Hotel berhampiran East Durham Heritage and Lifeboat Centre, Seaham

I was really impressed with my stay at The Grand Hotel. The sea view was beautiful and the room itself was clean, spacious and homely with everything you need. Staff were exceptionally polite and the bar is a great place to enjoy a quiet drink. I will definitely return 10/10

Stayed overnight, room top floor really not suitable if you have a mobility problem, table booked for 7pm went to bar area to have a drink beforehand, no seats so we asked where to go a member of staff showed us where to go. We sat down when another staff member said we had to move couldn’t sit there ? We explained we had been shown these seats to sit on . Anyway we ordered two Irish coffees. They took an age to come and then they were just tepid certainly not a nice hot Irish coffee , we alerted a waiter who said sorry I’ll get another well that didn’t happen. Food came and was. Lovely. An altercation broke out where the manager was called ,whom in my opinion made matters worse during which she used bad language within her altercation with guests think she was Lisa. . Our twin room was small but adequate spotlessly clean and the comfiest of beds a good nights sleep was had . Would I recommend. All I will say it was ok for a night , will I return I very much doubt it I’ll stick to either Ramside or Redworth hall . At check out we did mention our complaints to reception he was very apologetic . Sorry Bowburn Hall .

Stayed here for 2 nights and it was an amazing hotel , very clean , great staff and beautiful rooms . There is a thia restaurant attached to the hotel and their food was outstanding and the service was high quality . There was also a bar serving pub classics too and was very reasonably priced. I would defo stay here again and visit the restaurant as its a hidden little gem of a place.

The Queens Head is a lovely little BnB/Pub my partner and I both slept incredibly well, the room was spotless and the facilities were well maintained. The pub it’s self was lively with a friendly atmosphere, incredibly attentive staff and the breakfast was to die for. I could not recommend the eggs Benedict more. I would 100% stay here again and recommend it to my friends.

The drive up to the castle was was fantastic as the view of the castle looked stunning. The entrance to the court yard for parking was quaint and inviting. The look of the court yard looking at all the out buildings looked inviting and very well presented. The “stocks” make for great entertainment The entrance to the reception is like looking for the secret door but the plaque at the side with history information explains why and is interesting to read. Inside the reception is is quite dark but this for me added to the ambience of the place. The staff where welcoming, polite and explained the hotel set up. We stayed in one of the room in the courtyard which was beautiful. Very nicely decorated and good value for money. The room was cozy. We’d booked to have a meal in the Knights Restaurant and we had pre drinks in the bar first The walk to the restaurant through the corridor into the central courtyard was very different yet beautiful. It’s so old and it was nice to see it was decorated and kept within “keeping” The bar again was inviting and cosy and it was great to see that the drinks and wine list was very reasonably priced. So often places know you are a target audience and inflate the prices ridiculously however in our opinion the castle had not done this. There was a good choice of cocktails and the “smoked” cocktails added that something a little bit different and we didn’t mind paying a few pounds more for the “quirkiness”. Again the staff where very professional, friendly and well presented. The walk from the bar/lounge area to the Knights Restaurant was stunning through the corridors of the castle and past a lovely looking staircase and when we walked into the restaurant I was overwhelmed as it was stunning and not what I was expecting. The arched ceiling, the lighting, the privacy of how the tables where set out we felt was very nice. We thought it all created a romantic setting. It was very secluded but included. The menu choice was good and the food was beautiful. The service was great too and again the staff were very professional, polite and very well presented. The prices on the menu varied so I would say they’d catered fo most people’s budget and it was your own choice on how much you spend Our nights sleep was comfortable and the walk back from the restaurant to the courtyard was well lit but again in keeping with been in a castle environment. Great use of mood lighting. My husband even went into the stocks on the was home (🤣) Breakfast the next morning again did not disappoint. The selection was fantastic and plenty of food to choice from Overall we can can not fault our experience. It was a lively venue with great facilities and very well presented. The staff where Courteous, polite, friendly and very well presented. I would recommend this as a place to go and stay. We must go back so we can stay in one of the castle rooms as I am sure they would be as good and maybe even more “quirkier” than the courtyard rooms which were very nice.

Excellent stay, room,, restaurants,, staff friendly help full, the spa very enjoyable. One big draw back you only get one hour on your arrival day. I've never had that in any hotel it should be at least two hours. On checking out morning you have till 11am. In all a very pleasant stay 😊