The Owl Hawnby Nr Helmsley, North Yorkshire

Found this lovely old character Inn ideally placed for walks & booked a Superior Double Room, which generally means a bigger than standard double. Nowhere did it state that the room was a converted outbuilding over the road & not in the main Inn. The room was tiny & dark ( due to just one very small window) no character at all, one of you had to sit on the bed whilst the other was getting ready as no room to move ( see photos). I was having a pleasant conversation with the owner (the wife) expressing my dissatisfaction in a very polite manner, when her husband sprung up out of his Chair & told my very abruptly that he didn’t want me there if I was disappointed & I should pack my bags & leave, he followed it up by saying he wouldn’t be able to please me so I should leave, he was very rude & intimidating he then lectured me that just because I was disappointed with the room didn’t make me right, he said he had supplied all the basics including the double bed. In addition the room lacked finesse, there were no shelves in the en-suite or shower to put toiletries on, no spare toilet roll, the tea & coffee wasn’t topped up, the carpet was grubby, the woodwork needed painting & the leaking radiator was reported on our arrival & still leaking when we left 2 days later. No welcome information, pub not open for lunch. Breakfast had no continental option and the cooked breakfast was luke warm. We had the fillet steak in the evening, one was completely overcooked & both were tasteless ( probably due to the Chef also having to wait tables, serve at the bar as well as cook). To top it all when we checked out they added 2 bottles of wine to our bill (£51)that we hadn’t had.

Just back from the Owl for a birthday weekend break away. The Owl was fantastic, the setting in the countyside of North Yorkshire was stunning. if you just want to a place to relax in, then this is it. The Owl has just been refurbished, and it is stunning, the rooms are of a high standard with very contforatable beds. The staff are very friendy and helpful. the quality of the food was excellent. We will return back for sure.

Stayed here for a 3 night break, using as a base for trips out. Staff were really great. Room was small and we were advised about the noisy fan - so didn't really impact our stay. Had a really nice Sunday lunch there. It's a bit out of the way - but a lovely peaceful place that helped us really chill out.

Very friendly welcome when we arrived on one of the hottest days so far. Lovely views, lots of outside tables and really good bar and restaurant areas. Food was excellent we had the sharing charcuterie platter and then I had mushroom pasta which was delicious.

Place was locked up on 4th day of stay and everyone told to leave! Due to staff shortages! Lovely place but poorly managed, such a disappointment 😞 and not a cheap option either, memorable for the wrong reasons sadly

We went for the Easter weekend, originally planned to stay one night but ended up staying two we enjoyed it that much. The owners Jane and Chris where extremely friend and nothing was any trouble if we needed sometime. The food was absolutely beautiful too! Couldn't have picked a better place to stay!

The owner has been declared bankrupt and is in the process of being struck off. We booked on a late deal the night before arrival and didn’t find out the place was closed until arrival. There is a post from the liquidator on the back door to the kitchen. I hope that it can be bought out as we would really like to stay there. There’s a number to call on the front door for a chap who lives across the way. Thankfully we were able to get a full refund.

We tried to book the restaurant over a week ahead for a family of 11, for a 70th celebration. My daughter rang for three days and left messages on the answerphone. I sent them an email. The booking system they used wouldn't let you book for a large party of us so we desperately needed to speak to, hear from or get a message from this place. There was no indication that the place was closed or on holiday through an answerphone message. The customer service, busy or not, was appalling. In the end, even though we were going to be staying just up the road from The Owl, we ended up driving to the Carpenter's Arms in Felixkirk, where the customer service was second to none and the food was excellent. The Owl lost out.