The Dalesway Hotel, Ilkley

The carvery on a Sunday used to be excellent. It’s still good, although the price has risen to £9.50. But what put us off is the surly attitude of the bar staff, who used to be so friendly. There were only 2 beers on tap, instead of the usual 4. The Saltaire blonde tasted flat and the Timothy Tailors wasn’t much better. One of us wanted a Fosters. It was off. So he ordered a Guinness. He couldn’t drink it, it was that bad. We mentioned this to the barman, no apology, he seemed like he couldn’t care less. Then we came to pay. I payed £37.50 with a card. As we were walking out my friend said that seems a lot. So I asked how much was the carvery. He said £9.50. So why was the bill not £28.50. He said we hadn’t paid for our drinks. We definitely had, my friend remembered clearly paying. So he backed off the bill, but not the slightest apology. Then he turned to me and said we had a heavy night last night. Should that be our problem? That barman should find himself another job, because he pisses off the customers. We shan’t go back.

The large corner roomed bar which was comfortable and homely. The bar has a good panoramic view of Ilkley's main thoroughfare. Four handpumps, so we went for the Saltaire Blonde.

The Dalesway Hotel is a large corner pub situated on the corner of a very busy crossroads. Once inside there is aa large single L shaped room with the bar facing,the left side of the room is bare boarded,the right side is carpeted,there are small raised areas to the front and rear left,the seating is normal tables and chairs,background music was playing. There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Kirkstall Pale Ale which went down well,the other beers were Saltaire Blonde and Taylor Landlord. I thought the place had a proper pub feel to it. Pub visited 7/11/2015

Definitely an hotel bar and a little staid with in, the atmosphere, and service reflected traditional hotel values and the beer quality was fairly poor. Like the nearby Albert the place is an odd mix of old and new, it's an open plan room with a raised area at one end, the furnishings are traditional tables and chairs as the place is food oriented, but interspersed with leather sofas. There is also a bandit and musak gently plays although the carpet and wallpaper are a bit loud. The menus are on two big screens disguised with picture frames and the appeal seems limited to the over fifties. Three handpumps with Taylors Landlord, Black Sheep and an unused spare.