{"id":5478,"date":"2019-12-02T13:13:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T13:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/the-grand-old-lady-of-hull\/"},"modified":"2019-12-02T13:13:18","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T13:13:18","slug":"the-grand-old-lady-of-hull","status":"publish","type":"know-how","link":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/know-how\/the-grand-old-lady-of-hull\/","title":{"rendered":"THE GRAND OLD LADY OF HULL"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Royal Hotel Hull is one of the city\u2019s genuine landmark buildings. Rick Lyon<\/strong> paid it a visit.<\/p>\n

SHE\u2019S the grand old lady of Hull.<\/p>\n

The iconic Royal Hotel, visited by Queen Victoria and Sir Winston Churchill and survivor of a devastating electrical fire in 1990, has stood the test of time.<\/p>\n

New developments continue to reshape Hull, but arguably few are as impressive as the Victorian landmark that greets visitors when they disembark from their train or bus in the city centre.<\/p>\n

But is the Royal a little under-appreciated by those who have become so accustomed to having it on their doorstep?<\/p>\n

As with all hotels, it is quite rightly open to criticism by paying customers if they are unhappy with what is on offer. Social media ensures that any such criticism travels quickly these days, should there be a bandwagon for people to happily jump on.<\/p>\n

But according to operations manager David Leadley, the Royal offers Hull something unique which people would gladly venture far and wide for.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Royal is an icon,\u201d he says proudly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you come to Hull it is one of the first landmarks you see, particularly for those coming in from the station, and it has been around forever!\u201d<\/p>\n

Not quite, but 169 years is still a good innings for the 190-room venue.<\/p>\n

It is that history that sets it apart, according to Mr Leadley.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is beautiful and it has retained its history,\u201d he says as we talk over a cup of tea.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could be watching a historical drama here, or Downton Abbey. It has real, genuine character.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat people get here is tradition. They come here and they feel like they are a part of history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanging proudly near the bar is a framed copy of Philip Larkin\u2019s poem, Friday Night in the Royal Station Hotel<\/em>, which he penned as he observed the eclectic mix of customers in the lounge.<\/p>\n

Along with its grandeur, this is another feature the three-star Royal has successfully retained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe poem is about the mix of people coming through and that is still the case, some 80 years later,\u201d says Mr Leadley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve worked in many hotels and this by far has the most diverse mix of customers that I\u2019ve encountered. We get everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany times I\u2019ve stood looking out the window and you will have a white van, you\u2019ll have a battered old car, there will be a Mercedes, a BMW, a Ferrari, then another white van \u2013 you get the whole mixture.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ownership of the Royal has changed many times over the years and it is currently a part of the Britannia empire. But you wouldn\u2019t necessarily know it. It stands alone as its own, historic venue.<\/p>\n

So what about the notion it doesn\u2019t quite get the appreciation it deserves?<\/p>\n

Sales manager Simon Wright happily jumps in: \u201cThis is one of the last few iconic buildings in Hull. I love the development that is happening around the city, I think it is fantastic. Everything that is happening down Humber Street, for example, looks amazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is every place for that and it has to happen, but that doesn\u2019t mean we abandon our history. I don\u2019t think there is any architecture in the city that quite matches the Royal.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople root for this place. They want it to work and they want it to be good. The perception among people who haven\u2019t been in for a while is that it is a bit run down, but that isn\u2019t the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hull Story<\/em> can vouch for that. It isn\u2019t run down. It screams history and character but the obvious investment it has enjoyed in recent years means it marries tradition with contemporary comfort and facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy message would be that if you haven\u2019t been here for a long time, come and rediscover the Royal,\u201d says Mr Wright.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people in Hull will go to places like York and Lincoln and marvel at the beautiful buildings and this might have just become wallpaper to them because they walk by every day. But this is probably the most stunning building in Hull.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will always be a place for The Royal. We have people who could stay at much more expensive hotels than this but they don\u2019t because they like the character of this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

That character has served it well for 169 years and clearly continues to do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Royal Hotel Hull is one of the city\u2019s genuine landmark buildings. Rick Lyon paid it a visit. SHE\u2019S the grand old lady of Hull. The iconic Royal Hotel, visited by Queen","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"template":"","know_how_category":[],"class_list":["post-5478","know-how","type-know-how","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/know-how\/5478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/know-how"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/know-how"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/know-how\/5478\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"know_how_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebusinessculture.co.uk\/hey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/know_how_category?post=5478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}