Explore Yorkshire Reviews

Verified

I have been on a few Great Railway holidays. This trip to Yorkshire was not one of the best but still worth doing. The trips were good although the journey to Whitby from Harrogate by coach took nearly 2 hours; so together with the return journey felt like an excessively long time sitting on a coach. The other trips to Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, Haworth and the Bronte Museum were interesting. Our tour manager on this occasion was fairly new to the job and although we have no complaints, his lack of experience was sometimes apparent. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Harrogate and the room was spacious and comfortable with a good bathroom, a mini fridge and tea/coffee making facilities, iron, hairdryer. The hotel was a short walk from the bus and train station and very close to the centre. Plenty to see in Harrogate and lots of eateries. The breakfast choices were very good. However, the evening meals were disappointing for a 4* hotel. We would have preferred to stay in a hotel with more character. Suggestions for our free day were given by the tour manager and we visited Knaresborough which was a 2 stop journey on the train from Harrogate and well worth doing.

Verified

The hotel, Harrogate itself, the main sites visited and steam train journeys were all good experiences. The one "fly in the ointment" was the rather long and hot coach journeys included in the itineraries that were necessary to get to some destinations. I also found the "cold cuts" section at breakfast (which I usually eat and enjoy) very minimal, restricted and disappointing but the hot breakfast was fine.

Verified

Lovely tour , enjoyed it Excellent tour manager The hotel was a bit disorganised the first night as they appeared short staffed but big improvement the next day

Verified

Excellent holiday - Very competent, friendly Manager. good choice of hotel Careful knowledgeable driver

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Great holiday including two very interesting coach and steam train day excursions.

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GOOD HOTEL APART FROM NO DRWAERS FOR CLOTHES INFORMATIVE COACH DRIVER VERY GOOD GUIDE AND EXCELLENT FOOD AT THE HOTEL

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Great hotel. Good food. Interesting excursions. Nice people. Long days and a bit tiring for us, personally.

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Enjoyed this holiday, we did it last Autumn too. Accommodation very good. Tours out interesting although would have liked more time in Whitby.

Verified

This was the first (Treyn) holiday we went on in 2011 and we have subsequently had 12 further holidays with Great Rail. This time there was only a one-way trip on the North York steam railway , a disappointment since steam railways was the attraction.

Verified

Lovely holiday, but hotel was not so good. The food was excellent, but we were given a double room when we should have had a twin room and had to have it changed. Someone else who expected a double bed, got given a twin room and someone else's room had not been cleaned after previous occupant. The restaurent staff were very stressed and disorganised. The first night we waited ages for our food. The tour rep for Great Rail Journeys was the best ever tour rep. He really was 100% excellent. Cannot fault that company, but the hotel let them and the holiday makers down.

Verified

My fourth time doing this tour,and i love it, first rate hotel,excellent food,good tour guide and steam trains. A good balance of trips and free time all organised for you the only thing you need to do is turn up. A tour guide always on duty making sure everything runs smoothly. Thank you.

Verified

I enjoyed my holiday in Yorkshire. Visited areas that I have never been to, which I always find interesting. The Heritage Railway journeys were really good. Great to be travelling by steam.

Verified

Had a great time and well organised holiday

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Overall a very enjoyable experience with interesting organised trips. The Hotel room was very good for size facilities and cleanliness and the breakfast was excellent which was let down somewhat by the evening meal offering which was limited in choice and basic with rigid serving times. Also disappointed that the Hotel have no alcohol free wines/drinks available!

Verified

We had a lovely holiday, the hotel was great, the places we visited were enjoyable and very different to each other.

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Our guide was very helpful. I was disappointed not to have steam engine pulling the train on the Keighley line. We saw a lot in our two days travelling around wonderful Yorkshire, mainly on the coach, but didn’t like the fact that when we got back to the hotel there was no time to freshen up and relax before an early dinner at 7pm.

Verified

This was our first time on these kind of trips, really enjoyed our time

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It was my first time, having guide was very helpful, hotel was good.

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Great train journeys and carriage museums. The super knowledgeable Neil, driver for the coach transfers, made the holiday. Our escort, Bruce, was friendly and efficient. - There were timing hiccups but we barely were aware of them, as Bruce handled everything beautifully. Gorgeous Yorkshire countryside. Great views. Shame we couldn't see them from the hotel though, as all the windows were covered in netting. Wonderful 4 star hotel. Breakfast was very good. Not so good evening meals: choice of three mains, but only 6/10 standard and odd combinations like pasta with potatoes and roast veg. We enjoyed Harrogate so much we are going there for Christmas. We would recommend Explore Yorkshire.

Verified

This was our second Great Rail Journey holiday, and again it was superb. The accommodation and the organised trips were fabulous ,the food was amazing and they even organised nice weather! Can't recommend them enough. Mr G Baker