfortable and quiet. Comfortable bed and good shower.

60 stairs to reach third floor room had due to lift out of action during renovations, food slightly limited choice but very good as was the staff.