Royal Kings Arms Hotel

Bedrooms

The Royal Kings Arms offers 55 contemporary en-suite bedrooms including the impressive Castle Suite with its luxurious four poster bed. The rooms all have the usual facilities to ensure your stay is enjoyable including full tea and coffee making facilities.

Check-in starts at 2pm and Check-out time is 11am.

There is Free WiFi in rooms and public areas.

The Brasserie

A historic building reborn in the heart of Lancaster

The Brasserie is the first part of our journey in transforming the Royal Kings Arms in Lancaster’s luxury boutique hotel.

Open from 7am till late every day you will always find a warm welcome in our stunning new restaurant and bar. Located on the ground floor with views of the castle, this new addition to Lancaster’s social scene is a great place to pop in for a coffee, a glass of your favourite, all day brunch with a special Saturday offer of Brunch and Bubbles, bottomless Prosecco when dining off our Brunch menu.

Our extensive À La Carte menu has a strong influence of local, healthy produce reflected in our vegan and vegetarian options and with over 45 Champagnes and wines to choose from.

Click here for our new Menus

The Crypt

Hidden away beneath the luxurious halls of the Royal Kings Arms hotel, the Crypt has led many lives – disco, nightclub, punk-rock hotspot. Now, this historic venue at the heart of Lancaster has been completely transformed, reopening its doors as a revolutionary cocktail lounge, wine bar and eatery.

Our specialty cocktail menu is an exciting combination of experimental new drinks and classic favourites, whilst our ranges of wines and sparkling wines is carefully curated by our in-house experts. Whatever your taste, we’ll be able to find the perfect drink for you. Our food menu, featuring an enticing selection of dishes made with fresh and locally-sourced ingredients, completes the experience. Give us a call to book your table, and discover a venue like no other. Click here for The Crypt menus: Food Menu Wine List Events & Offers

Weddings

Celebrate your marriage at the Royal Kings Arms Hotel situated in the heart of the historic City of Lancaster. Our professional and experienced staff are here to help and guide you through every aspect of your special day.

You can choose from our buffet menu or our formal wedding menus. We have a selection of wines and champagnes available for you on your special day.

Our aim at the Royal Kings Arms Hotel is to surpass your expectations in service, quality and value for money.

The Royal Kings Arms has recently been granted a licence to hold wedding ceremonies in addition to wedding receptions. To view our Weddings Page, click here.

Conferences & Meetings

The hotel hosts events for a wide range of clients including corporate/business, and leisure travellers from both the UK and abroad and visitors to the nearby university.

With its large, airy conference rooms, high ceilings and expansive windows offering plenty of natural light, the hotel is perfect for anything from team building events to small executive meetings or private meetings.

Complimentary Wi-Fi.

Functions & Events

Our function rooms vary in capacity from 2 to 200 people making us the ideal choice for your event. All rooms have natural day light and Wi-Fi.

Whether you are celebrating a significant birthday, anniversary or a special event, our team are here to assist. An extensive range of food and beverages are available to meet your requirements.

Funerals

We provide the ideal venue to remember loved ones and to celebrate their lives. Our team are experienced in dealing with funeral receptions and your day will be handled with compassion and sensitivity.

We can provide special menus and private rooms on request. Our food is freshly prepared in our kitchens and we are happy to cater for a range of tastes and budget.

With 55 guest rooms, each one en-suite and a fully experienced management team you are sure to relax and enjoy your stay. The hotel has its own restaurant with a beautiful minstrels` gallery and large floor to ceiling stained glass windows. There is a bar where you can relax with a glass of your favourite wine and watch the world below go by. The Royal Kings Arms Hotel is Lancaster city centre’s only hotel boasting its own car park. In keeping with the historic city in which it is set, the Grade II Listed building is currently being refurbished with the intention of adding more facilities for guests and combining its history with modern and comfortable surroundings.

History

Originally built in 1625 during the reign of Charles I, and then later rebuilt in 1879, the hotel was immortalized by Charles Dickens in his story of ‘The Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices’. It was during the distinguished author’s first visit that he wrote “Tale of the Bridal Chamber”, and gave his impression of this “Good Old Inn, established in a good old house, an inn where they give you bride cake every day after dinner”, where the visitor can “eat bride cake without the trouble of getting married, or knowing anybody in that ridiculous dilemma.” Charles Dickens stayed at the Kings Arms in 1857 and again in 1862, when fellow author Mr Wilkie Collins accompanied him.

Louis XIV of France at this time purchased the hotel in or about 1666. Three large pieces of tapestry, borders of which were designed by the renowned artist Rubens were displayed in the building. They were “The Findings of Moses in the Bulrushes by the Pharaoh’s Daughter”, “Moses before the Burning Bush” and “Moses Striking the Rock.”

The larger rooms of those days were known as “The Lonsdale and Brougham rooms” and “Lord Derby room”. Then there were the “Crowned Heads of Europe room”, wherein the finest specimens of Gobelin art were to be seen. The heir apparent to the English throne, Charles (II) Prince of Wales secured the Gobelin art for his Sandringham home.

Mr Sly, proprietor at the Kings Arms between 1856 and 1877, was intensely proud of his ancient house, and sought to make it a museum as well as a comfortable home worthy of the highest patronage. It is Sly’s Kings Arms Royal Hotel, claiming its title to royal patronage from the circumstances of Queen Adelaide, having made it her home when she honoured Lancaster with a visit. Beneath the roof of this famous hotel, other royal personages such as the Prince of Wales with his suite, have received entertainment and enjoyed the comforts of an English home.

The Royal Kings Arms also had the honour of sojourning within its walls the crown heads of Europe who became its guests around the end of the long Bonapartean war. In 1863 the proprietor of the hotel organised a torch light procession to celebrate the marriage of Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales (later king of England King Edward VII with characters dressed up as such people as John O’Gaunt, Henry VII, Edward the Black Prince, the Duke of York and the King of the Cannibal islands. He also supplied to the poor people of Lancaster two oxen to be roasted and free drinks to go with it.