The Blue Bell, Vale of York

We are just back from a 7 night stay at The Bluebell. 44 of us stayed from ages 3 to 70. Firstly communication was great, we spoke to the owner before we arrived and they were happy to answer any questions, we also spoke with the housekeeper for some other questions. I completely messed up and ordered my shopping to arrive on the morning we were arriving instead of the following day, i realised at 8am and we are a 3 hour drive away. Natalia housekeeper was fantastic, luckily no one else was staying in the house and the maintenance guy agreed to take in our 300 worth of shopping and put away our fridge and freezer items. I am immensely grateful as I had no idea what we would do! We all had a fantastic time, the Bluebell has ample space for everyone and great communal spaces. All bedrooms in the house were nicely decorated and all have ensuites. Rooms 5 and 16 can be set up with a small extra bed. Room 8 has a couple of steps up to en suite and room 13 14 on the floorplan has a couple of steps down to the ensuite. Rooms 14 outside were nicely decorated, room 4 had no hot water however they only stayed for the weekend and didnt let me know until they were leaving so we didnt get chance to let the hosts know or give them a chance to fix this i did let them before we left. The managers flat and two duplexs were functionally but would benefit from some new flooring. The managers flat has its own little kitchenette, it is basic but was great for one of our guests who has dietary requirements and wanted to keep her food separate. One of the duplexs would benefit from a side table downstairs to put things on. The bunkbed room was better than expected, it has its own ensuite and the best shower in the whole house, ensuite is up a couple of stairs. Only problem with bunkbed room is there is no where to sit or store items. It would really benefit from this and again some new flooring. I was abit concerned about how clean the property would be after reading reviews but we didnt really have a problem, its a large property with mainly stone, tile or lino flooring, this will always create dust etc. The property would benefit from some new cleaning equipment though, a couple of new vacuums and mops would really help with guests being able to clean up whilst there. Also a broom! We didnt find one throughout our whole stay. Wifi was good throughout. There was an iron and ironing board. Plenty of serving bowls, plates, cutlery etc. Impressed with amount of fridge and freezer space in kitchen. The conservatory was great for the kids, but it was so hot, would of been great to be able to turn the underfloor heating off for abit. All in all we had a briliant time, yes the property could do with a bit of TLC in places but actually we felt so relaxed that it wasnt all brand new and like a show home. We would definitely return and hope to soon!

The Blue Bell is a fantastic place to stay for a large family or group. My family all 40 of us had the most fantastic weekend. The facilities made our stay one of the best we've had. We ranged from 5 years old to myself 70 it was my 70th we went for. The weekend was organised perfectly by my daughters and The Blue Bell contributed to this in a big way. The only downside was I think the floors could have been a little cleaner and the soft furnishing needed an update. This is all understandable considering the amount of people that visit on weekly basis. Thank you for a lovely weekend Christine xxx

We hired the Blue Bell for 38 all female family and friends for a surprise weekend for my daughters 40th birthday. It was absolutely perfect! We decorated the large function room and hired a DJ and Supreme Photo Booths both excellent. There is a brilliant bar area where all our guests stored the drinks theyd bought with them. The kitchen facilities were great with loads of fridge and freezer storage space and 2 double ovens where we prepared and served a cooked breakfast on Saturday morning and chicken and chips in the afternoon after enjoying a televised dog racing game in the afternoon in the snug area next to the dining area. On Friday evening we ordered fish and chips from Nafferton Fisheries in Driffield they gave us a fabulous service great communication before the event and delivering their hot and tasty food on time. For our party on Saturday evening wed ordered a load of platters from Morrisons which is only a short drive away. The Blue Bell is in a lovely small village and many of the ladies enjoyed a long walk on Saturday morning including the grounds of Burton Agnes Hall. Communication with the owners and housekeeper prior to arrival and during our stay was excellent they couldnt have been more helpful. Several guests enjoyed using the hot tub in the lovely grounds at the rear of the property. There were no complaints from any guests who all said they had had a fabulous weekend. The property was warm and comfortable and had everything we needed for a marvelous celebratory time. It was excellent value for money and our guests said they could not believe how we had managed to put the weekend on for the price that they had paid. I would have no hesitation in recommending this venue. Do not expect luxury but if you want a large, clean, comfortable and functional large space to hold your event and sleep your guests at the right price this is for you.

Im writing to express my deep disappointment and frustration with my recent stay at The Bluebell for my 60th birthday celebration. I had carefully selected your venue as it seemed perfect for hosting my 33 guests. From the moment I booked, everything appeared to be wellorganized, and I even paid extra for the privilege of an early arrival and late checkout. Unfortunately, my experience was far from what I expected, and it caused significant stress during an event that should have been a joyous occasion. Upon arrival, we found the property cold, with no way to turn on the heaters. Despite making numerous calls and sending several texts, it took far too long to resolve this basic issue. Additionally, the entire place was in desperate need of a deep clean. We were shocked to find that cleaning supplies were unavailable, forcing us to go out and purchase our own mops and products to clean the property ourselves. Some of the rooms were in unacceptable condition Toilets had been used and not flushed. Floors were dirty, and cobwebs were all over the walls. The outside bin area was littered with black bags, which I refused to clean up. Several rooms had stained bedding, including one with a blood stain that we had to change ourselves. Worse, from rooms 1 to 4, none of the electrical sockets worked, and despite numerous attempts to contact you, this was never resolved. Room 12 had stained bedding with some sort of black ink. Its unbelievable that your housekeeper admitted to knowing about the stained sheets but put them on the beds regardless. The condition of the property was unacceptable and created a significant amount of stress. I did not receive the value I expected for the money I spent. My guests, while understanding, were understandably disturbed by the poor conditions, and this situation nearly ruined an event I had spent a year planning. Your housekeeper excused her inaction by saying she was on holiday, and your lack of response was equally frustrating. We have videos and photos documenting all the issues mentioned, and I am appalled that such basic standards of cleanliness and hospitality were not met.

We enjoyed our stay lots of things to do in the area within a drive away. We had 23 adults and 6 children under 10 so the space outside to run around in was great. Having paid over 11k for a week, I would expect more towels in rooms, kitchen spray to clean up and soap in communal areas. Facilities to keep the place clean were limited and we had to buy additional tea towels and oven gloves. Could do with a bit of TLC but everyone was generally happy.

Our The Blue Bell review: Great place. Definitely looking forward to coming again!

Hi, the property was lovely. Just a few points as mentioned below The weather was hot and the AC in the conservatory wasn't working, and the conservatory windows wouldn't open the buttons provided did nothing. This was the only indoor space where we could all gather for some late night music and dance, and so was an inconvenience. There were a lot of flies in the kitchen from the very first day and throughout. The floor plans showed the bunk room was connected to the adjacent double room, but it wasn't. This meant the younger kids who were meant to be in there had to be moved, resulting in some last minute rearrangement of the room allocation. Apart from the above, we were all quite happy with the house. Thanks, Shyama

One dishwasher leaked so wasn't usable so we had to do a lot of hand washing A few of the en suite toilets didn't flush properly pool table cloth was ripped in patches so couldn't use it as we had wished The property could do with a deep clean, and a bit of a makeover looked very dated! Would have been nice and relatively inexpensive for the owner to have handwash soap and hand towels in the en suites

Overall we had a great holiday. The property had the facilities to keep 26 people ranging in age from 76 to under 1 well entertained despite a week of mixed weather. The kitchen was generously equipped and the beds were comfortable. The bar was a great place to congregate for predinner drinks. A real upside was that, unlike many houses we have visited, the layout here ensured that those playing pool, shuffle board and music until 3am did not disturb those who had retired to bed. In Olympic year the outside space was ideal for our own version of the Olympic Games and in the evening a few well placed accessories transformed the central atrium into a great space for a Greek themed banquet. The only downside was the night of a cloudburst when the atrium roof leaked in places and the ground outside flooded and we had to deal with a certain amount of water ingress under doors. Apart from some soggy towels, by morning you would never have known.

The property was amazing, just what you want for a stag do. Everyone had a great time and would definitely go back again