West Park Hotel, Harrogate

A rather swanky and much modernised hotel, facing the eponymous park, which extends back much further than the frontage suggests. Expensive decor and uniformed staff are the order of the day, but it is still fairly friendly. Primarily a restaurant but there are a few stools by the posh little bar, and Theakstons Best and Old Peculier on hand pump. I have been to much worse.

Typical hotel bar which was dominated by very loud women who I assume must have been on their Xmas do. Nothing special.

After a major and long lasting refurb it is now completely changed from its previous incarnation becoming a very swish modern bar-restaurant-hotel. One large space is subdivided by windows and pierced wooden screens. Flooring is laminate and the ceiling an interesting essay of black blocks and metallised silver tiles. Leather booth plus leather arm-stools complement more standard chairs and tables in modern furnishings. The tables are of course candle powered. Automatic front doors are nice touch for the elderly or drunk, as is the projection of the name onto the pavement outside. The counter is relocated to a side wall and the three pulls dispense extraordinarily bland Black Sheep and Theakstons Best - the drinks menu lists only Black Sheep Bitter and Golden Sheep along with wines, spirits, cocktails and bottled beers. The keg choice includes Brooklyn. Naturally the decor is in trendy grey but skilfully applied, everything here, with the exception of the beer, exudes an air of high quality. The many staff wear long grey aprons except the Maitre D'. Not one for the dedicated beer drinker perhaps but a high quality venue none the less.

Provenance Inns are delighted to announce the purchase of The West Park Hotel. Since launching in July 2010, our vision remains to become a collection of admired North Yorkshire Inns. The collection currently includes The Punch Bowl at Marton cum Grafton; the award-winning Durham Ox at Crayke; The Oak Tree at Helperby and UK Freehouse of the Year, The Carpenters Arms at Felixkirk. The two Yorkshiremen behind this collection are Michael Ibbotson, Publican of the Year 2011/12 and Chris Blundell. As the name suggests, the focus of our business is on the provenance of not just the food and drink we serve, but also the provenance of our buildings, architecture, local communities, local trades, produce and recipes, for each of our individual inns. A Provenance Inn provides good food, friendly service and accommodation - with individually designed bedrooms. Our pubs bring together the essential, and often forgotten, principles of the great British inn. We are delighted to have the opportunity to bring our philosophy to Harrogate and specifically to West Park. Please go to www.westparkhotel.co.uk for more information on Provenance Inns, joining our mailing list and following us on Facebook.

Quite elegantly ceilinged and furnished, this is a bar cum restaurant in a small hotel with nice views across the Stray. Red and cream colour scheme with a bit of tongue and groove and a few pictures. The Baroque looking bar with cerubs is home to six handpumps, although none were in operation one did have a reversed Black Sheep Bitter clip on it. It has occasional live music and is owned by the same people as the nearby Blues Bar and the World's End in Knaresborough.