Lifestyle | Foodie | Family | Bryony on Instagram: "​Stepping through the doors of Safestay York Micklegate is like walking straight into a time machine that took a playful detour through a modern art gallery. ​Housed inside Micklegate House - the grandest, largest Georgian townhouse on the street - this magnificent building is a Grade I listed masterpiece completed around 1752. It was originally commissioned as a luxurious winter "town house" for John Bourchier, the High Sheriff of Yorkshire, so his family could enjoy York’s social season away from their country estate at Beningbrough Hall. In a fascinating twist of local lore, it's believed to have been designed by John Carr of York, the famed architect who started as a stone-cutter and went on to design some of the finest buildings in Northern England. ​Over the centuries, the building has lived many extraordinary lives. It hosted lavish aristocratic balls in the 1800s, served as the bustling headquarters for Raimes & Co. wholesale druggists in the 1900s (when the grand staircases were literally stacked high with sacks of raw senna pods!), and even housed the University of York’s mathematics and archaeology departments. ​Today, its unique magic lies in how seamlessly it marries this deep 18th-century heritage with bold, contemporary design. Grand plasterwork ceilings, soaring staircases, and the original ornate gold-framed mirrors share space with vibrant pink walls, striking striped carpets and classical oil portraits given a cheeky neon twist. You can map out your day at a hand-drawn chalkboard featuring local icons like The Shambles, York Minster or wind down through the atmospheric, brick-vaulted cellars that once hid the mansion's secondary kitchens and bread ovens. ​Because it operates as a modern boutique hostel, the facilities are geared toward straightforward convenience. There isn’t a guest kitchen for self-catering but they have a microwave in the breakfast room if you need to heat something. Otherwise, you can easily buy food there - they have an on-site café and a lively 24-hour bar serving snacks and light meals ​​​It is the ultimate base for a York adventure - right where centuries of history meet a quirky, modern soul and the kids loved it!"

bryonyannie on June 21, 2026: "​Stepping through the doors of Safestay York Micklegate is like walking straight into a time machine that took a playful detour through a modern art gallery. ​Housed inside Micklegate House - the grandest, largest Georgian townhouse on the street - this magnificent building is a Grade I listed masterpiece completed around 1752. It was originally commissioned as a luxurious winter "town house" for John Bourchier, the High Sheriff of Yorkshire, so his family could enjoy York’s social season away from their country estate at Beningbrough Hall. In a fascinating twist of local lore, it's believed to have been designed by John Carr of York, the famed architect who started as a stone-cutter and went on to design some of the finest buildings in Northern England. ​Over the centuries, the building has lived many extraordinary lives. It hosted lavish aristocratic balls in the 1800s, served as the bustling headquarters for Raimes & Co. wholesale druggists in the 1900s (when the grand staircases were literally stacked high with sacks of raw senna pods!), and even housed the University of York’s mathematics and archaeology departments. ​Today, its unique magic lies in how seamlessly it marries this deep 18th-century heritage with bold, contemporary design. Grand plasterwork ceilings, soaring staircases, and the original ornate gold-framed mirrors share space with vibrant pink walls, striking striped carpets and classical oil portraits given a cheeky neon twist. You can map out your day at a hand-drawn chalkboard featuring local icons like The Shambles, York Minster or wind down through the atmospheric, brick-vaulted cellars that once hid the mansion's secondary kitchens and bread ovens. ​Because it operates as a modern boutique hostel, the facilities are geared toward straightforward convenience. There isn’t a guest kitchen for self-catering but they have a microwave in the breakfast room if you need to heat something. Otherwise, you can easily buy food there - they have an on-site café and a lively 24-hour bar serving snacks and light meals ​​​It is the ultimate base for a York adventure - right where centuries of history meet a quirky, modern soul and the kids loved it!".