£3m transformation completed of York city centre hotel

Contractors have checked out of a York city centre hotel for the final time after finishing a major £3m refurbishment.

The work to the BEST WESTERN Monkbar Hotel, which began in May 2014, has seen the construction of a new extension housing 27 bedrooms and a state-of-the-art ground-floor function suite.

All the public areas, including reception, residents’ lounge and meeting rooms have been upgraded, as have all the guest bedrooms.

One of the main features of the new look Monkbar Hotel is the creation of The Yorkshire bar and grill, a brand-new dining concept open to residents and non –residents.

The investment has also resulted in the creation of 20 new full and part time jobs.

Graham Usher, Monkbar Hotel general manager, said: “We are delighted the work is now finally finished, and our transformation is complete.

“The Monkbar was opened 25 years ago and those familiar with ‘old’ hotel will be in for a huge surprise when they next visit us. In fact, they won’t recognize it!

“We are incredibly proud of the ‘new’ Monkbar, which is a hotel the whole of York can be proud of.

“The new Yorkshire bar and grill is already proving to be a popular haunt with non-residents, who are keen to soak up the atmosphere and sample the new dishes created by head chef, Ben Allnutt.”

Mr Usher, who is chair of the York Hoteliers Association, added: “I would like to thank all our guests for bearing with us over the last 17 months. Now the work is complete, we look forward to welcoming them back to the new Monkbar Hotel.”

The new design of the hotel was created by interior designer Janine Powel, of Hampton Design.

The Monkbar Hotel was purchased in 2007 by Shiva Hotels.

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