Name: Impossible Motel
Address: 3 St Helens Square, York, GB

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jul 2026

Christopher

Clean quirky property lovely room. The only one negative thing I would say is a proper light in the room would have been useful as we could not seem to find one. But this by no means spoilt our stay.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 Jul 2026

Karen

Our room (mail room) in the basement was extremely poorly lit, made finding anything difficult. No toilet door was a pain.
Bed good, AC welcome, linked bars good for drinks and football

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Jul 2026

Nicolas

Le personnel est exceptionnel. Superbe hôtel

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2026

Jacqueline

Unique rooms, great amenities and super comfortable bed! Would have liked some brighter lights in the room for make up etc but other than that stay was excellent!

Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jul 2026

Davin

Great and unique place. Will definitely return.

6/10

Pleasant

25 Jun 2026

Phillips

Ok

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2026

Ali

Super central location and really friendly and helpful staff

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jun 2026

Glenn

We were passing through York after staying in Edinburgh and found the Impossible Motel.

We only stayed for 1 night but the room was great with a really comfy bed and soft bedding.

Great location and close to the shambles Q park for ease of parking which was really secure and easy to find.

Staff welcoming, warm and friendly and a great ambience.

We look forward to staying again when we're in York.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

06 Jun 2026

Mohantha

This is a nice hotel, but not what we were expecting.
The room was in the vault. It was atmospheric. But dark. The toilet is next to the head of the bed. And no door…..
Even with the lights on it’s not bright.
Only one key card per room. Which makes it difficult to go out and get stuff as the lights go off….

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 May 2026

Natalia

A very beautiful atmospheric hotel. I recommend

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 May 2026

Alex

Great licetions, staff were great.
Room was pretty dusty, and found a few plastic rose petals. Concered about hoq well they clea.

10/10

Exceptional

29 Apr 2026

Lorraine

We absolutely loved it. We stayed in a dungeon room and found it quirky, unique and that was just what we wanted

Partner

8/10

Excellent

16 Apr 2026

Margaret

Hotel very quirky. I had a basement room which was very dark and a little noisy. Room was impeccable in terms of cleanliness and staff simply couldn't have been more helpful. Great proximity to sights and good value for money

Self

6/10

Pleasant

04 Apr 2026

Alexandra

The staff were great and they put balloons in our room for my wife's birthday which was a lovely touch. The room wasn't very impressive for the price I paid, it needed a lot of touch ups and wasn't very clean. The bathroom is also tiny. I would have expected a lot more for the price.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Mar 2026

Robert

Right in the centre of York, plenty of shops etc nearby.

8/10

Excellent

19 Mar 2026

Dr. Deepthi Roop

Lots of shops and restaurants near by , definitely clean rooms

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Mar 2026

Charlotte

A great central location and quiet, very quirky rooms! We stayed in the red room and the large bath was amazing, appreciated the later checkout of 11 as standard. Overall great value for money and would stay again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Feb 2026

caroline

Gorgeous room

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

15 Feb 2026

Michael

Lovely room,very helpful staff, great communication before we arrived .will definitely return

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Feb 2026

Harry

Great hotel very modern and unique

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jan 2026

Tommy

Nice room. Quirky

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jan 2026

CARLA

Rooms were insane, not Thor the faint hearted mind as very dark but really funky it your looking for something different. Perfect t location, Pink venue was stunning too. Would love to come back and check out the hot tub room next

Partner

4/10

Poor

02 Jan 2026

Ben

The Toilet has no door! It’s pitch black and there’s brick dust everywhere.

6/10

Pleasant

30 Dec 2025

Marcus

Lots of noise from above. Barrels being dropped and moved. Didn’t get a good sleep

Business

2/10

Poor

19 Dec 2025

Joanne

We were extremely disappointed with our stay and ultimately had to leave shortly after checking in.

On entering the room, there was an immediate and overwhelming foul smell, particularly from the bathroom. We reported this promptly and were told there were no alternative rooms available but that someone would look into the issue while we went to dinner. We waited, but the smell worsened to the point that the room felt unhygienic and unusable — I did not even feel comfortable using the toilet.

A member of staff attended and immediately acknowledged the severity of the issue, dismantling the shower drain and attempting a repair involving chemicals and an elastic band. This made the smell even stronger. At that point, we made it clear we could not stay and left the property. We were in the room for approximately an hour only because we were waiting for the promised fix, not because the room was usable.

The staff member involved was excellent and should never have been put in that position; however, this appeared to be a long-standing maintenance issue rather than an isolated incident, something that is also reflected in previous guest reviews.

For a hotel marketed as “luxury,” and a room described as “Sublime,” the standard was wholly unacceptable. The air conditioning also failed to provide the advertised heating options.

Sadly, this was not the experience we expected or paid for, and we would not stay again.

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

14 Dec 2025

Mike

The room was smelly.. Dirty and dark

I got the

8/10

Excellent

12 Dec 2025

Suzanne

Great Location situated in center opposite Bettys tea rooms
Had to change rooms due to broken toilet seat but staff were helpful and resolved issue
No breakfast included but this was a plus as there are so many great places to eat breakfast / brunch only a few minutes walk away

Partner

8/10

Excellent

09 Dec 2025

Joanne

Gorgeous quirky hotel just a bit of a maze to navigate. Also we were in basement and a lot of noise above. Chairs scraping on floors etc other than that staff cleanliness location etc all perfect.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

06 Dec 2025

MOIRA

Staff were very helpful especially carrying our bags to and from our room. The room was very clean and the bed was soft and extremely comfortable. The room was in the basement and there are steps but they are broken up not continuous so weren’t too problematic for some one with slight mobility issues. The music and noise from the bar ended at 11pm and we didn’t experience any noise from outside or other guests.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 Dec 2025

Dorne

I was expecting great things from the room and sadly it did not deliver.
The plastic plant is in need of a good clean
The battery operated candles need replacement batteries and again a good clean
The room was tired
The shower leaked

Friends_and_family Family

6/10

Pleasant

03 Dec 2025

darren

The room was in the basement and was very dark, quite quirky but poor lighting and ventilation.
The whole hotel is dark inside which leaves you craving daylight and fresh air

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2025

David

Absolute amazing stay . ❤️ loved the rooms we stayed 1 night in the vault ( didnt see the ghost !! ) thankgod! And stayed in the top room with roof top tub 2nd night , the pictures dont show how big the room really is its huge ! Loved all of it do much and the tub is 40c great . Location perfect opposite bettys tearooms 10min walk away from train station would love to book again sad we had to leave , all staff so friendly and happy 😊 and the secret doors are a treat, into the bar and basement 😀

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

16 Nov 2025

Jessica

The hotel itself was different, receptionists were both extremely friendly and helpful. The room on appearance is lovely however after spending a few hours in the room, even with the lights on it was very dull, the club above was extremely noisy (even with headphones in) and the constant footsteps on the ceiling stopping us sleeping. whilst the room had aircon it wasn’t very good so the room was stifling all night. The bathroom being behind the bed with no door was very odd too. The shower was good and the slipper provided were helpful as the floor was concrete. The bed was comfy but the duvet was way too thick and between the bad aircon wasn’t used. The lights in the room that wouldn’t turn off were also very distracting and disturbed our sleep. For how much we paid for this room it was not worth it.

Partner

2/10

Poor

15 Nov 2025

Beth

Wired vibe didn’t like not having a window

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

13 Nov 2025

Bev

Staff great, room needed attention

8/10

Excellent

09 Nov 2025

Gillian

The check in staff were fabulous. Friendly and helpful. The room was small but not wholly unexpected. This hotel is great location. The bath was great. The bath candles didn’t have batteries, the shower leaked all over the floor too. The main downside is by far the noise from the bar downstairs which goes on late, so if you are a light sleeper I would avoid it. Overall however, we enjoyed it and the staff made it x

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

04 Nov 2025

Damian

Excellent location. Beautiful decor. We stayed in the

10/10

Exceptional

27 Oct 2025

Fco

The place is on an ideal location. The staff was friendly and very helpful, and the overall design of the hotel and rooms is beautiful!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2025

Emma

Cannot fault the service from the staff who wete so friendly and were very knowledgeable about the event i was going to and the places i mentioned hoping to visit.

10/10

Exceptional

12 Oct 2025

dean

Excellent location and a quirky vibe, will defo use again.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

08 Oct 2025

Christian

Wonderful place

6/10

Pleasant

14 Sep 2025

Philippa

Quirky hotel

Hotel was really nice and clean and the staff were lovely.

The downside for me was the toilet. It was very exposed. I stayed with my husband of 26yrs so I'd say we know each other pretty well. That being said, i still like my visits to the loo slightly more private so to only have a piece of frosted glass to just about cover me if i leaned back, left me feeling over exposed.

The other slight downside is for light sleepers in the basement rooms...they are noisy. You can hear the water through the exposed pipes so every shower, toilet flush and tap in adjacent rooms woke me up. My husband though slept like a log.....the beds are so comfy.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Sep 2025

Becky

Perfect stay!

Amazing stay for my partners birthday - had the option to add surprise balloons and gifts into the room prior arrival- wonderful option! Also upgraded us to the terrace + hot tub room for our second night and it really made the stay special - staff were wonderful, super thoughtful with the smaller touches, and couldn’t do enough for us, would stay here again in a heartbeat!

Partner

4/10

Poor

25 Aug 2025

Lilli

Our room was OK. The staff were helpful. Our room lost power at 10pm and ended up being the fan was tripping out the power. We weren’t able to shower because of this as the fan wouldn’t work and it was underground. The bar upstairs was quite loud. Overall pretty dissapointing because of the issue with the room.

10/10

Exceptional

22 Aug 2025

Karen

Amazing stay at Impossible Motel.

Was amazing. The room was beautiful with the extras and the hot tub topped the weekend off for our 30th wedding anniversary. Going to come every year. Staff was amazing. Highly recommend this hotel it’s an amazing experience. Thank you😍

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Aug 2025

Valeri

Good location, nice staff and great rooms

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

29 Jul 2025

Allan

Unique and intersting decor, loved it.
Some of the bed cannopy needs some attention. You neex to be very friendly with anyone your sharing the room with a bathroom open plan to room and can hear everthing.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jul 2025

Olivia

Great stay

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jun 2025

Tracy

Great stay, beautiful hotel with very welcoming and helpful staff

Self

8/10

Excellent

16 Jun 2025

Bren

Suitable for quirky personalities.

We stayed in the Impossible Motel, the Labyrinth room.

The location is excellent, with shops, bars, restaurants etc available as soon as you exit the front door. The walk to the hotel from where we parked took only 6 minutes.

Two negatives for the room.
1. The room is underground and it smells musty and damp and it’s quite strong. There are already diffusers in the room but they don’t help. Bring your own air fresheners.

2. Even with all the lighting options on, it’s very dim. The missus struggled to get ready while using the mirror. We did locate all the lights and they weren’t enough for certain circumstance.

General info.
This is the room with the bed suspended from the ceiling on chains.
The chain links are welded so the bed doesn’t swing, for those of you who wondered, I did.

When needing light for any useful purpose, the room is quite cosy. The floors are bare paving though and while slippers are provided, I would advise bringing your own.

Most of the ceilings are low, I’m 6ft and had to stoop much of the time.

The bathroom has 2 baths side-by-side so you and your partner can bath next to each other while sharing a drink. We made use of that.

Despite the negatives, it was quirky and while we’d stay again in the hotel, we’d likely try another of the room options, but if the Labyrinth Room was the only one available, we’d take it again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jun 2025

Kate

Beautiful and unusual hotel! We had such fun

8/10

Excellent

24 May 2025

Christian

Interesting and eclectic hotel in an ideal location in the wonderful city of York. Parking was a challenge though, and warnings about street noise were warranted. not recommended for anyone with accessibility challenges.

Leisure

6/10

Pleasant

12 Apr 2025

William F

No lo recomiendo.

El lugar céntrico. No tiene ascensor y son muchas escaleras. Servicio genial, pero la habitación súper pequeñas, ni las maletas se pueden abrir, baño súper pequeños, en realidad no se lo recomiendo a nadie.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Apr 2025

Christopher

I personally loved the motel, unfortunately it was too dark for the wife. The noise from the bar/club was loud, but not bad enough to worry about. Location is amazing. Lots near by
.

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

27 Mar 2025

Simon

Not luxury for thenprice

Small room, stuffy after taking a bath.
The hotel lacks the luxury you’d expect for this price tag.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Mar 2025

Paula

Impossible not to love this hotel

Beautiful, quirky hotel slap bang in the city centre. Couldn’t get a better location. Staff were extremely helpful & polite. Would definitely recommend a stay here.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2025

Michael

Our 3rd time staying, great customer service and a great place!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jan 2025

Frederich

Superb comfort

Superb attention to detail. Excellent location for exploring the city. Beds and pillows were soo comfy. Though our room was small it had everything we needed.
Other reviews mentioned noise from the bar above. We accidentally booked on a Tuesday night in January when that bar is shut and had no issues with noise.

They offered to look after our bags when we checked out which was nice too.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jan 2025

Emma

Quirky & fun

This was a really fun place to stay. Very helpful staff and lovwd the quirkyness of it all.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Dec 2024

Simon

Great Stay

Had a lovely stay. Room was in a `vault'. Unique and I loved it! Would definitely recommend

Self

4/10

Poor

14 Nov 2024

Dave

We stayed for one night in one of the underground rooms. From the pictures the brick walls and vaulted ceilings give the impression of a solid (and presumably quiet) room. Sadly, the walls are so thin you can hear the occupants of neighbouring rooms! You can also hear footsteps and doors banging, and in case that isn't enough to keep you awake there's always the loud buzzing noise that the air conditioning unit makes every 2 minutes! On the plus side the room looked every bit as stylish as it did in the photos. What perhaps isnt clear from the photos is that there is no toilet door. This seems a massive oversight in a room with no windows! All in all our stay was a unique experience that I hope to never repeat.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Nov 2024

Rebecca

Fabulous place!!

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

11 Oct 2024

Lyndsay

Not great value for money

Quirky hotel, fantastic location. However, not value for money! If you need a separate bathroom and toilet, don’t book the vault room. No doors on either and the room was tiny.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

29 Sep 2024

Sam

Fantastic hotel. The staff were great. The room itself was amazing with the most comfy bed I've ever slept in. The hidden door to the cocktail bar is also a nice touch. Unfortunately we didn't try the restaurant, but I can only imagine it will be as nice as everything else.
The only downside the walls are paper thin, so you can hear everything your neighbours are up to and vice versa.
Other than that, a truly enjoyable stay. We certainly will be back in the future.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Sep 2024

Sarah

Amazing staff.
We were able to drop of our bags on arrival and go explore the city. Our room was ready before check in so we were called to let us know.
Love that you get to pick your own whipped soap for your room.
Our room was spacious with a comfy bed.
The complimentary pastries in the morning were a nice touch too

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Sep 2024

Ellie

Unique, luxury, Whimsical, Goth Paradise.

Absolutely stunning. Beautiful location. The hotel is situated in the perfect place. Staff are amazing in the hotel and restaurant.
We will be back to try the other rooms.
Ignore the negative reviews, this is a unique, quirky hotel and if youre a bit of a whimsical goth, you will love this place. Also the restaurant menu and interior is much better than the ivy. The kitchen was closed when we popped in for drinks but would have definitely eaten there rather than the Ivy. Staff really helpful and gave us recommendations (Cut and Craft)of where to eat which was fantastic.
The White Company toiletries were gorgeous and i really loved that on arrival we were given a complimentary bathbomb and got to choose a tub of handmade whipped soap which smelt divine.
Highly recommend a stay here, we are local but enjoy a night out in York so Impossible Motel will definitely be are go to hotel. I would go as far to say this is the nicest hotel we have stayed in. Well done. Loved it x

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Sep 2024

Sam

My self and my wife stayed in the red room at the impossible motel in York. Firstly the hotel is amazing such a unique place and the rooms are incredible. If you are looking for a memorable night away you can’t beat it. The hotel is right in the centre of York so everything is right on the doorstep. The staff were amazing so friendly and helpful. I can’t say enuf good things about it. I can’t wait for our next visit.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Aug 2024

Marcin

Unique accommodation tailored with a couple experience in mind yet at the same time right in the middle of old York.
We definitely will come back.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jul 2024

Aled

Awesome place

Amazing service, quirky room. Would highly recommend.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Jun 2024

null

Easy check in and polite and friendly staff. The room was comfortable and everything we needed for a night away. Really cool atmosphere and peaceful. No noise and a real feeling of “getting away”. Shower was decent which is always a big plus. The bed was incredibly comfy. I’ll be visiting again

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

07 Jun 2024

Matthew

Hotel was great! Staff was great! The drunk people on the streets, screaming until 04:30 were not great. Hotel was very centrally located which we loved but it resulted in many sleepless nights because of the noise. Obviously not the hotels fault, just something to be mindful of.

Leisure Family

2/10

Poor

28 Jan 2024

Allan

Basement room very noisy and extremely small, we were even handed ear plugs on arrival! So a very unpleasant and noisy first night. Second night we moved to an upstairs room, which was nice until the electricity in the room failed at 10:30 pm. With no one available to check this out but the night porter we spent our second night cold and in the dark. In the morning we had to wash and dress by phone torch light. When we complained it was evident that the staff did not believe us even though the fault was witnessed by the porter. It took an age to get any type of compensation (half money back for the second night only) and this took complaints via Expedia and at least five calls to the hotel.
Avoid... it is not nearly as good as it looks in the photographs.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Dec 2023

Gemma

Perfect base for a York city stay

First time staying here on a Christmas shopping trip with my sister. Absolutely perfect location. The hotel itself is stunning, the decor and room was beautiful. The staff are a credit as all so friendly, welcoming and helpful. Before checking out we've already decided we want to return next year.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2023

Joe

The staff were really nice, friendly and helpful and the hotel and rooms were nice and clean.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Nov 2023

Emily

Absolutley loved it

Cane to York for a last minute work event for Halloween and came across this place and oh my god i never wanted to leave. The night manager when i was there was absolutely wonderful and so helpful

Self