YORK has beaten the competition to be crowned the best city in the UK in a vote of almost 75,000 people.

The city beat Edinburgh and London, which were second and third respectively, to be named Best UK City in the 2019 Luxury Lifestyle Magazine Readers’ Travel Awards, based on the views of 74,915 readers.

The top ten also included Bath, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, Belfast, Oxford and Exeter.

Meanwhile, The Grand, York, was named the best city hotel in England in the awards, with the top gong for the Best UK City Hotel going to Belfast’s Grand Central Hotel.

York's only five AA star hotel, which was built in 1906 as the headquarters for the North Eastern Railway, underwent a £15 million expansion and refurbishment in 2018, increasing its rooms to 207.

Earlier this year, it launched The Cookery School, offering workshops, classes and demonstrations in a state-of-the-art kitchen which has also hosted masterclasses by renowned professional chefs.

Philip Bolson, general manager at The Grand, York, said the accolade was significant as “it was awarded by the people who matter most – the general public.

“Industry awards are great, too but the hotel industry is first and foremost about customer satisfaction, so awards like this are always very special,” he said.