Raymond Crisp visits York’s first and only five-star hotel to try the food and see a magnificent restoration

YORK has much to thank George Hudson for. This local man dubbed “The Railway King” was one of those responsible for persuading George Stephenson that his planned London to Newcastle railway should not bypass York. As a result the North Eastern Railway became one of the most powerful businesses in the country and, a century later, the Cedar Court Grand Hotel and Spa was born.

Such a company demanded a suitably grand and lavish headquarters – and so a “palace of business”

was built on land overlooking York Station within sight of York Minster and the city walls.

But times change and as the railway system has undergone major changes so have the companies running the industry.

NER could no longer afford or justify such lavish buildings in which to do business. Their loss is the gain of both locals and visitors as its iconic former HQ in the aptly named Station Rise is now York’s – indeed Yorkshire’s – only five -star hotel.

Cedar Court Grand Hotel and Spa is where the Edwardian meets the Elizabethan in a building that retains the architectural glory of the past and combines it with the luxury and splendour demanded by those visiting a five-star establishment. The “ultimate in luxury” of which the promotional literature boasts is a legacy of the position held in business by the NER. Powerful men ran the company. Indeed one chairman, Sir Edward Grey, went on to become British foreign secretary.

Work on the building began in 1900 with not one but two designers. William Bell produced the basic structural design while Horace Field worked on exterior and interior embellishments and detail. Field was a great fan of Sir Christopher Wren’s work with the building owing much to the more famous Hampton Court Palace.

High ceilings, tall windows, lofty arches and wide, open corridors gave it a somewhat gothic or stately home appeal. Terrazzo with Roman mosaic margins in the corridors and patterned wood blocks in offices added to the feel of an impressive stately home. Wrought iron balustrades, ornate ceiling plasterwork and carved stone flourishes completed the picture.

All very different to NER’s previous HQ on an upper floor of the original station (where the new York city council offices are now sited). The building was topped, quite literally, by a weather vane representing the NER class lst 4-6-0 which will mean more to trainspotters than those who merely travel by train.

The building was completed by 1906 – and just over a century later, in 2007, was bought by Cedar Court Hotels, which also has hotels in Harrogate, Huddersfield/Halifax, Leeds/Bradford and Wakefield.

The aim was to create York’s first five-star hotel, which has been achieved by keeping the old and within that adding everything the modern guest expects.

The 107 bedrooms are all different, a necessity as the designers were working with rooms that came in all shapes and sizes. The Penthouse, with views over the city, is a case in point – no boring square space but a sprawling apartment making use of the odd shapes dictated by the architecture to produce a suite that’s full of surprises, not least the wet room.

This approach is carried on throughout the hotel down to the Spa, situated in the vaults. The great iron doors that guarded NER’s millions are still in place in a spa with a Roman feel, appropriate as Roman artefacts were found beneath when excavated.

Another link with the old is the Grand Boardroom with its oak-panelled walls and, in its day, the biggest boardroom table in Britain.

The building is untroubled by the comings and goings of the railway itself as the original was double-glazed to block out the noise of the trains.

I wasn’t staying at the hotel but visiting – well, dining to mark the launch of Cedar Court’s two restaurants, Hudson’s (another nod to that NER pioneer) and HQ. The taster menu was a mix of the two menus defined as “good food refined”

(Hudson’s) and “a fine dining experience” (HQ).

It was an occasion where the friendliness of the staff – polite and helpful, not obsequious or fawning – shown on arrival and, with executives, continued at dinner. There was no accusatory demand of guests “Who’s the vegetarian?” (it was my wife if I must name names). The non-meat dishes were delivered to the right person without quizzing because they’d studied the table place names beforehand.

The menu, prepared by head chef Martin Henley, was of necessity a bit of an odd mix, taking courses from each restaurant’s menu. The food looked good enough to eat, starting with langoustine cocktail, bloody Mary, cucumber and lettuce – a deconstructed prawn cocktail by any other name. You can’t really go wrong with that, can you? Although the vegetarian beetroot carpaccio (with hazelnuts, mozzarella and herbs) looked intriguing.

The main course of smoked beef pie featured a tasty chunk of meat with lattice puff pastry top, shallots and potato with a little pot of Guinness gravy to pour over it.

Fruit salad caviar did what it said on the small tin in which it was served – fruit-flavoured pearls resembling caviar. The waitress helpfully informed us which five fruits were represented so we could enjoy instead of guessing). Finally, we were presented with a rhubarb garden with all things rhubarb made into garden shapes including toadstools. They’d have loved it on MasterChef.