Adventures // Our Babymoon in York with Red Letter Days

Last weekend, Nick and I headed to York on a little Babymoon with Red Letter Days. With Bun’s arrival fairly imminent, life is about to change again while we navigate our way through the Newborn Haze. So any time that we can snatch together, just the two of us, is greatly appreciated.

Red Letter Days asked me to choose an experience to review from the huge variety on their website. I knew that a night away, or a day of relaxing, would be for us. So after browsing local experiences, I came across a night away at the Churchill Hotel in York. The hotel looked beautiful, and a three course dinner and breakfast were included in the experience.

Red Letter Days sent out a very smart-looking pack, which is a lovely way to present an experience gift. The pack includes details about the experience you’ve chosen and then a gift card, which has to be registered online… Once you’ve registered the card, you can book your experience!

I really love the flexibility of a Red Letter Days experience gift. Our gift card could be used until July next year. This means you’re not having to work out suitable weekends with the recipient of the experience pre-gifting, so it can remain a lovely surprise.

Nick took a half day off work, so we waved my mum and Bertie off (leaving them in charge of the children) and headed to York. The city of York is one of my favourite places to visit. It’s absolutely stunning, steeped in history, with many quirky, independent shops down cobbled streets. It’s a bit like stepping into a Harry Potter novel. And with wonderful Yorkshire institutions such as Betty’s, it’s a hit with locals and tourists a-like.

The Churchill Hotel was easy to find, although I’m glad we arrived in York before rush hour as the roads around the hotel were very busy. Parking was included in our stay, which is great as parking in York is usually rather pricey.

We were so impressed with the location of the hotel; a 5-10 minute walk to the Minster and 15 minutes into the centre of the city. The hotel looked absolutely stunning in the autumnal light! The only slight negative was that the hotel overlooked one of the train lines into York, but it wasn’t too noisy thankfully.

The Churchill Hotel’s decor was absolutely gorgeous! With amazing mirrors, tall ceilings and the most incredible windows.

Check-in was quick and easy, with extremely friendly, helpful staff. After deciding a time for dinner, we were shown to our room – the Jennie Churchill Suite. The room was on the smaller side, but the very tall ceilings didn’t make it feel cramped. The room had tea and coffee making facilities, an iron and a hairdryer. The decor was very cool, and the bathroom was well-equipped with lovely toiletries!

After a cup of tea and a biscuit, we decided to walk into the city centre in the gorgeous autumnal afternoon sun.

We had a wander around the city; perusing a few shops and stopping in at Bill’s for a cheeky cream tea. By this point, my hips were starting to hurt, so we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

I didn’t take my DSLR down to dinner as the room was quite dark and I didn’t want to disturb the other diners by taking photos. I did capture everything over on my Instagram Stories though, which I’ve highlighted in my profile.

Dinner was delicious. All three courses were included with our stay (although drinks and any dish supplements were not), with a real focus on Yorkshire fayre.

Nick had the Yorkshire Soft Cheese and Potato-filled Pierogi for his starter, and I opted for the Yorkshire Ham Hock Croquettes. He then had the Yorkshire Relish Chicken for his main, whereas I opted for the Chicken & Leek Pie.

Pudding was the highlight of the meal for me. I opted for the vegan pudding, which was a Chocolate, Cherry and Honeycomb Parfait – it was HUGE, and I couldn’t finish it all… but it was very tasty. Nick had the Rhubarb Crumble and custard, which he enjoyed immensely.

After dinner, we retired upstairs and I had a really lovely, relaxing bath.

I’ve not been sleeping particularly well away from home in this pregnancy, but after finally dropping off I slept surprisingly well. The bed was very comfortable!

Having lost our ability to have a proper lie in since becoming parents, we were both awake to watch the sunrise come up over York.

Breakfast was also included in our stay, so we headed down, looking forward to a hearty start to the day. We weren’t disappointed! The breakfast menu was extensive. Nick opted for Eggs Benedict, whereas my pregnant sweet tooth decided that the Waffles with Banana, Yoghurt and Maple Syrup sounded the most appealing.

The food was again absolutely delicious (and featured over on my Stories).

We were able to check-out up until 11am and were able to leave our car in the hotel car park until around 1pm. After checking out, we had another wander into York as I wanted to do some Christmas shopping, before heading home to see the children.

Our ‘Boutique Escape’ experience at the Churchill Hotel in York with Red Letter Days costs £230 and includes a three course dinner, breakfast and parking. We had such a lovely mini Babymoon. The hotel was gorgeous, the food was delicious, and it was so wonderful to have some time to ourselves.

A huge thank you to Red Letter Days and the Churchill Hotel, York for having us!

Hannah