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Whitby · Hotel shortlist

3 star hotels in the business district, Whitby

Gerald Whitfield

Gerald Whitfield The American northeast and Canada

Updated 1 September 2026 · 10 Whitby hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Whitby, out of the 10 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.8 down to 4.6.

Smugglers Rest is the one I would book myself.

Smugglers Rest

Highest rated of the five

Smugglers Rest

★★★★★4.8 from 76 reviews

Smugglers Rest comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.8 from 76 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 3 star property, found under city centre and around $96 a night on the dates we checked.

10 hotels in Whitby qualified for this list and five made it. Mooredge Guest House is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. Smugglers Rest1

    Smugglers Rest

    ★★★★★4.8 from 76 reviews

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    • Mooredge Guest House2

      Mooredge Guest House

      ★★★★★4.8 from 73 reviews

      • Parking
      • Kid friendly

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    • La Rosa Hotel3

      La Rosa Hotel

      ★★★★★4.7 from 200 reviews

      • Bar
      • Pet friendly
      • Kid friendly

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    • Bagdale Hall Hotel4

      Bagdale Hall Hotel

      ★★★★★4.6 from 453 reviews

      • Restaurant
      • Bar
      • Parking
      • Kid friendly

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    • The Willows Hotel5

      The Willows Hotel

      ★★★★★4.6 from 67 reviews

      • Kid friendly

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    How this list was put together

    10 Whitby hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

    Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

    The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

    What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

    Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

    Gerald Whitfield

    Gerald Whitfield The American northeast and Canada

    Volunteers three days a week and travels the rest. Maritime museums and working boatyards in 19 countries, mostly by ferry and train, talking to the shipwrights in every one.

    Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.