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Situated in the historic county of Durham, reputed to have been Henry VIII’s hunting lodge and home to the Eden family, guests arriving at our historic hotel won’t be disappointed with the original wooden beams, sloping roofs and creaky floorboards. Nooks, cracks and crannies that are part of the building’s original foundations are to be found in most corridors and bedrooms. We have 32 well appointed bedrooms, luxury spa, newly refurbished restaurant serving local produce, historic beehive lounge bar and the Knights Hall to host the most special of occasions. We truly have something for all tastes at the Manor.
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HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Business
Languages Spoken
English
Location
Front Street, West Auckland DL14 9HW England
The Manor House Hotel and Spa
3.5 reviews
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
This summary was created by AI, based on recent reviews.
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The Manor House Hotel and Spa wins over guests with its spacious and clean rooms, with a nod to its modern bathrooms and well-kept spa facilities. A historical charm and luxurious spaces contribute to the atmospheric ambiance, although opinions on the overall atmosphere can vary.
While the value proposition receives mixed reviews due to some unexpected costs, the service is generally applauded for its friendly and efficient staff. Some travelers, however, feel that certain areas could benefit from further improvements or refurbishment.
Atmosphere
Charming
Rooms
Spacious
Value
Reasonable
Cleanliness
Spotless
Service
Friendly
Amenities
Well-appointed
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Stayed at the Manor for two nights as attending a family wedding. We were in one of the Courtyard Room. Very comfortable and clean, only thing missing was a shelf to put your wash bag on in the bathroom. But it did have a full length mirror and light good enough to do make up which is a rarity. The beds were very comfy. The breakfast in the morning was fantastic, proper English with all of the trimmings, fresh orange juice and real fresh fruit. The cups for tea and coffee were also a decent size so felt very welcoming. We attended the reception in the Knight Suite, and the room was a fantastic venue for a classy wedding, the wedding breakfast was excellent (food was hot and not overcooked when served). Overall service was excellent, far better than when I stayed here two years ago. Would really recommend a visit to the Manor.
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Date of stay: September 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:You can take your dog.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arrived after a v long day and hours of driving, so keen to relax. Staff were welcoming and efficient, with check in easy and no fuss. Plenty of history with the hotel and lots of features sitting comfortably with modern upgrades to make your stay enjoyable. Clearly a recent revamp has been beneficial to the establishment and in keeping with the building. Bar and dining areas pleasant and staff again attentive and friendly without being intrusive. Menu in the restaurant covered most tastes and a couple of steaks with drinks arrived without long waits. A cheese board followed again without any hassle the staff were busy, but not stressed. I'd add that being able to book a slightly later dinner reservation would have been a bonus, but we're aware that hospitality is under pressure with costs/margins and running staff and facilities later isn't always an option these days when the numbers just don't make it possible. Likewise we know that in the N East late night fine dining isn't huge with many, so not a deal breaker for us. Room was comfortable with a large bed and a newly refurbished bathroom that had an excellent shower and bath, likewise loads of hot water which was great pre dinner (often it's the large hotels that fail here early evening running out of hot water) as it helped ease the stiffness of a long drive in the car. Breakfast offered plenty of options and again another group of staff were friendly and efficient, with minimal wait for food and tea. We didn't use the spa while staying on this occasion, but it looks well worth a visit. Checkout no fuss and completed readily to have us on our way without delay. We would certainly stay here again and we hope to do so v soon.
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Date of stay: March 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Not sure there's a lift so if you have mobility issues the ancient staircase to the bedrooms...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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We came here to use the spa which was brilliant. We stayed in manor and paid for a double room but it was no bigger then a cabin room on a ferry so we upgraded to a huge room for £20. we didn't eat here as it was expensive. the new room was absolutely beautiful and brand new as you could smell the fresh paint and the bathroom was stunning and the bed was very comfortable. However, in the morning we went down stairs for breakfast and we sat for 20 minutes then decided to go to the front desk to ask if we were in the right place. A lady came after a while and explained we were and to go round. After sitting with no service and no one to be seen for another 20 minutes we decided to pack our things and check out, we went to check out and was then told we were in the wrong place with an attitude whoever the price of the breakfast was taken off our bill. This place is very under staffed.
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Date of stay: January 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We chose to stay at this hotel as we was travelling up North for a wedding close by.
The location was perfect, only a 10 minute drive away from the location and although you could tell the property is still going through a refurb, we loved the feel of the property and it’s character.
Staff were really friendly, breakfast was lovely and we considered it great value for money at only £15 a head.
It was the room that let our stay down unfortunately.
Although there was a shower attached to the bath, there was no shower curtain and the bath is below ceilings that are slanted meaning you can’t really stand and shower, you have to sit in the bath instead.
Having said this, I didn’t mind that alone as it is part of the character of the property and the beams that run through the ceiling.
My main issue was that I was not able to have a proper shower or wash my hair. The shower pressure in our Room (35) was really low, so it was constantly going from one extreme to the other. The water was either boiling hot but coming out as a light dribble or it was freezing cold when managing to get the pressure up. It was never just ‘warm’ for you to wash appropriately.
As a result, I wasn’t able to have a proper shower or wash my hair, which needless to say was a bad start to the day, considering we had a 2 hour journey home after being at a wedding all day the day before.
When I reported this at reception, the member of staff agreed and said they had raised this with head office as they would prefer to not offer the room to guests until the refurbishment has been completed due to these issues.
However it seems they would prefer to still charge full price without notifying you of the facility issues, which infuriated me more considering they knew about the matter and happily let us stay in the room and find out for ourselves at 10am - a hour before checkout.
We was offered a £10 discount, free access to the spa facilities or a free upgrade next time we stay but unfortunately it is likely we will not stay here again. And so moving forward, it may be better if guests are advised of the issues on arrival and given the above options to use in their current stay.
Personally, I feel basic facilities as mentioned above should be a given especially when you are paying £115 Bed and Breakfast and so to not be able to have a shower in our room given, or be given an alternative option to shower when I raised the issue, was poor.
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Date of stay: August 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Celebrated my 40th birthday with 7 of my friends and family. Arrived and checked in smoothly allocated room 5, 15 & 33 knowing the hotel very well as have ghost hunted in the manor house many times over the past 13 years I opted for room 15. Bottle of prosecco on arrival were of good quality, spent the afternoon relaxing in the spa and bar area before going for dinner. Dinner was delicious in the well appointed restaurant good quality food, before retiring back to the bar and then to our rooms. My daughter and step daughter decided they were too scared to sleep in room 33 which is directly next to room 34 the most haunted room I ever have stepped in. Not too delighted myself to stay in room 33 as I'm a wuss as well, eventually got to sleep in a bed with my younger sister and slept quite well despite the obvious apprehension and suspicion of being visited by 'the monk' in the night. Breakfast the next morning was of good quality and plentiful. The spa is amazing and a special mention to Jess who provided me with the most amazing treatments for nearly 2 hours (back massage and facial) Sauna, steam room, jacuzzi are amazing, pool could have been warmer! But not complaining. The manor house is an amazing hotel, steeped in history and atmospheric I can't imagine spending my 40th birthday anywhere else. Can't wait to see the refurbishment of the knights hall but suspect more paranormal activity is ongoing due to these refurbishments. Highly recommend the manor house and the over night spa deal great value for money...well done manor house we were not disappointed!
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Date of stay: April 2024
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Depressed, disastrous and 100% spoiled birthday!!! I booked this hotel with Spa treatments as a surprise birthday get away for my partner. What a mistake! Firstly, we were greeted by a disheveled young man, who hadn't been trained in greeting customers. I booked an early check-in for 12pm only to be told that our room might not be ready and if it isn't ready, give him a call! However, the room was ready to a point. The carpet hadn't been vacuumed; the bathroom floor not mopped (a piece of foil from some form of tablets on the floor clearly from previous guests). The housekeeping staff were sitting in front of the hotel smoking, great impression. We went to the restaurant for some light lunch or snacks, however there wasn't a soul to be seen anywhere and we approached the same receptionist asking where we could have some light bites and he pointed to the restaurant. A few staff members passed us, so we requested a menu. A few minutes later a man came out of the kitchen enquiring if we came from spa or what kind of package we have purchased and why are we here. Our patience was running low, and my partner stepped in. He explained to him how disappointing, disgusting and out of order the whole experience has been so far, bear in mind we just arrived 10 minutes ago. The man was apologetic and quite nice and offered us a free sandwich as compensation. The restaurant itself was looking extremely tired, old tables, no tablecloths, no atmosphere whatsoever. The staff are dressed better, tidier and are more professional, with tables looking more presentable in Premier inns. Unfortunately, the rigmarole does not end here. We went to the spa, and I informed the receptionist that we have some treatments booked and would like to use facilities prior to it. She then asked me if I would like the extra £30 added to my room for the use of the facilities!!! I informed her that this should be included as we purchased treatments. She had to make a phone call to clarify this, so we were granted entry free! The facilities are a bit of a joke. The swimming pool is more like a bath, not enough loungers by far, and nowhere to put your towel or bathrobe on; the loungers that are there have fabric paddings on, so once they become available, you want to stay out of them as they are soaking wet! There are no cleaners or any staff around, the floor is wet, dirty, empty glasses and bottles left on tables for hours, I am not sure how they can justify £15 pp for the use of such facilities. I could go on and on... The most disappointing thing is that this wasn't just a weekend away, this was supposed to be a relaxing birthday surprise which was completely ruined and instead of enjoying it, we felt oppressed and if I hadn't booked the treatments we would have gone home. I gave this place 1 star as it doesn't deserve anything else, and this is only because we had an amazing treatment (mine was done by Shannon) and a man in the restaurant who tried very hard to improve the situation. Until this establishment announces a multi-million-pound refurbishment, with new, fully trained staff in the art of customer service, save your money, your time, and your exasperated blood pressure.
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Date of stay: November 2022
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Stay away
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We booked our wedding over 2 years ago at the Manor House as we loved the knights Hall, it has been through a massive transformation and looks stunning you can tell the owners have put their heart and soul into the renovations. The events team are amazing they tailored our wedding to a tee. The floating Christmas trees were so magical. We really wanted a Santa for the children at our wedding and struggled to get one so the manager kindly offered to dress as Santa the kids absolutely loved it. They go above and beyond to meet your needs. The wedding breakfast was delicious we had soup for starters, turkey roast for main and chocolate Yule log for dessert, on the night time we had the most amazing lasagne our guests loved all of the food they had. Our wedding guests commented on the staff and the manor and said each and every member of staff were so helpful and friendly. They are a credit to the manager. The bridal sweet is so beautiful with 2 massive windows that give loads of light into the room. It has a beautiful bath tub and bathroom. We highly recommend couples to see the events team if you’re interested in having your wedding there. The price of the wedding packages are reasonable too. You really won’t be disappointed. We just want to say a massive thank you to the Manor House again for making our wedding day so magical and special.
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Date of stay: December 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Christmas weddings are amazing.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We stayed here for the first time in December with a group of friends and absolutely loved it! We all upgraded to the deluxe rooms which for the price I’d highly recommend. Some of the superior rooms are gorgeous too with big roll top type baths. Not all of them have baths though, so make sure you ask for one if you prefer a bath to a shower. We loved the cosy bar and the food was great too. We reserved the private dining room and had a wonderful meal. The staff are so accommodating and really looked after us. The main dining room is gorgeous too with plush teal velvet tones with wonderful views over the garden. It was snowing when we stayed which made it really magical. The whole place has had a lot of work done in recent months and it’s really modernised the old girl but still in keeping with the historical feel of the Manor House. It has an interesting history and feels like a real hidden gem. They have a new manager Johnathon and I think he’s really breathing new life into the place. He’s an absolute credit to the hotel and looked after us all so well. Rare these days! We didn’t use the spa area but we had a look in and it’s also really nice with a good sized pool and saunas. Over all it’s a really lovely spa hotel with great facilities and very reasonably priced compared to some of the others in the area. We all loved it so much we’ll be returning next year for our annual Christmas get together! I think the lower reviews must be historical as I don’t think you could be disappointed with the place it has such a lovely feel to it! We’ll definitely be back!
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Date of stay: December 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Good size car park! Not far from Raby Castle which is beautiful!
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
First let’s start with the good parts. The spa is very modern, clean and the staff were lovely. Very professional and the treatments were all amazing. The spa allow drinks around the spa area so long as you use a plastic glass. The cost of drinks is a fortune but that’s the same in most spas. Now the bad…..The restaurant is like stepping back to 1992 , the music choice was horrendous and had the atmosphere of a wake. We were still smiling and happy to await our meal as we were starving and it was 8pm. The food arrived and just so happened the table next to us received their food also. We were served what must be some new type of discovery by the Zoological society as it was Chicken skewers with the most odious fish smell. Both my table and the table next to us raised the alarm and the staff took the meals away. The staff asked what else would they like to eat and on the limited menu burger was all that they took a fancy to. Minimal apologies were given and 1 free drink to the effected party members. Out came the burgers , to say the cow was still mooing on the plate is an understatement. Feeling awkward and hungry at this point we asked could the burgers please revisit the grill as they would require milking in the morning otherwise . The burgers returned after 13.4 seconds only to be as full of life with a pumping blood flow. Staff were made aware but couldn’t care less , on eating dessert we realised we must now be preventing them from their beauty sleep as they proceeded to clear our table down of all items as we consumed our tinned puddings fresh from the local supermarket. The scampi and chips were so hard you could have used them as ammunition. At check out the issues were mentioned but again not much care was given. So to summarise the Spa is worth a visit but the restaurant needs a customer service implementation and a retrain for the chef.
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Angela Thomas, General Manager at The Manor House Hotel and Spa
Responded Jul 13, 2022
Hi Laura, Thank you for the positive review regarding the spa, it has been refurbishment in the last year and we are very proud of what has been achieved, i will pass on your comments to our spar Manager Laura. The hotel is undergoing refurbishment and most of our rooms are completed as I'm sure you are aware that rooms are a priority, we have extensive ongoing plans to refurb the restaurant, the music however is non offensive background music. My most sincere apologies for the chicken, having said that the burgers are home made are served rare unless other wise stated and quite thick so we have reduced the thickness. Unfortunately new staff where on shift training and this should have been dealt with by a manager but as i understand you did not ask to speak to a manger. Had you spoke to a manager at any time during your stay these issues would not have accelerated to the point of sarcasm. I would imagine that your review is an exaggeration of the true facts. next time you have such an experience i advise you to speak to a manager.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We stayed for two nights to visit Kynren. The room itself was nice, obviously it’s just been recently revamped as the hotel is under going some refurbishment. But was lacking on some of the finer details that would have made the room better, there were no tissues in the bathroom, only one hand towel, no hot water in either hand basin (but shower was ok?) no water in the room (I was not expecting a branded bottle of water) but a simple bottle of tap water in the room to welcome you on a hot day would have been very welcome. There was a questionable stain on the curtain, which should have been cleaned and the bottle of water (which I got from the bar) and glass was left in our room after it’s was cleaned and not taken away for two days. Also our room faced out onto a car park where a large container was being stored, not the most scenic view, perhaps it could have been disguised in some way. We had dinner on the Friday night and on ordering the Pinot Grigio to drink we were told “we have run out?” And the same when I came to order a mint tea? Surely the FB manager checks the level of stock and especially in August when you expect to be at your busiest. In my opinion just a few simple things could be done to enhance our stay at this hotel and I personally do not think we will be returning. This is just my personal opinion but I have to come clean and say that I have worked in hospitality for 15 years, so do know I bit about hotels!
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Date of stay: August 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cardiff, United Kingdom216 contributions82 helpful votes
Sorry to have been so long in replying. The hotel is in West Auckland (the home of the first Sir Thomas Lipton world cup - except that somebody stole it). West Auckland Football Club (WAFC) beat Juventus in the late 1800s, by literally kicking the Juventus players off the field. Juventus thought they were playing Woolwich Arsenal Football Club. However, I ramble; the fact is that this Manor House is about 30 miles from Durham City.
There are more places to choose from in the West Auckland area.
PRICE RANGE
C$124 - C$158 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
United KingdomEnglandCounty DurhamWest Auckland
NUMBER OF ROOMS
32
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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