The Best Bed and Breakfasts in Harrogate, UK

The name may sound chilly, but the welcome is warm here, 15 minutes’ drive outside town beside the reservoirs and moors of Nidderdale – an area of outstanding natural beauty. Eight spectacular suites keep things sweet with oak beams, floral soft furnishings and rustic views, while the garden suites with flagged terraces ooze tranquillity. Indulge in breakfasts of farm-fresh eggs under the arched beams of the converted barn, and be sure to venture onto those famous Yorkshire Dales before enjoying a hearty pub lunch.

This traditional terraced town house B&B is conveniently central – it’s on King’s Road, which snakes between Harrogate’s major arteries. The eight modern rooms are spick and span, with fruitily coloured blankets here and there. The owners will rustle up a full English breakfast if you don’t fancy continental. Harrogate has its charms – history, spas, museums – but make sure you don’t leave before making the 20-minute drive to the stately Harewood House. Immersed in Capability Brown’s sprawling landscaped gardens, it also puts on Antony Gormley and David Hockney exhibitions.

Settle in among the luxurious roll-top baths and rich tartan fabrics of this 19th-century town house with its 15 soothing rooms – but not for too long. Any trip to Harrogate must include pastel macaroons and crumbly scones at nearby institution Bettys Tea Rooms, with views across the park. Back at the inn, swing by the venerable wood-panelled bar for a cask ale or artisan gin, and perhaps even a special scotch egg with coronation mayonnaise, baby gem and toasted almond.

Rural romance is in the air at Timble Inn, a Grade II-listed 18th-century inn turned gastropub in a valley between Wharfedale and Nidderdale. Its nine rooms pack a punch with thick-pile carpets, soft cushions and beds that beg to be bounced on. In the mood for food? Starting with a real Yorkshire breakfast, there’s all-day dining at the restaurant, which has flagstone floors and tweedy banquettes. Pan-roasted venison, sweet onion purée and fruity black pudding are just the ticket after a wander around the village.

A warm welcome awaits at this classic Yorkshire B&B on a quiet Harrogate side street. Merging two townhouses has created a lovely hideaway of 14 soft-hued rooms – our favourite has a mahogany four-poster with cosy drapes. Slump into the comfy wing-back Chesterfields by the fireplace in the high-ceilinged living room, overlooking flower-filled gardens. After juicy local Masham sausages and bacon under the chandelier in the airy bay-windowed breakfast room, go out to explore. As you’re near the station, take the train one stop to Pannal, home to a 14th-century church, a cute duck pond and pubs aplenty for Sunday lunch.

Guests do very little here, lulled as they are into laziness by the ambience in its 13 glamorous guest rooms, with their twinkling chandeliers and ornate rococo mirrors. If they do venture downstairs, it’ll be for breakfast in the cosy lounge bar: home-made bread slathered with local preserves, then Yorkshire-cured ham and eggs. Need to stretch your legs? You’re minutes from Royal Hall, a listed Edwardian theatre built in Harrogate’s heyday, it hosts drama, music, comedy and dance, as well as offering guided tours in summer.

Among the hedges and silent streets of the Duchy Estate neighbourhood is this small but perfectly formed B&B. Inside a grey-stone Victorian gothic villa, its eight individually decorated rooms have a boutique hotel feel. Cosier still is the Coach House to the rear, a two-bedroom cottage with patio for your morning cuppa (Yorkshire Tea, of course). If you were expecting locally sourced bacon, sausages and black pudding, the Italian eggs on ciabatta will be a surprise – but they’re delicious. In winter, keep warm by the fireplace in the lounge after a steam clean at the Turkish Baths, part of the original Victorian Royal Bath complex, five minutes’ walk away.

For a B&B named after the rugged, far-flung region of Western Australia, the Kimberley B&B is very homely. It’s an amalgamation of five Yorkshire town houses just along the street from the Harrogate Convention Centre. The rooms – which come in all shapes and sizes – are united by a simple palette of greys and browns. Executive rooms spoil you with extras such as dressing gowns and slippers. Stroll along the architecturally fascinating residential streets into the city centre to the historic gardens, or embark on a mini-adventure to York or Leeds, both 45 minutes away. Be back for dinner at the basement bistro: crispy Yorkshire ale-battered haddock, hand-cut chips, house tartare sauce and crushed peas, eaten on the terrace on warm evenings.