Mrs Surfer and I have always had Whitby on our bucket list but for some reason we’d never managed a visit before now! After a quick internet search for hotels with good locations we chose The Royal, Whitby Mainly due to its clifftop location, parking and EV charging facilities. The Royal has two car parks (one with 20 spaces which is bookable and a second with 30 spaces as an overflow car park), parking is charged at £6 a night. If you have a disabled blue badge street parking is available right outside the hotel as long as a space is available.

The Hotel is currently undergoing some renovations which sadly meant some scaffolding outside the building and the reception area was a “work in progress” but there was a brand new lift newly installed! our room on the 2nd floor was one of the completed rooms and the bar and restaurant areas had also been completed and looked fantastic. Our (family) room didn’t have the luxury of a sea view but was absolutely spotless and had everything you needed.

Day One

We arrived promptly at the hotel for our 3pm check in and was greeted by a friendly receptionist (on her first day!), she explained breakfast and dinner arrangements etc and gave us 2 key cards and directions to our room on the second floor (via the lift). No help was offered with our luggage which is a shame but we managed.

We grabbed a quick coffee and had time for a bit of a stroll before our 6pm dinner, (dinner, bed and breakfast were included in our booking) which proved a bit problematic but it all worked out in the end. The dinner option comprised of a £30 per person allowance against evening meals each evening but for some reason the restaurant staff were completely unaware of this so each evening we had to query the bill and have the total amended, not the biggest issue but a bit embarrassing nevertheless.

For our first meal we skipped a starter as we’d had lunch on the way to Whitby so went straight to mains

I opted for the Pan Roasted Hake, Potato Rosti, Mussel & Leek Beurre Blanc, Samphire & Spinach and it was really fantastic, fully of flavour and beautifully presented.

Mrs Surfer chose the Char-Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad with Pancetta Lardon, Baby Gem, Anchovies, Croutons, Parmesan Shavings, Caesar Dressing and she said it was truly the best Caesar salad she’d ever had!

Having cleared our plates it was obviously time for dessert!

I opted for the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream and Rum Caramel and Mrs Surfer went for Tiramisu Espresso, Tia Maria, White Chocolate Soil.

 

Day Two

Sadly it was a bit of a wet and dreary day but we still managed a drive out to Goathland (Home of Heartbeat!), Goathland Station (Used in Heartbeat and Harry Potter) and also drove over to Scarborough to see the location used as the outside of the hospital in The Royal (Red Court Scarborough) It was great to see the buildings largely unchanged!

 

After a quick bite to eat and a top up charge for the car at the Instavolt chargers in Scarborough we made our way back to The Royal in Whitby for a bit of a chill out and a coffee.

We went down for our evening meal at 6pm (sadly they’d forgotten our meal reservation but quickly found us somewhere to sit!). after a browse of the menu and specials I opted for a starter of North Sea Mussels with Creamy White Wine Sauce, Leeks & Crusty Bread and Mrs Surfer chose The Classic Prawn Cocktail, Marie Rose, Crusty Bread.

 

Both starters went down very well so it was time for our mains, I went for the Margherita Pizza, San Marzano Tomato, Mozzarella, Fresh Basil with a side of Chunky Chips and Mrs Surfer decided on The Steak & Ale Pie with Seasonal Vegetables & Chips. The Pizza was massive and could easily have been shared between two people, it was really nice but too much even for me! Mrs Surfer said it was the best steak pie she’d ever had, clearly hand made and stuffed with quality meat.

Mains cleared away it was Dessert O’clock! I chose the Apple Crumble Pie with Ice Cream from the specials board and it was delicious :0 Mrs Surfer chose the Elderflower Pannacotta with strawberries which looked stunning and I was assured was also fantastic!

 

Day Three

Our last day in Whitby was much sunnier and less windy than the day before so we managed a bit of sightseeing around Whitby, and what a beautiful town it is even though it is definitely hilly! There is a hop on hop off Whitby open top tour bus that stops right outside The Royal Hotel, unfortunately we didn’t see the bus until later in the day but we would definitely consider it on our next visit. Here’s a few of our photo’s from the day…

After a lovely day out it was back to The Royal Hotel where we had a relaxing seat on the balcony overlooking the harbour and treated ourselves to a coffee from the bar.

So we come to our last evening meal of our stay, I really wanted to try the soft shelled crab but was a bit nervous as I had never had it before and wasn’t really sure what to expect! Anyway the waitress came to take our order and I (bravely) ordered the Soft Shell Crab, Kewpie Mayonaisse, Togorashi, Bao Bun and Mrs Surfer Chose the Prawn Cocktail again as it was so nice.

For mains Mrs Surfer fancied a steak so went for the 8oz Rump Steak with Rarebit Topped Field Mushroom, Grilled Tomato and Chunky Chips with Peppercorn Sauce, and went for the Beer Battered Haddock, Chunky Chips, Garden Peas (requested instead of mushy!), & Homemade Tartar Sauce. Food arrived and the steak looked delicious (and I’m assured it was and the Haddock was massive!

After our beautiful mains it was on to desserts which sadly were the weak part of our stay on this occassion, We both had desserts we had ordered before but this evening it definitely felt they were rushed as presentation was poor in comparison. My sticky toffee pudding was rather thrown together and Mrs Surfers’ Elderflower Pannaccotta didn’t have any strawberries at all 🙁 we did mention it to the waitress but just got a “sorry”.

 

Unfortunately for the 3rd time running the  bill was miscalculated and once again we had to point out that the bill was £60 too high! Quickly remedied but really needs better communication between the hotel and the restaurant.

Mrs Surfer and I both agreed that the food served by The Fat Badger Restaurant was amongst the best quality food we had ever been served and we are confident that not only would we return to Whitby but we are looking forward to trying their other sites in Harrogate and York.

The Fat Badger bar in the hotel is also 2nd to none and there selection of real ales were amazing with a choice of 8 cask ales, It was an effort but with a bit of dedication I managed to have at least one of each 🙂 And Mrs Surfer who isn’t much of a drinker these days even had one of their beautifully presented Porn Star Martinis!

Ooops – forgot to mention Breakfast! Breakfast at The Royal is buffet style and includes cereals, cooked options, toast, croissants, Juice, and a selection of Teas and Coffee!

We really enjoyed our breakfasts at The Royal and they definitely set us up for the day.

Summary

All in all our three night stay at The Royal Whitby was definitely one of the best stays we’d had and we definitely would not hesitate to go again so have no hesitation in recommending them and we will be returning soon.