Clementine's Town House

You have to do something special to stand out from the boutique crowd in York, so hats off to Clementine’s. This redbrick villa lies a ten-minute walk from the city walls in a rather chi-chi neighbourhood, and while they say ‘combines Parisian chic with Yorkshire heritage’, we say wow!

Twenty-eight rooms and suites, and all the public spaces, have been given a serious design going-over. It’s gloriously romantic, from brass beds (some four-poster) and vintage furniture to eye-popping wallpaper and fabrics. Bathrooms are beautiful, and absolutely everything else is on point, so substance – things like comfortable beds, powerful showers and armchairs you can happily doze in – is never sacrificed for style. Biggest surprise? Probably the After Eight Suite, furnished in an over-the-top ski-chalet style, with a glass fronted view over a private walled garden.

There’s a fine breakfast (have it in your room if you like, you decadent Yorkshire-Parisian, you), and a well-stocked bar. Afternoon tea, too, in rather opulent surroundings. And you’re just a short walk away through a leafy neighbourhood from the bustle of central York, with the Minster around fifteen minutes away.