La Rosa Hotel

Top choice in Whitby


Weird, but wonderful. Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland, once stayed in this house while holidaying in Whitby. Entering today is like stepping through the looking glass into a world of love-it-or-hate-it Victorian bric-a-brac and kitsch, peppered with vintage film props. Eight quirky and atmospheric bedrooms, great sea views, no TVs, an in-house bar and breakfast served in a basket in your room.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Whitby attractions

1. Bram Stoker Memorial Seat

0.04 MILES

The Bram Stoker memorial seat is on Khyber Pass; look for the bench furthest from the Whale Bone Arches, which is more battered than the rest. From here,…

2. Whitby Sands

0.18 MILES

Whitby Sands, stretching west from the harbour mouth, offers donkey rides, ice-cream vendors and bucket-and-spade escapades, though the sand is mostly…

3. Museum of Whitby Jet

0.18 MILES

Housed inside a 1901 chapel, this small museum has created a temple to Whitby jet – one of the town’s most prized exports, a gothic icon, and a favourite…

4. Whitby Jet Heritage Centre

0.19 MILES

A museum housing the remains of Whitby's last Victorian jet workshop lies at the bottom of the 199 steps, with original tools rescued from a derelict…

5. Captain Cook Memorial Museum

0.25 MILES

This fascinating museum occupies the house of the ship owner with whom Cook began his seafaring career. Highlights include the attic where Cook lodged as…

6. St Mary's Church

0.27 MILES

The 199 steps of Church Stairs lead steeply up from the end of Church St, passing the spooky graveyard of St Mary's Church, a favourite haunt of Goth…

7. Endeavour Experience Whitby

0.29 MILES

In 2018, a full-size replica of Captain Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour became a permanent fixture in Whitby harbour and opened to the public as a visitor…

8. Whitby Museum

0.34 MILES

Set in a park to the west of the town centre is the wonderfully eclectic Whitby Museum, with displays of fossil plesiosaurs and dinosaur footprints,…