We’re always working on ways to take your experience up and notch and one thing we love more than anything is giving our pubs with rooms a good ol’ makeover – and this year we went bigger and better than ever.

In no particular order (as they’re all pretty special), we’ve been on-site beautifying this lovely lot: Worplesdon Place, Bedford Arms, The Bridge, Carnarvon Arms, Red Lion, The Windmill, Coach & Horses, Brewer’s Inn and Teller’s Arms.

Speaking of Teller’s Arms, that one was a biggie. If you didn’t already know, we took a 90-year-old high street bank and lovingly transformed it into a corker of a pub (even if we do say so ourselves), packed with nods to its heyday and oozing with twenty-first-century pub charm. The locals love it and we love-love it.

Another biggie was The Windmill, our iconic Clapham favourite, looked after by Landlord Ben and pub dog Monty. We gave just 10 rooms here a super-duper spruce-up. And their new boujee bedrooms are as boutique hotel-y as it gets. Think plush fabrics, snazzy copper bathtubs, and gorgeous antique furnishings. With a cracking pub downstairs to boot.

It’s safe to say, there’s been some serious stunners. We couldn’t dare pick a favourite. So perhaps you’ll need to check them all out and decide for yourself? January feels like a good excuse…

Each year we rustle up two issues of our in-room newspaper, The Fold. This year issue’s 3 and 4 amassed a total of 40 pages of all things eats, drinks and sleeps. It’s our way of sharing the fabulousness of our pubs, the seasonal snapshots of what to do in around their lovely little hometowns and a recipe or two on recreating your favourite pub dishes (and drinks) at home. And, much more. In case you’ve missed these knocking around, we’ve gone digital – so you can digitally dip-in to every issue here.

We don’t think we’ve shouted about this one quite enough. The Fold was just the starting point, so it seems, as this year we decided to create our very own kid’s story book. We dug deep into the archives to create a feel-good, child-friendly tale with a nod to our many years of heritage. The Biggest Jump Ever tells the story of Hopsie, Brenda, RamRod D’Arcy (you might recognise him) and all their friends who once lived at The Ram Brewery in Wandsworth. Yes, believe it or not, every animal in the book is part of the Young’s story – and a wallaby called Hopsie really did live at the stables. Bring your kids along for the ride and you’ll be able to catch a glimpse (it sits with our in-room Borrow Boxes – but more on that later). We simply hope you love it just as much as we do.

And finally, on our mission to dish out year-round inspiration, we’ve written 16 blogs to inspire your pub travels, from 5 of the best places to stay in Surrey & Sussex, to 48 hours in the Garden of England, and our guide to an easy-breezy summer in the city – we’re dropping content regularly, so be sure to stay up to date – and if you’re not already, sign up to our newsletter and we’ll drop all the newness straight into your inbox.

We’ve been gradually spreading our London roots. And this year makes no exception. We’ve been in and around Surrey for quite some time, but this year’s newest addition to the Young’s Rooms family (Teller’s Arms) popped us on the map in the pretty market town of Farnham – taking us to 43 pubs with rooms. And we’ve got near-on 15 wonderous counties we now call home.

From Bristol to Wiltshire and London to Devon, you can find a Young’s Room in nearly every pocket of the south of England. And with a pretty proud 800 and-then-some bedrooms (and 193 years of experience), it’s safe to say we really do know a thing or two about looking after people—wherever we are.

And we’ll be welcoming a few more pubs with rooms into the Young’s Rooms fold next year, so keep your eyes peeled – we can’t wait to share more. In the meantime, the only question is… where to next?