Royal Victoria House

You notice the ceilings first. The hallway rises above you, tall bay windows throw light across the ground floor, and the ornate fireplace in the sitting room is the kind of detail that was built to last centuries. Royal Victoria House is a mid-terrace Victorian townhouse spread across four floors on a Scarborough street that faces the sea. The bones of the building are still there in every room. Welcome treats on the worktop when you arrive tell you someone cares about the smaller details too.

The sitting room at the front has a huge corner sofa, a gas fire set in that ornate surround, and a Smart TV. Neutral tones and those tall windows make it feel calm rather than cavernous. Through to the dining room, a woodburning stove warms the room while a large table seats the whole group for a proper sit-down meal. Original stripped wooden floors run through here, and bi-fold doors at the back lead out to decking and the garden beyond. On a warm evening, those doors stay open and the two rooms become one.

The kitchen has a gas range cooker and a breakfast bar for coffee before anyone else is up. It is properly stocked, down to the utensils and glassware, so you can cook a full English for fifteen without a trip to the shops.

Seven bedrooms sit across the first and second floors: three kings, two family rooms, a double, and a single. More than half have their own en-suite shower rooms, and the shared bathroom on the first floor has a freestanding bath and a large walk-in shower. The bedding and towels are a cut above what you expect from a holiday let, which you notice on the first night and appreciate more by the third. With five bathrooms between fifteen people, the morning queue is short.

At the very top, the third-floor games room is where the children vanish. Beanbags, plush seating, a TV with consoles and games. It is high enough up that the noise stays up there too.

The enclosed garden has a lawn for kids to run on, decking with outdoor furniture, and the hot tub at the far end. On a summer evening after the beach, sitting out here with a drink in hand is a good way to end the day.

The promenade is a short walk from the front door. From there, the South Bay beach, the harbour, and Scarborough Spa with its Victorian theatre are all on foot. The Rotunda Museum is worth a morning if anyone in the group likes geology. Fish and chips by the sea is a given. Robin Hood's Bay is half an hour north and worth the trip. Parking is on-street with permits provided, and WiFi covers the whole house. Two dogs are welcome, and the enclosed garden means they have somewhere safe to be off-lead.