The Harrogate Inn: First look inside Yorkshire hotel after incredible multi-million pound transformation

These pictures show a glimpse into the multi-million pound renovation being carried out at a Yorkshire hotel.
By Graham Chalmers
Published 4th Jul 2023, 04:00 GMT

The Harrogate Inn, which was previously the St George Hotel, has had a large new bar-restaurant with a brand new entrance overlooking, and with access to, Crescent Gardens.

The hugely transformative work may not quite be totally finished yet by owners The Inn Collection Group though it is certainly very close to being so. The historic building has been a hive of activity on recent weeks as it evolves from being a 90-bed hotel to a 96-bed hotel with huge changes on the ground floor throughout.

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The six new attractive, spacious bedroom suites are located on the ground floor and offer views of the town centre.

Work in progress - The finally touches being put to the new bar-restaurant at The Harrogate Inn. (Picture Graham Chalmers)Work in progress - The finally touches being put to the new bar-restaurant at The Harrogate Inn. (Picture Graham Chalmers)
Work in progress - The finally touches being put to the new bar-restaurant at The Harrogate Inn. (Picture Graham Chalmers)

As for the new bar-restaurant, it will be called “Barking George” and it’s actually two large separate but linked brasserie style rooms with a touch of quality and a flavour of the Continent which, once open, will offer high-end pub food and drink.

Andrew Robson, The Inn Collection’s senior communications and marketing executive, said: “The Harrogate Inn is entering the final stages of a multi-million-pound renovation programme, focused on breathing new life into the venue’s food and beverage spaces. We have also transformed the previous hotel style offering into a welcoming inn.”

Since The Inn Collection Group bought the historic Harrogate hotel In February 2022 – along with the Dower House in Knaresborough and Ripon Spa Hotel – it has made far more than cosmetic changes.

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The kitchen is brand new and has been kitted out with state-of-the-art equipment, including a “broiler” which cook steaks at temperatures of around 1,600 to 1,800 degrees fahrenheit. It is the type of kitchen which would please celebrity chef Marco Pierre White, who started out his career at the hotel as a young man.

Formerly called the St George Hotel, it originally grew out of the Chequers Inn and was renamed after George III's gift of the Stray to the people of Harrogate in 1778. The hotel was then enlarged several times during the 19th century and renamed the St George shortly before the First World War.

The Harrogate Inn started accepting hotel guests on July 3.