Hotels in Whitby

Whitby's hotels split naturally between the West Cliff, where most of the town's larger properties look out over the harbour mouth and North Sea from Victorian terraces, and the quieter countryside around Sandsend and the moors edge, where converted country houses and restaurants with rooms offer a slower pace a short drive from the harbour. Staying on the West Cliff puts you within an easy walk of the abbey steps, the jet shops of Church Street and the working harbour, while a room out towards Sandsend suits visitors who want sea views, gardens and quiet without giving up easy access into town.

The eight properties below cover that range, from a spa hotel and a country house set in its own grounds through to characterful mid-range hotels in converted historic buildings, down to small, personally run guest houses close to the seafront. Whitby's geography means many of its older buildings sit on steep, narrow streets, so some of its most characterful stays are boutique rather than sprawling, with a handful of individually decorated rooms rather than long corridors of identical ones. Booking ahead matters here more than in many English seaside towns: Whitby's Goth Weekends in spring and autumn fill the town completely, as does the school summer holiday period, and rooms with harbour or sea views go first.

Parking is worth factoring into any choice of hotel, since the old town's narrow streets leave little room for on-site parking at some of the most characterful East Side addresses, while West Cliff and out-of-town properties generally offer their own car parks. Breakfast is taken seriously across the range, with several properties sourcing local kippers, Yorkshire bacon and free-range eggs, and a handful of the smaller guest houses building a following on their breakfast alone. Dog-friendly rooms are common given Whitby's popularity with walkers tackling the Cleveland Way, so it is worth checking a property's pet policy directly if travelling with an animal.