Well located in Durham City centre . Goid sized modern bedrooms . Only downside is paying for…read moreparking . Restaurant is ok serving pub style food . Always find the service here very good .

The staff are extremely friendly and the rooms are nice and quite spacious for the price. We didn't…read moreeat in the restaurant but the food good looked good and smelled amazing. They serve Costa Coffee but they only serve medium sizes and you use the machine yourself - the coffee only fills three quarters of the cup. The beds are comfortable too.

Great tasting food, still has an independent feel to the place though, some people might find this…read morea bonus, I found it a off putting, staff a rather rude and would rather talk about lasts nights shift than pay attention to a paying customer. Outside facilities a great in the summer and its well located.

A nice hotel, not far from town with good bus links. Used to be a landmark for people in…read moreMiddlesbrough, but not so much anymore. Good standard of rooms and reasonably priced.

Recently refurbished pleasant hotel located near central middlesbrough. The outside is very dowdy…read morebut inside very pleasant with gym and swimming pool. The rooms are a good size.

EDIT: I originally gave the Thistle Hotel two stars because I went to a special Murder Mystery…read moreevening and even though I'd told them well in advance about my dietary requirements (I'm vegan) they still had no meal for me! However after I wrote a complaint letter they invited me for a free meal to prove that it wasn't what usually happened there and it was lovely.

Beautiful grounds and sitting rooms. Nice, strong coffee. Afternoon tea with nice selection of…read morefinger sandwiches. Awesome staff.

Really loved it here, old world and immaculate. Food was tasty, we had evening meal and breakfast,…read moreboth plentiful and tasty. Some great little pubs in the area too. I will definitely be going back.

Hidden Gem in Durham! The level of professionalism, customer…read moreservice & overall experience were outstanding. Starting with the warm & friendly reception of Anna, Eve, Julliana, Victoria. Housekeeping: Shirley & Ethan went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed. Kitchen: Chef Jimmy prepared amazing 'To go breakfast' for our family, including coloring books for the children on our departure dates. Bar & restaurant staff amazing, but Sue went above & beyond in every way possible! It truly felt like home at this location! No detailed was missed and assistance was always available. Daily breakfast buffet was varied & delicious. May you continue to excel in outstanding customer service!

Lovely old hotel in heart of Durham provides a great base for the city and area. With any old hotel…read morethere are a few negatives as well as positives. The rooms are spacious and well equipped but my 3rd floor room did not have a good bathroom. Shower was underpowered and in a very slippery bath with a shower curtain. Not ideal as shower curtains are not what I expect in a high end hotel, while the bath is pretty dangerous and I would be concerned for older guests stepping out. In addition some tiles were missing above wash basin. Breakfast consisted of hot and cold buffet and was very good. So some hits and misses but location was a winner.

Out in the country Headlam Hall is situated in beautiful grounds which are lovely to stroll around…read moreafter going to the health club or having a bite to eat in the restaurant. It is also home to a number of functions rooms, large and small, which are available for renting. It is a great venue for weddings and boasts a tremendous menu. The staff are always very friendly and it is a hot spot for locals and visitors.

I recently attended a wedding here and everything about it was lovely. The grounds are beautiful…read moreand made for fabulous photos, all the staff were friendly and attentive and the food, both at main reception and evening buffet was very good. Plan to visit for a meal soon.

Excellent food at good prices service is friendly and efficientread more

This is a nice * country house hotel originally built a few hundred years ago. There is an annex…read morewith another 15 rooms which has been added about 20-ish years ago. The original rooms can be large with four-posters available, while the annex is more of a standard hotel room. I've found these rooms to have quite short baths so don't expect to stretch out if you're over 5'2" The hotel has free WiFi but other than the main area it is a bit flaky on reception and drops out quite a bit, cellular signals bounce off the stone too but outside it is a reasonable strength, all rooms have free-view. This is a pleasent hotel to stay in but it is the restaurant that makes it worth the drive when i'm working in the area. Hansards has 2 rosettes and has a fixed price 3 course dinner for about £19 with some suppliments for extras. This is well worth the money and I recommend you take the DBB rate when you book your stay, it works out cheaper. There is no pool or gym here but it would seem out of place if there were. I have given * rating as there is nother really outstanding about this hotel but it is well run with pleasent staff and a good restaurant, what more do you need when your working away from home but they do need to get the reliability of the WiFi sorted out. All of my collegues stay here too so that's a fair recomendation. X = You've gotta be kidding me XX = trying but not reaching the standard expected or advertised XXX = achieving the standards expected/advertised however high that might be XXXX = they're doing something special here, above expected standards of service XXXXX = WOW! you gotta go here!

There are a few things you need for a good stay in any hotel in my opinion…read moreFriendly welcoming staff Clean rooms Fresh bedding Peace and quiet Value for money Good food is a bonus However not only did this hotel tick all the boxes but it done so in the beautiful setting in which it stands Should I need to stay over this side of the country again for work, this will be my first port of call Stayed September 2014, travelled on business