Forest-in-Teesdale Hotels

"Clean rooms and property. Just couldn’t find an iron"

"Lovely independent hotel in the centre of Barnard Castle. Room was really warm, comfy and spacious, had everything we needed and spotless. Staff throughout our visit were fabulous - from reception to housekeeping to bar. Had plans with family who live nearby so didn’t get to try the restaurant but menu looked great and was busy all of the time. Excellent value for money."

"Clean room friendly staff and quality food and drink"

"Whilst I am sure this kind of property appeals to many, it wasn't what we were expecting. We appreciate it is a castle first, then hotel, but we have stayed in plenty of castles that still offered a very good hotel experience. Our room, apparently an upgraded one [we booked a superior kind] was small and very cold. The host promised us a heater, but it never materialised. The rooms have no TV ["because it is a castle"], but still have TV points in the room. Despite the hotels.com description, there is no spa and there is no hot tub, not that that aided our choice in the first place, but putting it out there for others; they don't exist."

"Lovely place to stay room was spacious bed was comfortable even if a little squeaky breakfast was huge and delicious bar meals were lovely and very reasonably priced the staff were all lovely highly recommended "

"An excellent stop over point on a long journey, and a great place to base a stay in the area. Great pub atmosphere and a clean quiet room! "

"Overall, this stay was disappointing, especially given the price of over £200 per night. The facilities didn’t match expectations. There’s a pool table in the games room, but it isn’t free to use, which feels unreasonable at this price point. There’s also no cash machine on site, and the nearest one is about a 20-minute drive away in Hexham. Despite this, reception and bar staff were unwilling to provide change or offer cashback, which made things unnecessarily inconvenient and disappointing. The rooms are in need of a refurbishment. There were visible scuffs on the furniture, the décor felt dated (particularly the wooden furnishings and artex ceiling), and small details like non-soft-close toilet seats and a broken lamp all added up. These are the kinds of things you would expect to be addressed in a 4-star hotel. There were also issues with the bar. We were told it would be open until late, but on a Saturday night it closed at 9pm. A couple were even asked to leave before they could finish watching the football, which didn’t feel very accommodating. Sleep was difficult due to a flag positioned outside the room window, which flapped loudly in the wind throughout the night. Finally, although the booking stated “pay at the property,” the payment was taken the day before arrival, which wasn’t what we expected. The breakfast was great and so was the room size but overall the experience didn’t justify the cost, and there are several areas that need improvement."

"The accommodation was lovely although a little tired in places. We stayed in a Geo Dome (D2) and although the weather was not ideal due to Storm Dave the room was warm and comfy. I slept well enough and toilet not far from the dome so no real issues. The thing that let the place down was the service in the pub/restaurant. We had a table booked for 8pm, turned up ten minutes early ordered just after 8 and at 9:10pm we had to ask if we had been forgotten about! We had but the chef reopened the kitchen and cooked for us and eventually got our meal at 9:30ish. A little too late for me but my husband said his food was delicious - Giant Yorkie and a leg of lamb he said was cooked to perfection. Breakfast again this morning was extremely slow and once again we had been forgotten about. All things which can be helped never mind how busy it was. It was heaving last night. Atmosphere made up for it. "

"Room had cobwebs hanging from it and the headboard was filthy. The room also didn't have a main light. The tea and coffee maker was behind a door with a hairdryer and mirror but wouldn't stay open in order to use anything. The bar was far to expensive."