Hotel Aparts Wakefield
Polly Checkland Harding
Hotel Aparts Wakefield offer a winning combination: modern, refurbished apartments in a beautiful Georgian building. The two suites have clean, comfortable interiors, newly redecorated and designed for guests’s comfort, whilst benefiting from the characterful exterior of this beautiful old row. At one end of the street is even the peaceful St John’s Church, pleasantly surrounded by greenery. It’s a far cry from the homogenous high-rise blocks of some of the city’s other hotels: here, you’ll find two apartments, a one-bedroom and a two-bedroom, both with private shower rooms, flat-screen TVs and kitchens. With plush furnishings and carpets, and an emphasis on cleanliness, these are the ideal home from home for anything from a short stay to a month’s duration.
The apartments are a little way north of the city centre, only a nine-minute walk from Wakefield Museum. Either one is the perfect place to retreat to after a full day exploring the city’s cultural attractions, shops, cafés and restaurants. Our must-see stops include The Hepworth, an incredible art museum hosting outstanding exhibitions – and winner of the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year 2017 – and the Chantry Chapel St Mary the Virgin, one of only three surviving bridge chapels in England, which has a fascinating history. Also worth including in your itinerary, particularly if you can book ahead onto one of the specialist courses, is Neon Workshops, a gallery hosting special exhibitions and offering a fantastic introduction to the art of neon sculpture.
Wakefield is also a fantastic jumping-off point for some of West Yorkshire’s most incredible attractions, including Yorkshire Sculpture Park, a leading international centre for modern and contemporary sculpture situated in 500 acres of the 18th century Bretton Hall estate. Also unmissable is Nostell Priory and Parkland, an 18th-century architectural masterpiece that was built as an astonishing statement of wealth and status, surrounded by 300 acres of landscape gardens and wider estate. Finally, there’s one of the county’s best heritage institutions: the National Coal Mining Museu. Granted national status in 1995, the museum explores over 200 years of coal production from the former Caphouse Colliery on the west edge of the Yorkshire coalfield, and is an incredible insight into the history of an industry that has shaped the country we live in today.
