No1 York: The luxury hotel where rooms have dolls houses, record players and teepees

GuestHouse is a family-owned hotel brand from brothers, Tom, Tristan and James Guest.

The independent, boutique brand is centred on bringing wonder-filled hotels to historic buildings in Britain’s most intriguing cities – currently found in York, Bath, Brighton and Margate.

“Although we bought Bath first, York was the first hotel that we did a major redevelopment of and could really put our own stamp on,” says Tristan.

“We’d always liked York; we went there as children, and it holds great memories for us. Our grandfather was a very proud Yorkshireman.

"He grew up in Doncaster, and although he didn’t spend all his life there, he always called himself a Yorkshireman, and that meant something to us.

"In fact his old desk is actually our reception desk in York,” adds Tom.

Raised in Berkshire, the brothers developed a strong understanding of running a business through the family’s 60-year manufacturing company for which they all worked.

Following a short spell in professional rugby for Tom, the brothers reunited to form a new family venture in the hotel industry and formed GuestHouse in 2021.

Tom, Tristan and James have always had a passion for exploring different cities in the UK, and the four locations have been selected from a genuine love for each destination as well as the hope to make a positive addition to them.

All four sites are full of history, character, creativity, energy and fun.

Each GuestHouse has its own distinct character, with bespoke interior design ensuring each property is unique, tailored to its customers, and reflective of the city it is in.

At the same time, all sites represent a strong sense of British culture, celebrating the traditions of a guest house through hints of nostalgia and an informality that brings warmth to the high quality and indulgence.

The brothers bought what had previously been the Grange Hotel in 2021, slightly delayed due to Covid.

They kept on all the staff and ran it as the Grange for a few months over before closing it for a major refurbishment, reopening at the end of the year.

The first thing they did was reconfigure the ground floor to allow for more lounge space and to improve the flow.

“We moved the restaurant (now the Pearly Cow) from the basement to the ground floor, which involved taking out a couple of bedrooms.”

They also opened up some doors into the bar and turned two other ground-floor bedrooms into the hotel’s new Marmalade Lounge, which can also be used for private events.

They also rearranged the bedrooms, which saw the creation of two Bootham suites from the old drawing room.

“They are really lovely rooms. They have high ceilings and a balcony looking over the city,” says Tom.

They also modernised some of the more old-fashioned bedrooms – giving a total of 39 – and added a spa where the old restaurant had been.

For the brothers it is all about the guests’ journey, and although each of their four hotels is unique, they do have a commonality when it comes to the experience on offer.

“We don’t have a specific demographic – we want to be welcoming to everyone,” says Tristan.

“All our hotels are elegant and sophisticated, but we want people to relax, and therefore we don’t take ourselves too seriously. They all have a sense of playfulness about them.”

All the bedrooms have dollhouses which hide the tea and coffee-making facilities and record players and vinyl for guests to enjoy.

They all have a pantry where guests can help themselves to sweets, snacks and soft drinks.

With children themselves, the brothers want their hotels to be inclusive, and while they don’t market themselves as necessarily child-orientated, they know if the children are happy, then the parents will be too.

“Some of the rooms have teepees,” says Tom. “And record players, and if they are the right age, we give them an instant camera they can take out with them when they go into York.” ”We’ve always liked going to nice hotels and enjoying a bit of luxury, and we also have kids, and sometimes those two things don’t align.

"We want to make people feel they can relax, and we want to make it as easy as possible for people,” adds Tristan.

There is even a model railway in the York hotel, more than a little nod to the city’s heritage.

They employed interior designer Martin Hulbert for No 1 York but now have taken interior design in-house.

“We are humble enough to know we aren’t interior designers, but we do like to oversee what is going on – it was really a collaborative process,” says Tristan.

“He knew and understood the brand and what we wanted to create, but he also wanted to make it very sympathetic to York but also the age of the building,” says Tom.

They chose dark cosy tones for the reception area of the hotel to emphasise its grand staircase as well as natural textures and an open fireplace.

“That is echoed in the spa; we wanted something with a real cosy feel and to emphasise the arches in the basement. to give a cocoon-like feel to it.”

The bedrooms have fairly neutral, calming colour schemes – all slightly different due to their layout but sharing a similar feel.

None of the three brothers had experience in property development or hospitality, but they love to travel and stay in nice hotels and are heavily involved with operational aspects and ensuring that quality and experience always deliver what the brand stands for.

“When we started a bit naively, we said five hotels in five years, which hasn’t quite worked out, but we do have four, and we are still looking to grow. But the hotels we buy are interesting, often listed properties that take time to develop.

“We are proud of bringing new life to these buildings, but they have got challenges, and they do take a long time.”