Place to stay in York

The Dean Court hotel is very well located, right by the cathedral and also within easy walking distance of restaurants in the Shambles and close by. We particularly enjoyed a tapas restaurant that was a few blocks away.

https://www.deancourt-york.co.uk

Abbey House B&B is very easy to get to from the train station and is next to the park and on the river, great breakfast, nice owners, we enjoyed it in July.

For a nice restaurant consider the Star Inn restaurant, excellent food, outdoor seating on the river.

Just curious, but any reason why you'd prefer a hotel over a B&B? Many are like boutique hotels with all mod cons, comfy beds, good linens, en suite bathrooms, hairdryers, robes, toiletries etc. Not to mention fantastic breakfasts and insider tips on the best places to eat and explore. I don't have particular recommendations for York, but sawdays places to stay is our 'go to guide' when we are traveling and has two places listed in the centre of York.

[https://www.sawdays.co.uk/places/?guests%5Badults%5D=1&accommodation_type%5B%5D=bed-and-breakfast&accommodation_type%5B%5D=hotel&accommodation_type%5B%5D=inn&area%5Bne_lat%5D=54.080277224001094&area%5Bne_lon%5D=-0.9300357782296942&area%5Bsw_lat%5D=53.849385302956044&area%5Bsw_lon%5D=-1.2231509740479396&term=Yorkshire][1]

York is a very compact city. I could walk from one side to the other in about 10-15 minutes. There are places to eat/drink every few yards it seems nowadays! If you stay within the city centre or just outside the walls you will have a good choice of restaurants within easy walking distance even if you can’t walk very far. When looking for accommodation anywhere I would use booking.com. That way you can find somewhere within budget at a location that’s right for you with amenities that you value. Reviews can also only be placed by those that have stayed there as well which is helpful.

I don't know what your budget is but we stayed in a very nice house in York via Airbnb https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/16876627. It's a bit of a splurge but I don't know how many are in your travelling party so it may not be too bad if the costs are being shared.

The Star Inn is next door, we only ate breakfast but that was very good. It's a five minute walk from the train station and only a few minutes more to the Minster. The Shambles is about ten minutes away and all the other main sights are within easy walking distance.

Old fashion but......
We stayed at the hilton, had a great room and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast buffet.

I second Dean Court! I have never had nicer service anywhere. One thing to be mindful of though, is that there is no AC. :(

Regarding B&Bs, we enjoy them but I can totally understand why someone else might not. Not everyone wants to have breakfast with strangers, make small talk, etc.

Thank you all for the suggestions. We are going to try the Dean Court Hotel this trip.