Cigar Weekly

ON FIRST appearances Hotel du Vin York - which prides itself on its luxury atmosphere - is somewhat oddly placed.

Located on the busy road into York, The Mount, the grade II-listed building sits opposite a garage.

But, as is often the case, first impressions can be deceptive.

It is actually an ideal location at a 10-minute walk from the centre of York and easily accessible by car.

Once you've driven through the front gates, parked up and started to make your way to reception you'll soon forget about the outside world.

Your attention is immediately drawn to the "cigar shack", nestled behind the hotel to ensure the smoke free legislation doesn't spoil the fun of cigar aficionados.

The 19th century building has been restored to bring out its finest features, with contemporary touches.

This is style free from pretension though, the staff are delightfully friendly and the place has a very homely feel to it.

In a nod to the wine theme, all the rooms are named after wine producers.

The Penfolds room, where we stayed, offered a high degree of comfort and the bathroom felt extremely luxurious with a monsoon shower and roll top bath.

Not surprisingly, the wine and drinks menu is what sets the hotel bar and bistro apart from other venues.

There was also a wide range of world beers, and an extensive list of single malt whiskies, rums, and cigars.

After eating we retreated to the sumptuous snug where Mrs Bartlett enjoyed an aged rum, while I drank The Macallan single malt.

In all the hotel is a great place to relax and explore York from - look out for the great second hand record shop on the walk into the city centre.