The family suite we were in was quite small and half no division between the childrens' beds and the double. We saw that other family suites were bigger and had the division so it seems to be luck of the draw. In any case, the smaller room we were in was not really good value compared to the others. Otherwise the hotel is quite nice. Was a bit disappointed that children could only use the pool uring a short window.

Good: Looked pretty at night. Big room. Pool and spa facilities were okay. Bad: Very slow service in restaurant. Bed was poor. Breakfast was like a greasy spoon. Other guests were bizarre. If booking for dinner maybe ring to check whether a coach-load of people are coming at the same time!

Great staff and very helpful

There was a large red & brown stain on the carpet of our room which looked suspiciously like blood; this was supposedly one of the newer refurbished rooms. There were also stains all over the walls and a white substance on the phone receiver. Really disgusting. No robes in the cupboards (available to rent for £7!), no fridge, no room service menu. No aircon and the rooms get extremely hot in the day as they have skylights; so if you want to keep it cool the room must be entirely blacked out. Overall an unpleasant stay. The spa is just a tepid pool with dirty floors. Definitely not a 4* spa hotel as advertised. The standard of the bathrooms in particular is really poor - cleaner than the carpets; but equipment that looks about 20 years old. A dribbling shower and a bath with mdf peeling off the sides. If they upgraded the top floor rooms with aircon and refurbished the bathrooms this would be a much more pleasant experience - but it was overall unpleasant and oppressive. Small upside is that the family rooms are large - they would be ok in winter when you can keep the blinds open; but sitting in a blacked out hot dirty room is not our idea of a relaxing stay. We spent as much time as possible out of the hotel. We did complain about the disgusting carpets - no attempt was made to make it up or compensate us; although they did move us to a hotter room with a worse bathroom but newer carpet. All in all not recommended! The general vibe in the public areas was “Wetherspoons chic”

This is a lovely place to stay, great facilities. Loved the pool. Staff are second to none. Thorough cleanliness was lacking (there was stuff wiped on the wall near the bed and the sink plugs weren't great) and the bar area was too busy for us to order food. Would return though, it was a nice family trip.

Lovely old country hotel, great staff. Only gripe is the queue at the bar and that it closes early but otherwise great service

I stayed here 3 separate times on my recent trip and was able to stay in 3 different rooms. Pros: - The staff were extremely friendly and accommodating - Shortbread & sparkling/still water free each day in the room - Shower pressure in all rooms was excellent - The towel warmer was a nice feature - Fans available - Plenty of parkin,g including EV charging - Front house rooms are charming and larg,e but could do with a deep clean and a bit of a glow up in terms of paint and curtain cleaning. - Facilities within the hotel are fantastic - Windows open in rooms for fresh air Cons: - Musky/sweaty smell in old rooms - Lack of an elevator in front house - Power outage every morning, sometimes multiple times - No conditioner or amenities inthe bathroom - No air conditioner inthe front house rooms - Hard pillows unless in upgraded rooms - Back house 'modern' rooms are falling apart eg, paint coming off the wall and lack of working fixtures (side lamps) - Cleaning wasnt the best, checked into a room where side drawers had questionable items left and soap in the shower didnt get refilled for days - Weird places for powerpoints, not close to bed. - No minibar or place to keep things cold unless in upgraded rooms. Overall I had a pleasant stay each time and would stay here again, just things to be mindful of. The property is historical and charming, and the location is good. It is quiet and about a 10-20-minute drive to main destinations like Bishop Auckland or Darlington.

A greta hotel in a lovely setting. There is a decent gym and pool/spa area.

The hotel building looked fab in the photo's. Arriving there it was even better. A beautiful old building linked to a new extension was amazing. Freindly and helpfully staff. Cant wait to go back

It’s an old building in need of modernisation but a nice place to stay over

Beautiful hotel. Lovely staff. Great family entertainment with a pool, crazy golf, frisbee golf - brilliant x

Bar was a bit crowded for food and no space, had to clear our own table but apart from that food was tip top. Girl on check in was great 10/10 nice , chatty and helpful just what you need after a 5 hour drive up the A1 she was a credit to the Hotel.

Gorgeous hotel, amazing grounds, wonderful stay as a family. Lawn games were a hit with the kids and swimming pool was lush.

Great gym

Very helpful staff, great spa and pool, lovely food

Rude staff at breakfast and front desk.

Check in was busy due to many guests arriving at the same time but the staff dealt with it well and were very friendly. It's a beatiful old building with nice modern rooms. The bathroom was big with a walk in shower and a large bath. The restaurant dinner was really very good and also great service from the staff. I did not use the spa or pool facilities so can't comment on them.

Lovely all round

What a lovely hotel everything was perfect.

Waited ages to get served at bar and food area, Food awful . Bedroom had cobwebs in it and not that clean. Staff gave impression they were not interested, stayed a year ago this hotel is not the same gone down hill quickly so disappointed. Would not recommend .