Rudding Park Harrogate: Our Two-Night Yorkshire Escape
AD | PR collaboration with Rudding Park
There are some places in Yorkshire that you know are special before you even arrive, and Rudding Park is definitely one of them.
We were lucky enough to be invited by Rudding Park for a two-night PR stay, and although I have visited Rudding Park many times over the years – for dinner, spa days, press events, parties and weddings – I realised that I had never really experienced it properly as a guest.
So, when the invitation came through to spend two nights there and experience the hotel, spa, restaurants and grounds, I was very excited.
And, honestly, it did not disappoint.
In fact, what surprised me most was how much it felt like a proper holiday, despite being so close to home.
Rudding Park is in Follifoot, just outside Harrogate in North Yorkshire, surrounded by beautiful countryside and around 300 acres of landscaped gardens and woodland. Today it is a luxury, family-owned resort with 90 bedrooms and suites, lodges and cottages, a destination spa, three restaurants, two golf courses, a private cinema, a kitchen garden and extensive events and conference facilities.
It is the sort of place where you really don’t need to leave once you arrive.
And that was exactly what we needed after a very long summer.
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A little history of Rudding Park
One of the things I love about Rudding Park is that it isn’t a hotel that has simply been built from scratch to look old and grand. There is a huge amount of history here.
The estate has a fascinating story dating back centuries. The original Rudding House was associated with Lord Loughborough in the late 1700s, while the present house was begun in the early 19th century and later completed by Sir Joseph Radcliffe. The Grade I listed house and the surrounding estate have evolved considerably over the years. (Rudding Park)
In 1972, the Mackaness family bought Rudding Park, and they remain the owners today.
That family connection is actually one of the things I find most interesting about Rudding Park. It isn’t part of a huge international hotel chain. It remains independently and privately owned, with the Mackaness family having spent more than 50 years developing the estate while retaining its character.
The family has a long history of farming and land ownership, and even the Mackaness family coat of arms reflects that heritage. Their motto, Omnia nobis curae, translates as “We take an interest in all things”, which feels rather appropriate when you look at just how much has been developed here over the years.
What started as a country estate has gradually become the Rudding Park we know today.
The hotel opened as a 50-bedroom property in 1987, followed by the opening of the Clocktower Restaurant in 2006, the Follifoot Wing in 2010, the Kitchen Garden in 2015 and, perhaps most significantly for spa lovers, the Roof Top Spa in 2017. (Rudding Park)
And you can really see that this has been a long-term project rather than something that happened overnight.
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Today, Rudding Park is so much more than a hotel.
It is somewhere you could come for a weekend away, a spa day, a special birthday, a wedding, a family celebration, a business event or simply dinner.
The estate has 90 bedrooms and suites, as well as luxury lodges and cottages, so there are lots of different options depending on the sort of stay you are looking for.
It is also an incredibly popular wedding and events destination.
There is a beautiful 19th-century chapel next to Rudding House, which can be used for wedding blessings, and there are a number of different rooms and outdoor spaces for celebrations. The larger wedding spaces can accommodate everything from more intimate celebrations to much bigger weddings, and there is even a marquee beside Rudding House that can accommodate up to 900 guests. (Rudding Park)
I have been to weddings here before and completely understand why people choose it.
You have the historic house, the gardens, the chapel, beautiful bedrooms, restaurants, the spa and plenty of accommodation all in one place. It means guests can actually stay and enjoy the whole weekend rather than simply arriving for a few hours.
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Our Rudding Park stay
We arrived in the afternoon and checked into our room in the Follifoot Wing.
We were staying in a room with a terrace, and it was exactly what I wanted from a country-house hotel room – comfortable, spacious, beautifully finished and, importantly for me, somewhere I actually wanted to spend time.
The bed was huge and incredibly comfortable, there was plenty of storage and the bathroom was beautifully finished.
Everything felt very clean and well maintained, with all the modern touches you would expect from a luxury hotel, but without losing the feeling that you were staying somewhere surrounded by history and countryside.
And having our own outdoor terrace was such a lovely bonus.
There is something about being able to open the doors, step outside with a coffee and look out onto greenery that immediately makes you feel as though you are away.
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The Rudding Park Spa
For me, the spa was always going to be one of the highlights.
I have been to Rudding Park Spa before, but experiencing it as part of a two-night stay was completely different.
The spa first opened in 2017 and introduced the UK’s first Roof Top Spa and Garden, which has become one of Rudding Park’s signature experiences.
And I would genuinely put Rudding Park among my favourite destination spas in Yorkshire.
It is big enough that you don’t get that horrible feeling you sometimes have in smaller spas where everyone is desperately looking for a sun lounger.
There are lots of different areas to explore, including the indoor pool, thermal experiences, sauna, steam room, relaxation spaces and the Roof Top Spa.
The Roof Top Spa has an 11-metre indoor-outdoor hydrotherapy infinity pool, with different hydrotherapy experiences designed to relax muscles and improve circulation. There are also thermal experiences, relaxation spaces and the opportunity to sit outside and enjoy the views.
One thing I particularly love is that it feels sociable without feeling chaotic.
You can spend time in the pool, sit and chat, have a drink, relax in the cabana areas or simply find somewhere quiet.
And yes, you can actually order drinks and enjoy them while you’re relaxing around the spa, which makes the whole thing feel that little bit more indulgent.
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Our treatments
As part of our stay, we were lucky enough to have the Signature Massage.
We had our treatments downstairs in the treatment area before heading into the Escape Zones afterwards.
The massage was exactly what I needed after the summer – relaxing, calming and a proper chance to switch off.
I also loved the Escape Zones afterwards. They are designed around different types of relaxation, including quiet spaces, meditation and sensory experiences. There are 11 treatment rooms, including a VIP room, alongside the Escape Zone.
We also experienced the Mud Rasul, which is a traditional Moorish mud treatment for two to four people.
It is one of those experiences that is just a bit different from a normal spa treatment and would be lovely to do with a friend or as part of a girls’ weekend.
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The gardens and grounds
One of my favourite things about Rudding Park is that you can actually escape into the grounds.
We spent time walking around the gardens and exploring the estate, and it was such a contrast to the busyness of everyday life.
There is a beautiful Kitchen Garden too, which is a really important part of the food offering at Rudding Park.
The garden was opened in 2015 and now grows more than 500 different herbs, salads, edible flowers and fruits for the restaurants.
And this isn’t just something that looks pretty for guests.
It genuinely feeds into what you eat.
That becomes particularly obvious when you visit FIFTY TWO.
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FIFTY TWO – Rudding Park’s Michelin-starred dining experience
Now, this was probably the biggest surprise of the whole stay.
I knew Rudding Park had a Michelin-starred restaurant, but until we went, I don’t think I really understood what FIFTY TWO actually was.
And it is completely different from what I had imagined.
FIFTY TWO is an immersive dining experience situated within the Kitchen Garden.
And yes, the restaurant is actually made from repurposed shipping containers.
But don’t let that make you picture anything industrial or basic.
Inside, it is intimate, clever and incredibly stylish, with an open kitchen where the chefs are the entertainment.
There are five tables with social seating, with a maximum of around 20 guests, so it feels incredibly personal.
In fact, if you were looking for somewhere incredibly special for a milestone birthday, anniversary or intimate celebration, I would absolutely have this on my list.
It feels much more like being invited to the best dinner party ever than going to a traditional fine-dining restaurant.
And that is exactly the idea behind it.
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Meet Adam Degg
The Head Chef and Host is Adam Degg.
Adam’s route into cooking is a brilliant story in itself. He started cooking almost by accident at 16 after missing a train and ending up washing dishes at a friend’s family restaurant.
He went on to work at some of London’s most acclaimed restaurants, including Wild Honey and Chiltern Firehouse, before moving to Yorkshire. He became Head Chef at Horto at Rudding Park, where he earned three AA Rosettes and appeared on Great British Menu.
FIFTY TWO opened in May 2024, and less than two years later it became Harrogate’s first ever Michelin-starred restaurant.
And I can completely see why.
What I loved was that Adam was actually there.
He wasn’t hidden away in the kitchen while someone else brought out the food.
We were watching him cook, listening to him explain the dishes and seeing the whole process happen in front of us.
I absolutely love food and cooking, so for me this was a real highlight.
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Dinner becomes a theatre show
The evening starts outside in the Kitchen Garden with a drink before you make your way inside.
Then you sit around the kitchen and the whole evening unfolds in front of you.
There isn’t a traditional menu where you decide what you are going to eat.
Instead, you put your trust in the chef.
The food is based around the seasons, the Kitchen Garden and local producers, which means the experience can change depending on what is available.
And I loved that.
There is something really exciting about not knowing exactly what is coming next.
The whole experience is relaxed and fun rather than stuffy.
There are conversation cards on the tables, aprons for anyone who wants to get involved and even the opportunity to choose music for the playlist later in the evening. (Visit North Yorkshire)
We also had the drinks pairing, which I would definitely recommend.
Normally, I am very much a Sauvignon Blanc girl, but doing a pairing forces you to try things you probably wouldn’t automatically order.
Each drink is chosen to work with the food, and it becomes part of the whole experience.
At the end of the evening, we even got to try different whiskies made using produce from the garden.
It was fun, informal and completely memorable.
And the food?
Absolutely brilliant.
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Horto
During our stay we also had lunch at Horto, which is a completely different dining experience again.
Horto is Rudding Park’s contemporary fine-dining restaurant, and it has three AA Rosettes.
It was lovely to be able to experience the different sides of Rudding Park’s food offering because they really do feel like separate experiences rather than the same restaurant in different rooms.
We also had dinner at the hotel during our stay, which was another lovely evening.
This is one of the things I think Rudding Park does particularly well – there is enough choice that you could stay for a few nights and eat somewhere different each time.
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The service
But if I had to choose the one thing that really stood out to us throughout the stay, it would actually be the service.
I honestly feel that service has slipped in so many places across the UK.
You can stay somewhere beautiful, eat lovely food and have gorgeous surroundings, but if the service isn’t right, it changes the whole experience.
At Rudding Park, we really noticed the difference.
Every member of staff we came across was warm, polite and genuinely helpful.
Nothing felt too much trouble.
There was a real attention to detail, and we felt looked after throughout the two nights.
That, for me, is what turns a nice hotel into somewhere you want to return to.
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A proper Yorkshire escape
What I loved most about the whole experience was that it didn’t feel like we were ticking things off a hotel itinerary.
It felt like a proper escape.
We could go for a walk, sit in the library, spend time in the spa, eat somewhere special, have a drink, wander around the gardens or simply go back to our room and do absolutely nothing.
And sometimes that is exactly what you need.
We arrived after a very long summer feeling as though we hadn’t really stopped.
Two nights later, we left feeling completely different.
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Would I go back?
Absolutely.
And I think this is probably the most important thing I can say about a PR stay.
This visit was gifted to us as a PR collaboration, so the stay and experiences were provided by Rudding Park and this post is therefore marked as an AD.
But I also want to be completely transparent that, having experienced it, I would genuinely go back and pay to stay here myself.
There are plenty of places I visit through work that I enjoy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they become somewhere I would choose for my own time.
Rudding Park has.
I would happily book a couple of nights here for a birthday, anniversary or just because we needed a proper break.
I’d definitely book the spa again.
I’d absolutely go back to FIFTY TWO.
And I already have my eye on it for a special birthday because I think the intimate setting, the food theatre and the whole experience would make it such a memorable evening.
If you live in Yorkshire, it is also one of those places that you can easily overlook because it is on your doorstep.
But perhaps that is exactly why you should go.
You don’t need a flight, a long drive or a complicated itinerary.
Just a couple of nights, a comfortable bed, a very good dinner, a few hours in the spa and a walk around the Yorkshire countryside.
Sometimes the best escapes are the ones that are closest to home.
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The Roof Top Spa – one of the best parts of the stay and somewhere I could happily spend an entire afternoon.
The Signature Massage – the perfect way to arrive and immediately switch off.
FIFTY TWO – without question one of the most memorable dining experiences I’ve had in Yorkshire.
The Kitchen Garden – beautiful in its own right and even better knowing how much of it goes directly into the food.
The grounds – perfect for a proper country walk without having to get in the car.
The rooms – comfortable, spacious, beautifully finished and with everything you need.
The service – genuinely one of the things that impressed us most.
The fact that it is family owned – I love the story behind Rudding Park and the fact that the Mackaness family have continued to invest in it for more than 50 years.
And finally… staying for two nights. One night would be lovely, but if you can stretch to two, I would. It gives you time to actually enjoy the spa, restaurants and grounds without feeling as though you are rushing from one thing to the next.
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Whether you are looking for a romantic weekend, a girls’ spa break, a birthday celebration, a wedding venue or simply somewhere beautiful to escape to for a couple of nights, I think Rudding Park is one of those Yorkshire hotels that really does have something for everyone.
And if you haven’t tried FIFTY TWO yet, put it on your list.
It is completely different from a traditional Michelin-starred restaurant and, for me, that is exactly what makes it so special.
You can find out more about Rudding Park’s current stays and experiences [here].
AD | This stay was gifted to me by Rudding Park as part of a PR collaboration. As always, all opinions are my own. I genuinely loved our stay and would happily return and pay for the experience myself.
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