My wonderful husband treated me to an overnight stay at the Devonshire Arms in Bolton Abbey, to celebrate my birthday - and what better gift could there be?
The hotel is in the most beautiful setting, and as soon as you arrive in the carpark you know you're somewhere special, as you're met by lovely staff with umbrellas (this is Yorkshire in the winter after all!) and offering to carry your bags in.
The reception has a permanent open fire going and you very quickly feel utterly relaxed. The furnishings are lovely - on the traditional side, but totally in keeping with the hotel, and it isn't all perfect - so you don't feel like you can't sit on any of the furniture for fear of messing up the cushions - this is far more comfortably relaxed. What adds to it is that the hotel is very dog friendly, they even have a lounge called the dog lounge with its own open fire and paintings of various doggies around the room.
Our room wasn't particularly big, but it was very well furnished, was impeccably clean (including the modern bathroom!) and had all the facilities we could wish for...and a view to die for.
It's very easy to while away your day in front of the fire with the weekend papers but it's even better to borrow a pair of their wellies and head out for an invigorating walk in the grounds and along the river to Bolton Priory.
We ate in their main restuarant in the evening (a michelin star restaurant) and raised an eyebrow when the food arrived - I think 'nouvelle cuisine' would describe the portion sizes - however, everything was delicious and we were surprised that by the end of the meal we were actually very full!
The staff were all lovely, I was surprised there weren't more local staff working there, but generally the service was nothing less than great.
We had Sunday lunch in the brasserie - a brightly decorated area with more modern furnishings. It was very busy and the food, again, was lovely.
I would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Went to Devonshire Arms as a surprise for my mums 90th.

Lovely set up- the rooms are all individually decorated, so worth asking them to describe the bedrooms when you make a booking. There is the old house and the wharfedale wing.

Really nice lounge area, great for relaxing in and the Burlington restaurant was lovely for our special dinner. It was nice because the set a very nice table for all of us in the conservatory. The staff had no pretentions- very friendly and down to earth.

Talking of the food- it was out of this world, very special! Memories of our complete family getting together will stay with me forever- it was marvellous. We also had treatments in the spa, fantastic! make sure you book though- my husband and I thought we would book on the day- there weren't any and we were VERY disappointed!

Worth visiting for a very special occasion!!!

I have just returned from a mid week break with my husband at The Devonshire Arms and thoroughly enjoyed it. From the moment we arrived the hotel felt very christmassy, a big log fire and beautiful tree greeted us, most welcome after a wet, cold walk around Bolton Abbey. Our room was nicely decorated and overlooked yet another christmas tree complete with lights outside. There is a nice spa area and the jacuzzi relieved some aches and pains.
We ate in the brasserie, which is really bright and modern, a complete surprise, it is easy to forget you are in the middle of the country. I had the fish and chips, which were fantastic and a hearty portion, great after our long walk. House wine was really good quality (makes a change) service was attentive and I thought that the meal was great value.
All the staff we encountered were very friendly and chatty, it felt very relaxed. Unfortunately we were only there for one night but will definitely return to eat in the main restaurant.

We attended a wedding reception here, we had high expectations as the hotel has a great reputation. I work in the service industry and spend a lot of my time staying in 5 start hotels around the world so know very well what to expect from such an establishment. My son wanted another orange juice and we were curtly told that we had to go to the bar and pay an extortianate price for one even though the man we asked had a whole jug of it. I do understand that the catering is budgeted but when a 3 year old asks for a bit more this is the time to bend the rules!!! Also one of the hors d'ovres was foie gras, living in France we know what it should taste like this was definaltely not quality. Like other comments we have read the staff are very snooty and treated wedding reception guests like they were 2nd class guests. We were so pleased we chose to stay at a fantastic b&b called Andras farm in Appetreewick which was simply great.