We arrived in the middle of filming for the TV series Heartbeat which was going on right outside the hotel. Watch out for this as when the filming is happening the car park gets full but the owners will let you park in the private road out the back and its all good fun. The large crowd of onlookers is quite a shock after the quiet moors though!
I've seen this hotel described in another review as a hotch potch and certainly first impressions bear this out. For example there was a fairly disastrous clash of chrome and gold light fittings in our room. But this place really grows on you.
Our double room was very large with a huge comfortable bed and nice bathroom. Lovely view too.
Due to an unprepossessing bar/dining area we were initally put off eating at the hotel ( the hotch-potch effect in play again ) but we took a meal in the bar one night and were very glad we did. The food is fantastic and there is a very extensive bar menu to choose from. You can also go for the whole a la carte bit if you like and I'd thoroughly recommend eating there.
With some coherent decor throughout this place it could be very good indeed but as it is its clean and comfortable and a good base for exploring the moors and for striking out to the coast at Whitby and beyond.

We stayed in one of the "better (certainly expensive)" rooms and were disappointed, for the following reasons:

Bedroom

Bathroom door would not close, window handles were broken, teletext on TV not operational, some corners of the room had not been cleaned thoroughly.


Breakfast

Knife was unclean, lack of organisation at breakfast time and little or no communication or explanation from staff. For example, we were brought toast without requesting it and were bizarrely presented with 5 white slices and 1 brown - this was while I sat and read someone else's newspaper!

Upon checkout, at no point was I asked whether my stay had been satisfactory.

As a previous reviewer has stated, the place had a "hodgepodge" feel to it. In my opinion it is a classic example of slack management leading to a carelessly run hotel. I presume a place like this survives on "one off" trade as I can't imagine many people returning.

There must surely be better hotels in the area!

We stayed in hot summer weather in 2004. We were looking forward to old fashioned charm with views over the moor. the room we were offered didn't even have a view and overlooked an internal courtyard. we complained and the staff to their credit offered other roooms but it is dreadfull dump for the price. Breakfast in the conservatory was nice but its a shabby hodgepodege of a place and not worth the £80 per night we paid.

I (living in Cheshire) stumbled across the IOTM website the Saturday morning of the Bank Holiday, wanting a room for the Sunday. There was one available but I could not confirm the booking as my partner (living in Cumbria) was working. I was allowed a few hours to confirm the reservation but then got stuck in the M6 traffic with no way of contacting them. They held it for me - on a Bank Holiday - what superb service! OK - cutting to the chase. The room was obviously the last to be offered (room 8), but was spotlessly clean, large with a superb bathroom with triangular corner bath and separate power shower cubicle. Having spent the previous night at the Ugthorpe Lodge (don't even go there!) this was such a beautiful change. The hotel is exactly opposite the Aidensfield Arms (Heartbeat), who I must say served the better pint! We decided to eat in the restaurant at the IOTM (tables are automatically reserved for residents) £18.95 per head. The food was fantastic - except the bread rolls, which were obviously from a multi-pack of supermarket buns. The wine was served open (top off at service) and was not chilled - not what I expected at £14.95 per bottle and this should be rectified. We would have liked to sit in the conservatory area but because every resident is allocated a table (and we were the last to book), our table was not. This was annoying because several guests did not eat in the restaurant and therefore there were empty tables throughout the evening in the best locations - this should also be rectified. The service was good with a very attentive Polish student waiter.
Breakfast was an interesting variation with an elderly lady who has apparently been doing this for some eight years yelling out that “those who ordered scrambled eggs can come and get it now"!
All in all, a great place with a fantastic hostess/manageress. We would definitely return.
Mr Phillips.