A weekend at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel, Scarborough

Mine and Harry’s trip to Yorkshire was prompted by an invitation to review Ox Pasture Hall Hotel in Scarborough. After spending the previous night in York, we drove to Scarborough to spend the night in a luxury suite with dinner and breakfast in the stunning country house hotel, on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors. We had a truly lovely stay and I was incredibly excited to share this wonderful place with you all! If you are looking for a place to escape the world and busy life, look no further than Ox Pasture Hall Hotel …

We arrived at the hotel about 4pm on the Saturday afternoon and were greeted by incredibly warm, friendly staff who directed us to our room. We stayed in one of the luxury suites, which had an ensuite bathroom, lounge area and a gorgeous four poster bed. We were struck by how warm and cosy the room was, with classic decoration and comfy sofas so it was very easy to make ourselves at home. After having a cup of tea, I decided to have a bath in the huge tub on offer! Luckily I had thought ahead and bought a Lush bath bomb in York the day before so was able to enjoy my bath even more. There were also fluffy robes for us to use in the wardrobe which meant we could snuggle up and relax.

After freshening up and relaxing in our room, we headed down to the restaurant for dinner. There was a bottle of prosecco waiting for us at our table… Cheers! We were served an amuse bouche to cleanse the palette before our starters were served. It was a ‘shot’ of kale, lemon and ginger. This zesty juice went down a treat; I thought these were a nice touch to the meal. The menu had a good range and there was something to suit everyone. The ingredients are also locally sourced which I totally approve of. To start, I chose the Wok Fried Tiger Prawns with ginger, chilli and lime. Harry went for the King Scallop with pea puree, black pudding crumble and clam butter. The starters were delicious, and mine had a real kick to it. Harry’s scallop was incredibly tender.

For the main course, I chose the Two boned rack shoulder of lamb with confit lamb shoulder, charred onion puree, creamed potatoes and courgette. True to himself, Harry went for the Rib Eye Yorkshire steak with triple cooked chips, confit tomato and wild mushrooms. The main course was followed by another palette cleanser in the form of a passion fruit and whiskey sorbet. This really woke up the tastebuds and freshened up your palette before dessert.

Despite feeling pretty full from two courses, we decided that we had to try dessert as it all looked so good. I went for the Passion Fruit cheesecake which was served with Iced Pina Colada and lemon tart ice cream. This was hands down one of the best desserts I’ve ever had – the Iced Pina Colada was genius and complimented the cheesecake perfectly. Harry wasn’t feeling anything sweet and decided to have the cheeseboard which could have easily been shared between two, contrary to the menu. I was a particular fan of the brie, but when am I not? He had a glass of port to wash it down.

We really enjoyed the meal and we weren’t rushed, so it gave us time to digest the food and talk. Alan and Paul were particularly attentive and friendly waiters, so thank you to them for making our meal all the more enjoyable. After dinner, we decided to head back to our room to relax before falling into bed in a huge food coma. The bed was very comfortable and it was all the more special being in a four poster bed!

We woke up bright and early for breakfast the next day (one of us woke up easier than the other…) and headed downstairs around 9am. The continental breakfast was laid out as a buffet and in addition you could order a cooked breakfast. I had fruit salad before ordering a cooked breakfast. Harry had ordered a newspaper the night before so he was able to read this at breakfast too.

Ox Pasture Hall Hotel has some beautiful grounds and gardens that you can wander around. Despite being freezing, we went to explore. It was such a lovely day; the frost was very hard on the grass but the sky was blue and it certainly blew the cobwebs away. After warming up inside in their lounge area, we checked out of the hotel and drove to Scarborough to spend a few hours before driving home.

Scarborough is a typical seaside town, with house piled up onto a hill, endless fish and chip shops and arcades. There’s something quite endearing about places like this, despite perhaps seeing better days! In terms of things to do, you can take a walk along the sea front, blow the cobwebs away on the beach (and paddle if you want to freeze your toes off!) and explore Scarborough Castle. There was no removing of shoes but we did walk along the sea front. It was a clear, sunny day so we had a lovely view. Had we have walked to the top of the hill to the castle, we would have been able to see for miles.

After a blustery walk, we went on the hunt for a fish n’ chip shop because when in Rome, right? We didn’t have to look for long! It’s worth having a look at the prices because some of them charge a fortune for the humble meal. We ended up getting a takeaway from Winking Willy’s on the harbourside. The chips were glorious and the fish was hot and crumbly in classic beer batter. I think fish n’ chips taste all the better when you’re sitting outside in the cold, sea air trying to dodge the seagulls. With a wooden fork. How its meant to be.

So, all in all, a truly lovely weekend accompanied by my favourite person in a beautiful location. Ox Pasture Hall Hotel was a wonderful place and I would highly recommend it as a base for any future Yorkshire stays. I really didn’t want to leave the lovely hotel …

If you fancy a luxury hotel in Scarborough, Yorkshire, then do keep Ox Pasture Hall Hotel at the top of your list.

Read about our 24 Hours in York.

*A big thank you to Ox Pasture Hall Hotel for having us to stay on a complimentary break. As usual, my opinions are all my own – we really did have a lovely stay, and I think their four stars really speaks for the luxury hotel it is.