Bannatyne Hotel Darlington

Bannatyne Hotel Darlington descritpion

This historic town house is less than a mile from Darlington's center. It has free parking, free internet and free access to a swimming pool, gym, spa, sauna and steam room.
The Bannatyne Hotel Darlington mixes original 19th-century character with modern comfort. The rooms have private bathrooms, flat-screen TVs, work desks, free wired internet access and tea/coffee.
The rooms have views of the center of town or the hotel's gardens.
Guests at the Bannatyne Hotel Darlington have free access to the Bannatyne Fitness Health Club, 1,950 feet away. The health club has a well-equipped gym, an indoor swimming pool, a spa, sauna and steam rooms.
The stylish and modern Maxine’s Restaurant and Bar offers fresh, seasonal British food, great wines and single malt whiskeys.

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Facilities of Bannatyne Hotel Darlington

Outdoors ：Grounds | Terrace

Pets ：Pets are not allowed.

Food & Drink ：Bar | Breakfast in the Room | Restaurant with Dining Menu

Internet ：Free!WiFi is available in the hotel rooms and is free of charge.

Parking ：Free!Free private parking is available on site (reservation is not needed).

General ：Newspapers | Non-smoking Rooms | Facilities for Disabled Guests | Elevator | All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Reviews for Bannatyne Hotel Darlington

Review 1：Poor check in. Just handed a card to charge to room, not told of breakfast times,bar ,restaurants times, just told its on the card. No local information passed on.

Review 2：good location, comfortable room.

Review 3：I arrived Sunday evening as working in Darlington the next day. They were hosting a birthday party, which went on ALL night. My room overlooked the garden and people were out there still at 5am laughing loudly etc. and as some drifted up to their rooms throughout the night there was much drunken shouting and doors slamming. I phoned reception at 1am, and although the person was polite he said there was nothing he could do. I was shattered the next day as had no sleep on the Sunday. No one apologised to me the next day.

Review 4：Clean and comfortable. Food very good. Nice and warm in the rooms, and can open sash windows fully to let air in as desired. Waiting staff wonderful.

Review 5：Initially we had a problem with the hot water in our room, and had to have tepid showers. However on mentioning it to housekeeping staff the next morning we were told it would be sorted out and we should have hot water soon. Returning in the afternoon we found that the water was still lukewarm and again reported it to the Front Desk, this time it was dealt with and we had piping hot water within 15 minutes. During our second night the people in the room next to us were obviously having a "domestic" and we were awake for more than two and a half hours listening to what I can only describe as a screaming banshee spouting all sorts of foul mouthed rantings and banging and crashing about. Not much fun for anyone in rooms nearby. Eventually after contacting the night manager at 4.20am, the noise stopped for a while, but was less intrusive when it started up again. We were offered profuse apologies by the General Manager the next day, but I would certainly have to think seriously before staying at Bannatynes again.

Review 6：The staff were all very pleasant, particularly the staff in Maxine's Bar and Restaurant. The food was good and the menu varied, we enjoyed dinner on our first evening and breakfast both days we stayed. The hotel is in a good location and has a fair sized car park. After checking out we were able to leave our luggage in the hotel for an hour or so, which was great as we were not being picked up until after check-out time.

Review 7：if I had to pick fault , a towel rail near the bathroom basin , and quality toilet roll for the more luxurious rooms , the cheap ones looked lost on the quality holder , but hey , loved our stay

Review 8：Best Hotel we have stayed in by far , we did go for the four poster though , even better than expected , definitely our travel destination when we need to visit the area again . Bet it looks great in summer too .

Review 9：It needs updating. Whilst staying boiler kept going out which resulted in no hot water 3 times during our 3 night stay.

Review 10：Staff were very friendly and helpful. The location was great. Breakfast was brilliant. Manager was brilliant at dealing with problems.

Review 11：Very small room. Everything looking very tired. Carpet was stained. Walls in dining room were dirty. Wooden floors badly needing repainting. Watery mushrooms and tasteless tomatoes for breakfast.

Review 12：Friendly staff. Good central location

Review 13：Single glazed windows meant it was a bit cool in the room on arrival and there was some traffic noise in the morning.

Review 14：Beautiful historic building in perfect location with friendly, well-trained staff. Breakfast was excellent.

Review 15：Difficult route to get to the room. Breakfast was poor, when the range of food was there it was ok, just it wasn't when you wanted to have it. Staff were nice people but didn't seem to be managed in what to do and how to serve the customers.

Review 16：Breakfast on second morning completely different experience, very disappointing. Buffet breakfast, food cold and no scrambled eggs and smoked salmon as offered day before. No menus on table.

Review 17：Excellent staff, excellent food

Review 18：I reported a toilet that kept filling so kept me awake all night I was promised it would be fixed before going to bed the following night it wasn't fixed so I had no sleep for 2 nights. Even though we had booked a sweet the beds were not long enough for my 6'3" husband

Review 19：The staff are very friendly

Review 20：Asked for a quiet room and was given a ground floor room. Noise from traffic was okay but doors were being slammed into the night. I hardly slept :-(. Also location can be a bit difficult to find.

Review 21：Friendly staff, nice restaurant with gluten free options, which is fantastic for me. Room a good side.

Review 22：The bed was terrible, Such a soft mattress that did not support you at all. One turn in the night and you almost fell out of bed. We had to move furniture by sticking the two twins together so that we were more comfortable. The double headboard is not suitable for twin beds so this is uncomfortable if you are watching tv or on your tablet as the frame digs in to your back.The rooms are very small and could possibly do with a makeover. The reception did try and help re the room but the hotel was full so that a change was not possible.Breakfast could be better....eggs undercooked, tomatoes awful, lack of ingredients i.e. mushrooms and vegetarian sausage, etc. For anyone not eating pork products it was a bit sparse because of this. One morning it was a buffet as the hotel was very busy but many items, plates, juice etc ran out so a bit better management on that day would have helped. Also using the same serving spoons for meat and potatoes was not great.

Review 23：The staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Reception was run very efficiently and nothing was a problem for them including arranging taxis and a very early breakfast with the night porter Aiden who is a great asset to the hotel. He really was a great guy with his excellent customer care and personality.The location is perfect for getting in to town. The outside grounds of the hotel are beautiful and certainly very impressive.The downstairs areas are very nice in a shabby modern style which felt like home whenever you returned...bit like an old pair of comfy slippers but in a nice way.. Room was immaculately clean with lovely smelling toiletries , great selection of hot drinks/biscuits and good wifi in the rooms. Also I like the tags that you could place on the bed if you didn't need sheets changing. Very good idea for the environment. Shower was great with plenty of hot water and power. Towels were freshly changed daily and well laundered. The room was warm and cozy.

Review 24：Decor very dated, expected more for £81 per night, windows rattled all night as windy.

Review 25：Staff were friendly, room service good, and breakfast good, clean room

Review 26：Room was too hot but that was because we are having a very mild November!

Review 27：I like the general ambience of the place. The staff are always very attentive and conversational. I particularly like Maxine's Restaurant and always enjoy the food there.

Review 28：We could not find fault with anything the room bathroom and breakfast were excellentwe were on the ground floor and only had motor cars to view but this did not upset us.

Review 29：We had the Twin bed room very very small and uncomfortable. Beds Very wobbly and they made noises when rolling over we didn't sleep at all. Toilet roll holder I'm our room coming off wall. No soap at the bathroom skin for you hands. Needs better sign posting through the hotel as got lost a few times as not clear where to go. They Need to pay more attention to detail as when u looked closer it's was shabby and worn in areas, the Bar area near coffe machine the wood all distressed and damaged looked trampy and bar wood all damages needed waxing. wonky laps shades around hotel not on straight and some bits looked tatty, sticky floors.

Review 30：Food was amazing, probably the best Iv ever had at that price. The breakfast was lovely and hotel is a lovely period building with a nice garden. Staff was Lovely. Also got to use the leisure centre spa aswell. Value for money- 1 night stay for 2 ppl with breakfast and include use of the spa down the road.

Review 31：We arrived late so didn't get to use the facilities, also we booked as 2 adults and a child however when we arrived the girl said we were in a standard double and would need to upgrade at another £15 to fit the bed for my daughter in.

Review 32：The beds were really comfy, and the place looks great.

Review 33：Bar a bit small and 'uncomfortable'. Felt everyone was just sitting there exposed around the edge of the room on one side with no music or subdued lighting to make conversation more private.

Review 34：Decor and bedroom size/comfort. Breakfast good and fresh.

Review 35：I think the suite room description slightly misleads, it is just an average size room divided in to two spaces by a partition wall. Both areas were small and in my opinion would have better as a large room rather than partitioned in to two spaces - neither of them great. The mattress on the bed was not of a good comfort quality and in a day when most quality hotels have increased bed sizes to king size, this was a double. The king bed would have been a tight fit in the bedroom area of this small suite - another reason to ditch the pretend wall and allow for a good size comfy bed - the main requirement of travellers. Bathroom was dated - shower over bath - slightly odd folding screen but it was all clean. My main view as a frequent traveller is that it was over rated as a room and taking the Northern area in to account as well, I think it was a bit over priced for that space and very unimpressive mattress at £125 per night.

Review 36：This is a lovely period building, lots of character that has been sensitively redesigned to operate as a modern hotel. Public rooms are stylish. It is in a nice area of town and has a lovely garden area.

Review 37：The way the staff were totally uninterested. Particularly at breakfast. They didn't tell us what to do and served burnt toast. The fact they secure 50 pounds from our card despite the fact we didn't want to charge anything to the room and had paid I'm full. It wasn't back in our bank untill the following afternoon. The lady on reception was lovely and very helpful but non of the others were.

Review 38：The location and the size of the room.

Review 39：The bar area was dirty and because of a wedding, which was suppose to be separate, there were children running around late into the evening and the bar ran out of glasses! The mattress was hard and the springs were near to the surface so very uncomfortable!

Review 40：The staff were very helpful but very over worked which had a detrimental effect on the service!

Review 41：Bar area very small and full both nights due to weddings.

Review 42：Friendly staff who made up extra bed in room at request with no extra charge Good breakfast and offered freshly poached eggs and extra tea/ coffee

Review 43：Parking was tight due to a wedding.

Review 44：I am a very fussy individual and easily put out when I don't get what I pay for. In this instance everything was excellent.

Review 45：The bed room was a good size but needs some attention... the 'double bed' was two singles zipped together but the bedside 'tables' were still in the positions on the wall for two singles being in the space...the TV does not move position being at a spooky angle on top of the chest of drawers... Bathroom had odd 'french style' props in it... again good size but needs some attention...

Review 46：Great location for business in town or indeed getting out of town for motorways. Good size to bed room .... but....

Review 47：Room signs are a little confusing. Was in 50 which didn't seem to be on any signs so had a wander about the hotel until I tracked it down

Review 48：Really comfy bed

Review 49：There was a wedding party...We were on the ground floor very close to the room and our children couldn't sleep due to the noise from the wedding

Review 50：Breakfast was great

Review 51：Found two pieces of sharp glass in our dessert at the Resteraunt, the manager was calm and friendly however we merely had the dessert we hadn't eaten any ways knocked off the bill and told they would look into it and that was that, unsure if we are just ungrateful or if other people would be equally disappointed and upset by experiencing this. The room itself had stained walls and the wallpaper was coming away Bathroom smelled of excrement upon arrival until we sprayed it with our own scents etc to make it more bearable Unclear that the spa and pool is over a mile away in the car until after booking, and scouring the website it's okay if you have a car if not it's a little disappointing and a bit of a faff.

Review 52：Staff positively lovely. Decor on lower floors is nice. Bed was comfortable Breakfast was as expected plenty of choice.

Review 53：The only thing I didn't like was the rooms don't have any noise block from the outside system, I have a very light sleep and was constantly awaken from noise either on the corridor or outside my window.

Review 54：Liked the look of the hotel, the staff were friendly and helpful, liked the location.

Review 55：Working out where to turn to get to the hotel - I should have rung the hotel in advance and, having met the lovely, friendly staff, I am sure they would have been very happy to give me clear instructions.

Review 56：The excellent reception and restaurant staff, our delicious and well presented meals, and our plush room overlooking the garden.

Review 57：Better lighting for reading would have been appreciated but that's the same in very many hotels.

Review 58：Helpful staff, clean comfortable rooms. plenty of car parking close to the city centre.

Review 59：Are room was a little bit dated we noticed there was two different shades of wall paper chipped paint,window lock was broken on right hand side so was nervous to open incase it fell out,are room was number 44 but in a hole comfortable stay

Review 60：We liked the hotel in general,friendly staff

Review 61：the hotel was very hot that was our only complaint.

Review 62：all staff very helpful and friendly great location and nice rooms. We had a meal and found food very good and value for money.

Review 63：The fire alarm went of at 5am the carpark was very small most of the time it was to full to park had to park on the street 5mins away and you have to around the back to find it

Review 64：The peeling wallpaper and paint in the room I was allocated was disappointing.

Review 65：Friendliness of all staff, cleanliness of room and bathroom and the new restaurant menu was excellent value, particularly liked the earlybird facility.

Review 66：Not really anything I didn't like.

Review 67：I felt very much at home - lovely spacious room - very quiet - could have window open all night - spacious bathroom with loads of shelf space.

Review 68：Room had no temperature control and was far to hot, hotel decor is scruffy, shower is powerful but doesn't drain away quick enough and fills the bath.

Review 69：Breakfast was very nice fresh produce.

Review 70：Had dinner both nights I stayed-both experiences disappointing-because of below par main courses-salmon first night and fillet steak second. Sancere wine mediocre and expensive. Because of this not sure I shall stay again.

Review 71：Staff very friendly, efficient and welcoming

Review 72：Decorating in progress stunk of paint. Room was very (sweaty) hot without heating on even with window open. Cleanliness of room: 1: Table was minging and had to be cleaned and hovered. 2: Toilet had 'Pee' stains under seat, self cleaned. Breakfast - Brown sauce dish was passed from table to table instead of individual for each table. Expensive bar drinks.

Review 73：Location. Convenience of town centre. Staff very nice.

Review 74：poor parking, small room, poor decor, flimsy furnature, faulty equipment, dining room floor sticky, and breakfast very average.

Review 75：Not much to like realy, staff were very pleasant in the way they dismissed our issues.

Review 76：On occasion we had a nasty smell in the bathroom ...am guessing it was a drain problem ... as on the Saturday morning the door to outside was open and the smell was pretty bad .....

Review 77：Staff were very friendly and helpful ...

Review 78：Plates not cleared away after finishing a bar meal. Long wait at the bar - inability to cope with the inevitable 8 o'clock rush in the evening. The above comments relate to staff being preoccupied with the wedding party - other guests rather 'second-class citizens' on Saturday evening.

Review 79：ground floor room with view of garden

Review 80：Fan wasn't working in bathroom and bath didn't drain well - after washing hair I was still standing in soapy water when getting out of bath! Wardrobe door needed adjusting - very tight on carpet.

Review 81：Location was good. Very nice building with lots of character.

Review 82：Reception Staff were excellent. a very pleasant welcome on our arrival and keen to help with anything we wanted. Bar and Restaurant staff also very pleasant during our stay.

Review 83：Room was a little warm and water pressure for the shower wasn't as strong as I would expect. Not bad enough to be a major blemish though.

Review 84：Convenient for town centre and transport. Lovely staff that were knowledgable and helpful. Room facilities were good.

Review 85：Parking at this hotel was difficult at busy times eg weddings at the hotel that finish in the early hours.

Review 86：Good customer service from all the staff. The building.

Review 87：2 large water stains on ceiling , stains & tears in décor, no parking available on sat night due to wedding

Review 88：BREAKFAST quality produce lovely dining room

Review 89：Horrible pork served for Dinner one evening Rooms designed by a man !!!!! No dressing table and chair with mirror for hair styling, make up application etc Hardly any ledge space in bathroom in spite of some bathrooms being luxuriously large and no hooks in some bathrooms,

Review 90：Décor Friendly staff Mostly fab food Comfy beds Nice supply of soft drinks in room Very quiet Great location

Review 91：No warning about limited parking on site - parked a good walk away. Decor was very very tired around the hotel; couldn't work out if floors were messy or "distressed". Bar area looked like a post wedding scene (it was) but there were dirty plates and glasses on all of the tables - not a great setting for an evening drink - though I persevered!

Review 92：Staff were extremely friendly, engaging and polite

Review 93：Everything was dated so much inside considering it's a 4 star Hotel The milk in the room was 6 months out of date, which made my partner violently sick The bed was two singles pushed together? Can't afford a King size? There was a small towl and a large towl for two people only The signage in the hotel to get to reception from the room was insufficient Full English, the poached egg was over cooked and not drained which meant that water went through the beans and the sausage and the mushrooms. Got £10 off the room for all the above Still pretty poor result considering how sick my partner was

Review 94：Rachel was lovely on reception

Review 95：Waiting for breakfast. Wouldn't have minded so much if we had been offered a coffee or tea while we waited.

Review 96：Lovely room looking onto gardens. Staff friendly but efficient

Review 97：I arrived on a very hot day and the room was stuffy and hot, it would have been lovely to have had a window opened to make the room fresh. A dripping hot water tap in the bathroom sink, which was mentioned to staff - but still hadn't been fixed upon my leaving. A bit disappointed with one young grumpy member of staff serving in the breakfast room on Monday morning - a smile doesn't cost anything. No secure place to leave luggage so that I didn't have to trail it around Darlington, staff said I could leave suitcase behind chair in reception.

Review 98：I know the hotel well having had drinks and dinner there in the past whilst visiting family/friends. But this was thefirst time I actually staying in hotel - It is very comfortable and homely especially on a sunny day - garden is private and tranquil and enjoyable whilst reading a book a drinking a chilled glass of wine. Food is delicious and most of the staff are very friendly with excellent customer service skills.

Review 99：Lack of 24 hour room service. No air conditioning. Difficult parking and entrance being blocked by cars waiting to load. I arrived back after 1.00 am and waited some 20 minutes for vehicles to load. In the end I went for a drive around and came back later to then struggle to find a parking space. If I had not already left my luggage in the room I would have given up and driven home! As parking is obviously restricted it would be sensible to inform guests of nearby alternatives.

Review 100：I liked the atmosphere of the hotel. Due to the nature of my stay and time constraints I spent very little time in the hotel but found it comfortable.

Review 101：Interior a bit tired. Chipped paint, dirty doors to service areas (in guest areas), squeaky floors. There was a wedding so the dining room was not available until 9.30. It would have been nice to know that before we arrived. Parking was also a problem because of the wedding.

Review 102：Good location.

Review 103：Excellent overall though the Monday morning breakfast was self service from Bains Marie's but some of the heating lights had gone out leaving the food almost cold. Other morning, the served hot food was excellent.

Review 104：Very friendly and obliging staff who were a real credit to the hotel.

Review 105：Surprised that a hotel of this quality had painters working in July. Made it difficult to negotiate corridors. Twin room had a double bed headboard which meant the pillows on one bed covered the light switches.

Review 106：No where to park Bed very hard and pillows too No black outs. Room boiling if we opened window it was so noisy Had a plug in scent thing next to bed which caused my wife to have a asthma attack Breakfast ques and not enough seats and ran out of food

Review 107：Nothing it was a bad experience

Review 108：Poor signs. Difficult to find way around. Poor service when ordered coffee from the bar, had to wait nearly an hour.

Review 109：Lovely venue for the wedding. The rooms were clean and well equipped. The gardens were nice to sit outside.The meal was extremely good.

Review 110：Parking difficult when a corporate event is on. On these occasions the bar can be very noisy, making a quite drink with friends impossible.

Review 111：Very friendly staff. Excellent meals.

Review 112：When I put the fan on dirt flew everywhere. Maybe the room hadn't been used much but I had an asthma attack with the dust blowing everywhere.

Review 113：Staff were lovely; very welcoming and friendly when serving meals-well done. The meals we had were tasty and staff noticed when things needed replenishing without being too fussy. My room was lovely and big, with a lovely antique sofa I could have lain on all day. Very hot but that can't be helped- we were having a heatwave. Shower was lovely and powerful.

Review 114：Couldn't sleep at night - far too hot and couldn't open window although probably wouldn't have helped. Breakfast disappointing. Came too quickly to be freshly cooked and bacon like cardboard.

Review 115：loved our suite and the fruit and anniversary card were a nice touch. Staff all very friendly. Dinner was really lovely.

Review 116：Thought the bathroom could do with a deep clean, found a hair in the bath and on window sill. Floor in reception felt very sticky !

Review 117：Lovely building and helpful friendly staff

Review 118：There was a wedding in the hotel on the Saturday and that encroached on other guests enjoyment of the hotel facilities.

Review 119：Hotel building and grounds are lovely.

Review 120：Room was quite dated and hotel was busy due to wedding which resulted in us unable to get service from bar and also evening meal was affected, as we had long wait to get drinks and orders taken, wrong orders brought to table made it a long night.

Review 121：I like proximity to shops. Lovely building and grounds. Friendly and helpful staff.

Review 122：Not a bad experience as such, but the hotel would benefit from an update. Also, access to the hotel is not very clearly sign-posted. Another point worth noting is that the spa facilities are a 15 minute drive away!!

Review 123：Convenient for town centre, breakfast excellent, staff very pleasant and helpful. Reasonable value for money.

Review 124：Car park is poor - not many spaces. Hotel needs updated as it's very tired looking and bedroom was same. I have stayed in better places for the same amount of money.

Review 125：Staff were helpful

Review 126：incompetent staff ruined breakfast and mid morning coffee. Staff simply ignore you and don't want your custom.

Review 127：Great entrance, free parking and close to town.

Review 128：We could not fault the staff for their friendliness, professionalism and customer care. A short walk into the centre of town, not far from the station. Breakfast was excellent and the Early Bird Meals in the evening were excellent value.

Review 129：I upgraded to a deluxe room expecting it be be a little plush. Disappointed to be faced with a tired room, which was very bright over night due to the illumination of a very large tree outside.

Review 130：Location was excellent.

Review 131：There is no comfortable lounge to sit in-it is more of a bar. It was being set up for breakfast service when we wanted to relax there with an after dinner coffee. The silver/black decor of the dining room & lounge do not complement the historic building.

Review 132：Outside appearance of hotel is fascinating. Reception and restaurant staff very helpful.

Review 133：Lack of staff for busy breakfast time Food was minimal and not stocked up enough Car park was overcrowded and some spaces blocked others

Review 134：Took a while to check in at 11.30pm No one was around but everything else was great

Review 135：Room not set up for two and a little disappointing in where the window was little daylight. Booking.com did not give adequate instructions on how to get to the hotel As in not to follow the sat nav

Review 136：Staff, food

Review 137：Room was cold...until I got to bed then the heating was uncontrollably high. The Spa/gym being a 15 minute walk away is also really not convenient. They should market it differently as website lead me to believe it was on site.

Review 138：Staff were superb.

Review 139：The parking isn't fantastic but where is these days

Review 140：Lovely staff, very helpful. Rooms clean and comfortable .Great menu in the restaurant & very affordable. Close to the town ctre, shops & all sorts of eateries.

Review 141：The evening meal in the restaurant was lovely access to swimming pool and jacuzzi great bonus. Breakfast on the morning was great choice of everything would stay again

Review 142：Excellent value for money booked an executive room, large and very comfortable. Friendly, helpful, courteous staff who go out of their way to make sure your needs are met. Great quality food.