Dalston Hall

We were booked in from 5 to 8 January 2025. I received a call around 4pm on 2nd January to say my booking had been cancelled due to another major booking. I had originally been booked in in September , but due to a family bereavement had to cancel. The hotel was very good about it and we agreed on the January date. Really disappointed. Will not be recommending.

What a lovely place. Fabulous food, room and friendly staff. The afternoon tea was gorgeous really worth trying. Nice walks and views. The hotel has a lot of history and a very grand feel to it. Highly recommend for getting away from it all. It is a popular wedding venue and I can see why.

We had a very unfortunate experience here. We had a pleasant enough greeting and check in experience. We were assigned room 12, the first thing we noticed was there wasn’t a single coat hanger in the wardrobe. However that was the least of our problems as it soon became evident that the extremely hot and stuffy atmosphere and streaming windows were caused by there being no ventilation, no opening window in either the bedroom or bathroom. We could not sleep in a fetid, airless box. So unless this is an atmosphere you’re happy to sleep in please check before you arrive. The only room offered as an alternative was a large single with a double bed which we accepted as the other alternative was to come home. This room was very basic even the bottom sheet to the bed just laid on top, there was no extra to tuck under the mattress. There also seemed to be a problem with a lack of hot water in the rooms on both nights of our stay, making showering a very unpleasant experience. Our evening meal on our first night was very lengthy, when we eventually got our main meal the vegetables were barely cooked, we do not like mushy veg but these were not al dente either. I would say that the venue owners need to decide if guests between weddings are really their thing. It is a large place but because there’s only a dozen guests or so the same person runs reception, serves drinks in the bar and serves evening meals. It’s such a shame because the place probably has potential but something needs to be done to establish how they operate between being a couples retreat one day and a wedding venue the next.