The Principal York

The Principal York is an historic Grade II listed building on Station Road, adjacent to York railway station, England. It is a five-storey building of yellow Scarborough brick and was completed in 1878, a year after the present station opened.

First Royal Station Hotel – 1853
The Station Hotel opened on 22 February 1853 as an addition to York old railway station, designed by architect was G. T. Andrews. Queen Victoria visited the hotel a year later, in 1854, and the hotel was renamed the Royal Station Hotel as a result. The first hotel became redundant after the opening of the new station in June 1877 and was converted into offices.

Early Years
The second Royal Station Hotel opened on 20 May 1878. Designed by architect William Peachey of the North Eastern Railway, the hotel was an integral part of the new station. As the North Eastern Railway Company's flagship hotel, it was managed directly by the railway. It featured elegant, high-ceilinged banqueting rooms and 100 large bedrooms costing 14 shillings a night. It was built by Lucas Brothers.

A 27-room west wing was added in 1896, nicknamed the "Klondyke" for the Klondike Gold Rush of the time.

In 1923, ownership and management of the hotel transferred to the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER).

British Transport Hotels
In 1948, Britain's railways were nationalised and with them York's railway hotel. Initially this was as part of the 'Hotels Executive' of the British Transport Commission. The British Transport Hotels brand came about in 1953. In 1981, an annexe to the hotel, called the  Friars Garden Hotel, was opened in a building that formerly served as the North Eastern Railway catering department. This was the last investment under nationalised ownership. A typical turnover at this time was 1981s £1,225,000. This source stated that there were then 135 bedrooms and 23 in Friar's Garden. At this time 24 rooms were not en-suite. The Ebor Restaurant had 52 covers. In 2013, this was The Tempus Restaurant.

Privatisation
Under Margaret Thatcher's government, ancillary activities of the railways were privatised. This included British Transport Hotels. The sale was held by public tender. The sale inventory dated October 1982 is held by the National Railway Museum at York. In 1983, the hotel was sold to Batchshire Limited, a subsidiary of Sea Containers, and renamed The Royal York Hotel.

Recent history
In 2006, the Principal Hayley Group sold The Royal York Hotel, along with five other hotels, to Active Asset Investment Management for £275 million, under a deal that allowed Principal Hayley to continue managing the hotels for 25 years. Principal Hayley repurchased the six hotels in 2012, in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 financial crisis, for £200 million, £75 million less than they had sold them for. The following year, in 2013, the Principal Hayley Group was sold to Starwood Capital. The hotel was renovated and renamed The Principal York on 1 November 2016.

Starwood Capital sold Principal Hayley to Fonciere des Regions in 2018, and the new owners contracted with IHG Hotels & Resorts to manage the properties. In October 2022, Glasgow-based RBH Management took over operations of the hotel. In March 2024, RBH announced their intention to rename the hotel The Milner York, for local war hero William Milner, the Second World War-era foreman of York station, killed on 29 April 1942 during German air raids known as the Baedeker Raids, while attempting to retrieve first aid supplies in the station.