The Honest Lawyer Hotel

Our visit was disappointing as we found the afternoon tea to be unappetizing, poor value even at Groupon prices and well below our expectation. The restaurant area was very quiet being late afternoon and had a noticeable musty odour possibly from the soft furnishings. The sandwiches were reasonably satisfactory although not traditional being served as half buns. Both the cheese and fruit scones were hard, cold, small and tasteless but with an abundance of jam, some cream and no butter. The portions of cheesecake were enjoyed but the slices of cold cake were not. The service was acceptable and car parking space readily available

We booked rooms 24 & 25 for convenience due to a disabled family member but on arrival we had been moved to less convenient rooms. The rooms are tired and dirty, excrement on the floor in one of the bathrooms, in desperate need of refurbishment. Our meal in the restaurant was ok but the garlic bread was questionable! We had booked bed and breakfast through Alan, only to be told on the morning of breakfast that we were bed only. As regular visitors to Durham we will book elsewhere next time and recommend others to do the same.

Stayed at this hotel as part of a breaks to go group trip for 2 nights. We had a twin room in the motel area of the hotel and couldn't fault it. Plenty hot water, tea/coffee facilities provided and comfy beds. We were on a breakfast/dinner basis and meals were good. Staff were very friendly and helpful and Jon the duty manager brought table and chairs to accommodate guests when we wanted to watch the entertainment on the Friday night which was much appreciated. Entertainment was good. There was a wedding taking place on the Saturday so there was no entertainment provided but that was not a concern. There is a bus stop beside the hotel and buses run regularly into Durham and surrounding areas. Overall the hotel is well run and the staff are friendly and helpful. Disabled facilities are available and the general garden area is lovely to sit in. Would not hesitate to return.

I had my wedding reception her on Saturday 17th May and the staff was excellent start to finish. The food we had was delicious and highly recommend. My friends and family stayed for 2 nights had no complaints and said food was lovely and their rooms were clean and tidy. Me and my now husband room was clean and tidy not the best view but was big spacious. They followed what we asked for can not fault location is only 5 minutes from Durham city centre. Thank you so much.

Lovely cream tea, tasty sandwiches which is so different when its white bread.. arrived just as a funeral party did.. staff were ready for us to sit & took coffee order, asked for a cappuccino & told it cost more which is fine.. tea came with tasty sandwiches, ask for crisps & the young man was lovely, he got some from the kitchen, amazing scones, we had 1 fruit & 3 plain but couldn't change the plain as it was the way they came out of the kitchen.. shame... yes so many cakes we took some home & maybe a savoury would of been nice. we were checked on.. didn't charge for coffee change or crisps which wasn't a lot but you remember don't you... did I mention the scones!!!! loved it... xx

Bed was comfy and the chair/desk was decent for working. Shower was grim - narrow bath with a shower curtain that just wanted to hug you throughout. Rooms are little self-contained units around the edge of the car park so you can park right outside your room which means it's easy to get luggage in and out. Waited a little while for check in as staff were busy elsewhere. Food was fair, with massive portion of fish and chips that I couldn't have hoped to finish.

Absolutely fantastic, John the bar manager brilliant, friendly, welcomed us on entry. Had family up from Surrey grandsons had kiddies meals massive fresh not frozen gorgeous, adults had pizza chips,brilliant, can't fault this place at all.keep up the good work.

We visited the restaurant because we had an afternoon tea booked for 3 people. The venue was very smart with lovely decor. The afternoon tea was lovely, very good value - I got it on a groupon deal! There was a mix of sandwiches, scones and cakes. The scones were some of nicest I have ever had and there were 4 types of sandwich. There was ample selection with as much tea and coffee as we wanted. My only tiny suggestion would be that we would have preferred another savoury item and slightly less cake, as delicious as the cake was, ie, a little sausage roll or pork pie would have been nice. We couldn't eat all of the cakes, so a guy brought us 2 boxes for us to take them away with us. What we had was wonderful. The service was exceptional! There was 2 gents who couldn't have been more attentive, an absolute credit they were. If you haven't been, I'd definitely recommend going. We'll be going back soon to try something from the main menu. Can't wait!

Nice big pub/hotel which is nicely set out with plenty of room & privacy area. Just a latte & scone this time but menu looks good, south side of Durham on A167. Must call in again to eat. No idea of rooms but I believe it's been recently refurbished.

This is a really difficult review for me. Honest Lawyer is really an American-style hotel rather than a B&B or a "charming old-fashioned" hotel... The room was clean, and the bed was comfortable. I will also say that the restaurant had tasty dinner. The annoying parts of this stay unfortunately outweigh the positives in my mind. Firstly, the nice, quite room is basically completely Wi-fi proof. While they do offer free Wi-fi, I was unable to actually use it from my room - I had to either go outside, or back to the restaurant/lounge to connect. Second, while the dinner was pretty good, they ran out of cask-ale after my first pint, and didn't seem enthusiastic about changing the cask. Also, the dinner wasn't really a bargain. This dovetails in to the second issue I had with dining, which was the breakfast. It was a mediocre steam-tray buffet. It was not worth the £9.99 per person that they charge. Third, they don't have a business center - this isn't normally a huge deal, but I'd love to have been able to check in for my flight and print my boarding passes from the hotel, especially considering how troublesome their Wi-fi was. My overall summary of Honest Lawyer is really that it's about a 2-1/2 star experience. It's tolerable if you cannot find a B&B, but it really doesn't compare to a good B&B experience, and it's costly enough that it cannot realistically be called a bargain.

Stayed here recently as part of a living social deal. The rooms are indeed very nice, with a view of a field and a couple of pheasants at the back, and parking right outside the door at the front. There was a huge flat screen telly on the wall at the end of the bed, and the bathroom was nicely decorated. A few niggles tho: The toilet flush broke over and over again, and the cistern took eaons to fill. The offer on the Living social thing said free glass of wine on arrival, but it wasn't champagne at all. The wine that came free with the meal was a reasonable Merlot, but the Shiraz was nicer. Good bits: The food was indeed excellent, with nice flavours and well presented. I atre too much to get a sweet, but they looked lovely. Slept well, water was hot, and the staff friendly. We had a wander down a few footpaths nearby on the morning after, and the walk to the Viaduct was very nice.

Disappointing! We stayed for one night at this hotel. We enjoyed our evening meal and a good bottle of wine in the restaurant as well as a couple of cold beers in the bar after dinner. All of the staff at this pleasant hotel were friendly and efficient. Our room was in the single storey block of 'chalet style' accommodation at the back of the hotel, overlooking fields. We were able to park our car just outside our room door, which was very handy for transferring luggage to and from the room. Our room was comfortable and overall we retired to bed thinking that the hotel represented good value for money. The problem with the rooms however is that they are not adequately soundproofed. In fact I doubted if there was any acoustic insulation at all. We could hear people talking in the room next to ours, but the worst experience came just before 6am. An incredibly noisy commercial refuse collection vehicle entered the rear car park before 6am a time when I think that most guests in hotels are probably fast asleep . The sound of the vehicle's engine and refuse processing equipment woke us up, causing me to jump out of bed to investigate where the noise was coming from. The vehicle departed after about 10 minutes but by that time the traffic on the main road at the front of the hotel was becoming unbearably noisy. We couldn't get back to sleep on a morning when we had planned to sleep until 8am. After a reasonable breakfast we began our journey home feeling tired and disappointed with the hotel. If anyone writes that the chalet style rooms are quiet and peaceful I would cynically suggest that the author is a member of the hotel management team. When staying at an hotel the most essential requirement is for a good night's sleep. This hotel fails miserably on that score and we shall not be returning. If you really must stay here and you don't wish to be awoken before about 5.30 am, I would recommend that you try one of the rooms at the back of the main building. Avoid the chalets.

Excellent value!! We chose this on a special promo - proved to be a good choice. Styled along the lines of an American motel with rooms in a block behind the main building so room far enough away from the main road to kill any noise with lovely views out onto country fields. Nice walks nearby along riverbank. Excellent bus service into Durham - took only a few minutes. Food was a little too traditional English "pub grub" for me but good portions and reasonably priced. I would choose it again if visiting Durham.

Well I for one really really like this hotel. It's situated on the A167 just a couple of miles south of DUrham. It is easy to find and a decent bus service travels past regularly. It also has a large car park. I've never stayed in one of the rooms to be honest but they are situated around the car park in a courtyard style. They advertise them as boutique hotels which is probably quite apt as that is the style of the restaurant. The food is absolutely fab, not a huge choice but enough to find something you like and the decor is beautiful.

Went last week for a meal with friends. Mixed reviews. Home made burger was very tasty but would have been better with proper home made chips rather than what I think were frozen french fries. Rice served with the lamb was like quick cook or boil in the bag "Uncle Bens" type. It would have been better with proper basmati. Chargrilled bacon chop had not seen the char grill. For the quality of what was served, overpriced I think. On the positive side the staff were friendly and welcoming. Had expected better food and won't be returning.