Yorkshire Top of the Polls

As members of the British Hospitality Association we attended their Destination Marketing conference in October at fellow member venue The Devonshire Arms.

We were delighted to learn from Visit England that Yorkshire is well above the national average for providing complete customers satisfaction.

Visit England regularly polls the public to find out their travel plans, where they've holidayed and what influences their decision on where to go.

The recent 2013 poll showed that Yorkshire beat the national average in the following criteria:

Welcoming and friendly

Value for money

Level of customer service

Quality of accommodation

Quality of food, drink and dining

Accesibility: Places don't take long to get to

The only area people said we could improve on was offering more sporting or cultural events. So GOOD NEWS... soon you can enjoy world class events with all the above included! All eyes will be on Yorkshire for the 2013 Rugby World Cup in two weeks and the 2014 Tour De France Grand Depart. So if you're looking for hotels in Yorkshire, book now at Holdsworth House.

The Way We Used To Live

Pictures of Holdsworth House going back over the last 50 years. For more images of the hotels today visit our website gallery.

Left: The elegant Rita Pearson. This picture appeared in the national papers when the hotel was purchased by the Pearsons.
















Left: Current owner Gail Moss (nee Pearson) follows in her mother's footsteps in hosting fine parties & events at Holdsworth House.

The charismatic host: Freddie Pearson outside Holdsworth House. The hotel exterior hasn't changed much!











A 1970s wedding in the Stuart Room before it had its pillars removed.

The Stuart Room in 2013. Clean, crisp and ready for any wedding colour scheme you can think of.

The former bar, which is now the Mullioned Restaurant.

The former bar today - used for weddings, restaurant diners and afternoon tea.

A bedroom in the 1970s. Groovy patterns!

The orignal reception area, now the corridor to the bedrooms adjacent to the Abraham Brigg Room.

Golden Anniversary

We had a ball last Thursday, almost literally when we celebrated the hotel's 50 Golden Years!

Holdsworth House was opened on April 11th 1963 by Rita and Freddie Pearson. The couple, who had no experience of running a hotel,  opened The Cavalier Country Club as a private members club which quickly became the place to be seen for socialising, eating, drinking and gambling.

In 1979 the property was handed to the Pearsons’ daughters Gail Moss and Kim Pearson and reverted to its former name Holdsworth House. The hotel has continued to grow from strength to strength under their watchful eye and now boasts 2 AA Rosettes for the food and 4 stars, the only AA four star hotel in Halifax.

Following the deaths of Rita and Freddie, the hotel has remained under family management and on June 13th 2013 Gail and Kim hosted a celebration evening to mark the hotel’s 50th anniversary. Guests included customers and local business leaders, council officials and suppliers – many of whom are local and have been  working with the hotel for over 20 years. 

Gail Moss said ‘The event was to celebrate 50 years of being one of Yorkshire’s top hotels. We work hard to stay innovative and give Halifax the hotel it deserves. Holdsworth House is a popular wedding venue and in 2012 we hosted 167 weddings, which was down to hard work and our brilliant team. Although we have an historic building we can’t stand still – we’re very active on social media sites and we’re doing lots to bring tourists into Halifax from outside Yorkshire through promotions and deals.’

Guests at last Thursday’s event were treated to an array of cocktails including pink Prosecco with crystalised rose petals and a cheeky raspberry vodka cocktail served from our eclectic mix of bone china teacup and saucer sets.

In a heartfelt speech Gail and Kim reminisced about the past fifty years, including when The Beatles came to stay.  Gail thanked the team for their loyalty and commitment to customer service and a long service award was presented to semi-retired accountant Robert Woodhead, whom Gail described as ‘business advisor and true family friend who has worked with Holdsworth House for over 40 years.’ Guests also heard about plans for the barn which stands within the hotel grounds and which is in need of restoration; the team is currently researching best uses for it and an additional wedding venue or function space is being considered.

Roger Harvey OBE, owner of Halifax's premier department store, who attended the event said after the evening ‘Sue and I would like to thank you for a splendid evening to celebrate 50 glorious years of Holdsworth House. We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and both remarked about the friendliness and professionalism of your staff.  The food was superb, so another big thank you to your head chef and all the catering team. As a business which celebrated 60 years trading in Halifax in 2011, we know it isn't easy, but sticking to core values and putting our customers first has kept us both in business, when others have failed. Good luck for the next 50 years.’

Pictures courtesy of Alexknightphotography.co.uk

Between the Sheets

Guest reviews are something we look forward to reading, whether it's on Tripadvisor, Hotels.com or from a card delivered in the post.

But whilst we work our fingers to the bone delivering top notch service, toil tirelessly in the kitchens to create the best Yorkshire food or stay up past midnight typing out bride's menus and table plans.... in fact it's our humble beds that are repeatedly mentioned in our reviews for giving the 'best night's sleep ever'. 

It shouldn't really be surprising to see our beds mentioned frequently - after all we have over 50 of them. And we all know that slipping twix the clean, crisp sheets is so often what many guests look forward to at the end of the day.

As you cast aside the cushions and throws, and slide between the naked white sheets and cloud-like duvet, there's only one thing on your mind - sleep.

And sleep you will, thank goodness for our alarm clocks. How many hours of lost work, late brides and 'duvet days' have we caused because you can't bear to leave your peaceful cocoons?

So what's the secret? It's a bit Princess and the Pea-like. You start with an exceptionally good coil sprung mattress - purchased locally from an excellent (national) manufacturer, these things aren't cheap. 

Next comes the mattress topper, a cotton-based topper that adds an extra layer of warmth, cushioning and hygiene.

Crisp loose sheets are neatly laid over the topper. Our housekeeping staff could do the Guinness World Record challenge for hospital corners, which snugly hug the bed - unlike fitted sheets that have a tendency to 'ping off' when least expected.

All beds are made up using lovely soft duvets. Gone are the days when you had to fight your way in and out of sheets straight-jacketed so tightly you can't slide a cigarette paper between them.

There's a very definite pecking order to our pillows. Foam pillows must be positioned behind the goose feather ones, so the soft down can plump out proudly, inviting the guest to sink in and sleep. For anyone sensitive to our feathered friends we have anti-allergy pillows and duvets that will ensure your night remains tickle and sneeze-free.

If you prefer a blanket or feel the chill, extra blankets are available, though they're a rare sighting.

As is the fashion at home, we have throws and cushions to help create a luxurious feel and here you definitely get what you pay for; quality is exceptionally important.

We now invite you to test the beds out and see if your feedback is anything like these reviews from Tripadvisor:

"We had champagne and fluffy robes in our room which was so cosy and the bed was very comfy..."
"The beds were comfy and the place has a great atmosphere..."

"lovely hotel , superb food , very comfy beds . Brilliant !"

ENDS.