A captivating, family-run visitor home in York has been topped the perfect mattress and breakfast in England after taking house Gold on the prestigious 2026 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.
MonkBridge Home, a chic eight-bedroom Victorian property run by husband-and-wife crew Paul and Fiona Hemsley, beat visitor homes from throughout the nation to be named England’s B&B and Visitor Home of the 12 months within the nationwide finals.
Silver in the identical class went to One Drake Street and Flats in Tavistock, Devon, whereas Holly Lodge Boutique Mattress and Breakfast in Norfolk claimed bronze.
The coveted award is the most recent accolade for the couple, who beforehand gained North Yorkshire Visitor Home of the 12 months in each 2024 and 2025, additional cementing the B&B’s status as one of many most interesting within the nation.
Simply an eight-minute stroll from York’s historic Metropolis Partitions, the five-star property dates again to 1864 and remains to be full of Victorian character at present, all whereas providing the consolation and luxurious of an upscale boutique resort.
York Minster is only a 10-minute stroll away, whereas The Shambles, the well-known medieval avenue visited by 1000’s annually, is situated quarter-hour away, making the B&B a perfect base for exploring certainly one of England’s most historic cities.
MonkBridge Home, an eight-bedroom Victorian property run by husband-and-wife crew Paul and Fiona Hemsley, not too long ago took house Gold on the prestigious 2026 VisitEngland Awards for Excellence
Simply an eight-minute stroll from York’s historic Metropolis Partitions, the five-star property dates again to 1864 and remains to be full of Victorian characte
The home options eight individually designed en suite bedrooms which might be every named after a former resident of the constructing.
The Rymer Room is known as after a former occupant, who served as Lord Mayor of York between 1883 and 1891, whereas different rooms honour the likes of Sykes, clerk to the Guardians of the York Workhouse, and Powell, who served as superintendent of St Mary’s Dwelling for Ladies.
Every room is provided with underfloor heating within the en suite, a tv, USB sockets, a minibar fridge and complimentary tea, espresso and snacks.
The standout Rymer Room additionally boasts an vintage French oak four-poster mattress, a spacious walk-in bathe, and views throughout the picturesque River Foss.
However certainly one of MonkBridge Home’s greatest attracts is its breakfast, which has beforehand been voted the perfect in York, stories Time Out.
Company can select from a conventional Yorkshire breakfast full with fried bread, home made bagels topped with smoked salmon, Craster kippers, avocado on sourdough toast, marmalade, and a rotating number of day by day specials.
The visitor home has earned lots of of glowing on-line critiques through the years, amassing a formidable score of 4.9 stars on TripAdvisor.
One one who’d stayed at MonkBridge Home final month wrote: ‘Excellent. It’s an ideal location for visiting York. The B&B is gorgeous and spotlessly clear. Facilities – they’ve considered every thing, nice consideration to element. The breakfast is wonderful – don’t miss it.’
One other mentioned: ‘This has been our third keep right here over the past 12 months and it has been distinctive and wouldn’t keep wherever else.
Every individually designed en suite bed room is known as after a former resident of the constructing
Rooms characteristic underfloor heating in en suites, a tv, and a minibar fridge stocked with tea, espresso and snacks
‘The room is spotless, has every thing you want, Paul and Fiona have considered each small element to make your keep so comfy. We stayed within the Thompson room which overlooks the backyard it’s a really quiet room.’
In June, one other reviewer described their keep at MonkBridge Home as a ‘higher expertise than most five-star motels’.
In the meantime, on Google, reviewer Mike Curtis described the breakfast as ‘high notch’, whereas Michael Gregson mentioned it was ‘one of many highlights of our keep’. One other visitor advisable guests ensure that they struggle the home made marmalade.
Away from the bedrooms, visitors can loosen up within the communal lounge or benefit from the property’s backyard, whereas a completely licensed honesty bar and wine fridge provide someplace to loosen up after a day exploring.
For guests seeking to guide England’s greatest B&B, it is value noting its costs mirror its five-star standing.
A two-night keep for 2 adults in one of many normal twin rooms begins from round £307 throughout quieter intervals, whereas upgraded king rooms value roughly £366.
The luxurious four-poster Rymer Room, alternatively, is obtainable from round £376 for a two-night keep, in line with Metro.
With solely eight bedrooms and a brand new nationwide title to its identify, the award may improve demand – rooms are sometimes booked months prematurely.
The visitor home has earned a formidable score of 4.9 stars on TripAdvisor, with many critiques left by returning visitors
A two-night keep for 2 adults in one of many normal twin rooms begins from round £307 throughout quieter intervals, whereas upgraded king rooms value roughly £366
In the meantime, the proprietor of what was named England’s greatest B&B in 2025, the place rooms are £65-a-night, reveals how he will get by means of 19-hour work days in the summertime – and what vacationers did not thoughts 20 years in the past however will not settle for now.
Owned by husband-and-wife crew Anthony, 39, and Larissa Duffey, 37, Sunnyside Mattress and Breakfast scooped two accolades in VisitEngland’s 2025 tourism awards, together with Finest B&B in England, and a second commendation for Moral, Accountable and Sustainable Tourism.
During the last 18 years, Sunnyside proprietor Anthony says he is discovered precisely what does and does not work.
The daddy of 1 reveals simply how a lot his enterprise has modified since he first opened it along with his mom almost twenty years in the past, when he was simply 20 years outdated.
‘We have truly obtained much less rooms than once we first opened,’ Anthony tells the Each day Mail. ‘We have discovered that what visitors anticipate from their keep has fully modified over the past 18 years. It is unbelievable.’
The skilled B&B host, who now runs the institution with simply his spouse, shares how two of the rooms initially had no lavatory and have since been eliminated to make the opposite bedrooms bigger and so they all now have en suites. The guesthouse now boasts ten bedrooms.
Anthony and Larissa take note of the finer particulars, from making certain they’ve domestically sourced breakfast substances to the small ‘private touches’ within the bedrooms.
The pair make their very own honey and jams, utilizing fruit from a close-by farm, and even the partitions are adorned with work from native artists. Anthony emphasises that ‘it isn’t simply concerning the type of room and type of fixtures and fittings within the room’, however the ‘complete expertise of their keep’.
