So, it has
been a busy old couple of months here at the St Denys with lots done, lots more
started and many, many lovely guests through the doors. Can we just say a big
thank you to those of our guests who have taken the time to write reviews of
their stays on sites such as Tripadvisor or Facebook. The lovely feedback is really very much appreciated
by all here.
But we
promised updates on refurbishment progress, and while there are many plans
still ongoing, there are starting to be a few ticks against items on the list!
One of the
first things we knew we would upgrade when we bought the St Denys were the
beds. The ones in place, though excellent in their day, had seen very long
service and unfortunately showed it rather... They were not ideal for a
relaxing night’s sleep!
Before: Mattress and pillows had seen
better days....
We did some
pretty intensive research into different mattresses types, scouring various
shops and information sources (virtual and non), before in the end deciding to
buy from Macdonalds, a long established York firm, located just a few minutes’
walk down the street from us on Fossgate. We found them to have a really
excellent range as well as extremely knowledgeable and helpful staff and because
of their close links with manufacturers they were able to arrange the customisation
of their beds to make them suitable for hotel use.
We chose to go for a model hand crafted in the UK and featuring a high
density of springs (2000 in a king size bed), each individually encased in its
own fabric pocket and hand-stitched within the mattress core. This lets the
springs work independently to give the highest level of support, preventing
pressure points and allowing two people to use the mattress without being painfully
aware of each other’s every move! The mattresses are filled with layers of
luxurious fillings (wool, cotton, cashmere, silk and high grade polyester) to provide
a great balance of softness, breathability and support and then finished with
hand stitching to even further increase their robustness. We said we had been
doing our research, does it show?? ;-)
It was great to get these new beds installed (along with all new duvets
and pillows) and even better to get such positive feedback from our guests who
have tried them out; several people have now said they would like to take their
bed and bedding home with them!
Now: Wonderfully supportive mattress topped with fresh, plump duvets and
pillows...
By the by, if
you are strolling up Walmgate and Fossgate from the St Denys (well worthwhile in
any case for all the restaurants, cafes and lovely independent shops), look out
for the Macdonald’s shop - it occupies a rather glorious building that was
York’s first purpose built cinema, the Electric Cinema.
According to
the very informative Jorvik illustrated guide to York this was built in 1911 when fashion first took to
Fossgate. In the 1950s it became the Scala, (click here to see a lovely York Press archive photo, taken in 1957 when you could have dropped in to see
Humphrey Bogart in ‘We’re No Angels’).
Broadband...
Another
thing we really wanted to improve was the wireless broadband internet. Although
some people choose to leave their communication devices behind when they are on
holiday and go completely ‘off grid’, for many of us that link to the outside
world is vitally important, letting us touch base with family, friends and work
while still enjoying a visit away. This can be particularly important for
business travellers and those like our many lovely international guests who are
embarked on epic trips lasting weeks or even months!
While there
was broadband wifi at the St Denys, there are also, as it turns out, extremely
solid, well built, Victorian walls. While these are excellent for keeping the
building up, they are not so great for letting the wireless internet signal
through! The lovely staff here would spend a lot of time trying to work out which
guests needed the internet most and get them into rooms closest to the signal.
However, this was not always possible to manage and some people would have to
come down to the breakfast room in order to get service. We are therefore really
happy to report that our upgraded fibre optic BT infinity wireless broadband now reaches
right across the building into every bedroom (and of course remains free of
charge to our guests).
Well, that’s
it for now but more soon – we’ve been trying paint samples!
