We found this hotel almost by accident, as we required a last minute unplanned trip to Harrogate. Despite near endless searching, this was the only hotel I could find a room at, so we had little choice. Booking via the Air Miles website, we got a double room with breakfast for about £85.

I'll say at this point that we normally stay in the premium chain hotels (Hilton, Radisson and the like) as, although they're rarely interesting and never particularly memorable, you do generally get a consistent standard of both accommodation and service. I've stayed in a number of independent hotels where standards were simply so poor that I'm surprised they've remained open.

This particular hotel was nothing like that - what a revelation!

Arriving fairly early in the day, we were greeted warmly at reception before being directed to our room, check in being completed in just a few seconds. Given a top-floor room, the views weren't too bad, considering we were in the centre of Harrogate, next door to the conference centre.

The room was reasonably spacious, pretty clean and adequately equipped although, like another guest reviewer states, the clock on the TV was wrong, causing me to be far too early for one appointment!

Just a five minute stroll from the conference centre, and about 10 minutes from a vast array of restaurants (try the Cheaug Won Chinese on the right up the hill - not much to look at, but great food!), and with free parking for guests, the hotel could hardly have been better situated.

Room 416 backs on to the lift but, much to my surprise, I didn't hear it once. Whether that was due to an efficient lift or me being completely knackered is anyone's guess. A firm but comfortable bed gave me a good nights sleep, although the room was quite hot.

Waking in the morning, with a copy of The Times waiting for my outside the door, I spotted one of those small details that make all the difference - an A4 printed sheet with the days weather, traffic problems, local events, conferences and other information, signed by the staff. A very small thing to do, but unexpected and most welcome.

We headed to the basement for breakfast although, despite being the basement, there's a small but pleasant outdoor area and at least some view of the sky. The range of food was pretty good, with some superb sausages and a selection of other standard cooked breakfast fare. Cereals, fruit, juices and toast was also all available, along with a fantastic selection of jam, honey, marmalade and so on.

The bar area by reception was very pleasant, although I didn't spend much time there. There's apparently wireless internet in there, which I didn't use, while internet access in the rooms is catered for by The Cloud, which I did use.

The hotel seemed short staffed, but don't think that's a complaint - perhaps we just kept seeing the same people over and over again. The staff that were there were very friendly, very efficient and very helpful. Definitely a case of quality over quantity.

Check out was again efficient, and we were on our way again.

Next time I'm traveling, I'm still likely to rebook through Hilton and stay at a predictable but 'safe' hotel. Unless I'm in Harrogate.

Then I'll stay with Kimberley ;-)