Lumley Castle

Wow! What a fantastic find this was for a night away for me and my daughter. Perfect for a stop over whilst we visited the nearby Beamish museum. Was absolutely blown away by how beautiful the whole hotel is. We stayed in one of the courtyard rooms and it was fantastic. The facilities were top notch, with water, tea, coffee and biscuits for us. The flowers in the courtyard were gorgeous and my daughter and I were absolutely in awe of how marvellous the whole place was. The best was yet to come because after a great night’s sleep, we woke up and walked through the grandeur of the castle, to the knight’s restaurant to feast on a superb breakfast. Not only was there a continental selection of cereals, cold meats, pastries and dairy produce, but also a lovely hot full English breakfast with tea or coffee. I cannot express how brilliant this place is. I would definitely choose to stay here again. The best bit was that on a Thursday night this only cost us £83 all in. Absolutely first class!

What a stunning castle, on arrival we were told we were being upgraded, we get to our room and it was a suite with two bedrooms and two bathrooms absolutely gorgeous. For us what let it down was the food. First evening my husband's starter was barely warm, mine was fine but it was a Saturday night and we was rushed with ever course! Breakfast was fine but for the price we've had better! Plenty of choice but again nothing was hot! Why would you have a phone on the reception of the restaurant where the guests can hear the conversations of the staff??

during my longer trip I wanted to rest the next day somewhere to sleep. I called at the last minute before arriving, the gentleman kindly assured me that I could come and that they still had a room available. This place: I don't know how to describe it properly. I can say that when I remember just one night here, at that moment I have really happy memories of how magical a place it is. It was a great pleasure to visit this place and I will 100% return. + I am glad that the room prices are friendly

We have just returned from two nights at Lumley Castle and wow, what a great place it was! It is in a beautiful setting, the grounds and flowers are lovely. We stayed in room 68, which was in the old part of the castle, the stairs up to our room weren’t easy to navigate ( we were warned of this before hand) but the climb up them was worth it! We felt like we had gone back in time, it was really lovely staying in a room that was decorated in a way that was in keeping with the age of the castle. The bed was huge and really comfy, room was clean and the only minor negative was the lack of a hairdryer in the room. Breakfast was great, wonderful selection and efficient and friendly staff. It was a unique place, very atmospheric and such good value for money, would definitely stay again!

Was there for wedding. Excellence in every category.Fantastic, cheerful and professional staff who took a real pride in their work. Spotless rooms. Dog friendly room, and relaxed dog friendly space in bar. Stupendous venue for a wedding. Front desk were 100 per cent attentive and responsive. Food excellent and served piping hot all day. Great selection of wine and spirits (no jokes about the resident poltergeist)in bar with great teas and coffees on request. and bar and event service was uniformly top class.Special mention for breakfast service and food. I have never seen fresher continental breakfast, and nothing was too much trouble, even though the hotel was rammed with guests. I asked for well cooked bacon and sausage..they came fast and cooked perfectly. Please don't change anything, and pass on my thanks to every person there.

Stayed here for one night whist on a business trip. Loverly location next to the golf course. Had a free room upgrade. The room was a nice size with four post bed. Comfortable and clean would certainly book the room again. The stairs to the room are not the easiest to navigate. The food is great and the breakfast was very nice. The staff are very welcoming and very helpful. A great stay in a castle with lots of history.

I've visited the castle over the weekend for a private meal. The location overall looks really great, unfortunately the experience wasn't emerging, as the room was prepared in a rush (by the look of it) and attention to details was missing. There was no central piece on the table, and spare chairs was left in the room, taking out space. The food was ok, the cheesecake tastes better without the jam.

We booked both the outdoor cinema day and a stay over in the castle both were amazing. We watched The Greatest Show Man on the lawn followed by a bit of Harry potter before setting off to bed. The event was well organised with plenty of food and drink options and side entertainment and even an owl experience. The staff were all amazing and the room in the castle and morning breakfast topped off a really great stay.

Once you're over the novelty of staying at an actual castle, it's plain to see that the establishment has a lot of flaws especially when it involves service. The staff, although mostly pleasant, don't seem to be fully switched on. The waitress in the Library Bar could only offer me Jack Daniels when I asked about their selection of whiskeys. I later found they had a selection after checking with the bartender (whilst moaning about pulling a double-shift that weekend). The service was also painfully slow and I got the impression that the staff didn't really enjoy their jobs. OK it's a castle so it's meant to be old but the interiors could really do with some updating. I honestly thought I was an extra at Fawlty Towers but maybe this could be put down to its charm. It's certainly a Mecca for weddings! The only saving grace was the food at the Black Knight restaurant. My wife and I were relieved there was something to shout about. The steak and lamb dishes were sublime and the desserts too made quite the impact!

Fantastic Experience! We stayed at Lumley for a murder mystery night and it was a great night. The hotel is very well decorated, to me it was exactly how a stately castle should be decorated with big portraits with ornate frames and statues and a labyrinth of different sitting rooms. It is exactly the sort of ambience you want if you decided to stay in a castle. We stayed in the castle as opposed to the courtyard and were very happy with our room with super high ceilings and big poofy bed. We felt it was very in character to the experience. The place was busy with two weddings, and our murder mystery event, but still comfortable. I loved wandering all the stately rooms at night when the lights were low and the castle was quiet, felt like I was living the game "Clue". I'll take a second to brag about the deal we got as well: - Nice room in the castle with a bottle of champagne waiting on us. - Free wine at the murder mystery reception - Three course meal and the murder mystery performance - Breakfast the next morning all for £99 a person! I'm looking forward to going back for an Elizabethan banquet!

normally I'd reserve a 5-star review for a modern hotel with outstanding amenities, but Lumley Castle deserves it due to the rich, historic feel and high standards. it seems more of a destination hotel since it's a bit far from Durham Center. I was attending events in Durham for a few days and it was expensive going back and forth in a taxi. so 5 stars for the hotel experience, but be warned it's not really convenient to Durham Center It really is a castle, 700 years old, and preserved beautifully. I had a room in one of the wings of the castle and the bedroom was old fashioned but with medieval-looking furnishings. supposedly the castle is haunted and you do hear a lot of creaking during the night, but that just adds to the ambiance (in my opinion). the public rooms are very interesting, like living inside a museum. I didn't have dinner in the restaurant, but had breakfast twice and high tea in the library room and was very satisfied with the food quality, service and value. the prices on the dinner menu seems rather high and since a taxi into Durham center is about 15 pounds, you're sort of stuck here. my only complaint was being charged 30 pounds for a late checkout. late, meaning 2.5 hours, but I suppose it's in the agreement so it's their right to do it. but it seems a bit excessive.

The castle is beautiful, the food was tasty and the bar library was cosy However this is a hotel and the room wasn't worth the money Would I return, yes but I would select a better room than the one I got last time