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Reviews of The Black Bull Hotel

3 out of 5
The Black Bull Hotel
38 Market Street, Kirkby Stephen, England

Reviews

8.2

Very Good

Rating 10 - Excellent. 46 out of 119 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 43 out of 119 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 17 out of 119 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 11 out of 119 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 2 out of 119 reviews" "

8.4/10

Cleanliness

8.4/10

Staff & service

7.2/10

Amenities

7.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

6.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

6/10 Okay

Paul

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Cold couple ❄️
This hotel was nice and clean with everything you could need for a night away. The only issue was that we were on the top room and the heating wasn’t working on our room. Once we came in the room was freezing this impacted my asthma the next day and we had to leave quickly in the morning. The room and service was great however.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Carol

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Quite pricey for a small double room (bed up against the wall) with no breakfast, bed was comfortable room lovely and warm
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Manuel

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

2/10 Terrible

Robert

Traveled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Iain

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

6/10 Okay

Philip

Liked: Cleanliness
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

8/10 Good

Scott

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Traveled with family
Tired building
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Very tired, dirty floor and walls no staff to accommodate in the morning of checkout and only person that works in morning didn’t speak English so not helpful when needing to ask questions
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

Linda

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2023

4/10 Poor

Richard J

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, room comfort
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Disappointing.
Check in was via the bar staff, and although there were only two of them, this was ok and we were taken to our rooms. I was in Room 1. I was disappointed to find no light bulbs in the reading lights over the bed. In the bathroom, the towel rail was loose on the wall, and only just held by two screws. It had a rail missing as well. Also, there was no toilet roll holder. In addition, for the double bed there was only one bedside table, but there would have been no room for one anyway. The cooked breakfast was fine, but I had to ask for marmalade/ jam to go on toast. In general, breakfast service was poor. And to check out, we had to search the property for someone to hand over the keys to. For the price I paid -£144 - I felt it was very bad value. The saving grace was the location, which was excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

4/10 Poor

Mr J W

Disliked: Staff & service
Worst hotel breakfast experience ever
Room ok. Wi-Fi needed signing up to Sky and giving name and address and date of birth and accepting ads, which was unacceptable. Filled in breakfast form and put 9am. This was our choice as breakfast was available until later. Came down at 9.20 to find 2 plates of cold cooked breakfast on table. No cereal or toast. Some stewed filter coffee. Only person there was a cleaner who said that she doesn’t speak English. Found chef in kitchen wearing dirty T shirt who said that he wasn’t paid to stay longer and put out food at 9. Left most of my food. No one there when we checked out. Seems like they have some serious staffing problems and would advise anyone else to avoid
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

6/10 Okay

John

Disliked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Very tied property need updating
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

8/10 Good

Andy

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Good value base
Worked well as an overnight stop for a wedding.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

4/10 Poor

Joseph

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Old!
Very run down and old!!! Staff were lovely
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

6/10 Okay

Hollie

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Lady that checked us in was friendly but I spoke to a man on the phone before arrival to query parking and how we could get the key if we are attending a wedding - he was miserable and complained about how annoying it is that people stay for weddings and are out all day (I queried if it’s so annoying why there hasn’t been a solution implemented). The room was basic but it was comfortable and the location was lovely. Average stay overall, would stay again if attending another wedding in the area but wouldn’t go out of my way to stay here.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

2/10 Terrible

Phil

Traveled with family
Disliked: Staff & service
We had to sleep in our car.
I couldn't answer many of the questions because, despite telling them we were going to arrive late and being told to call them so that they could tell us how to access the property, they failed to respond to multiple calls and an email. Consequently, we had to spend the night sleeping in our car! The fact that they were far more interested in getting our money than actually accommodating us is the thing that is so terrible.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

8/10 Good

lindsay

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Comfortable stay
Lovely bed, linen, pillows, very clean Only minor niggle was no bedside table or lamp
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

8/10 Good

Scott

Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mark

Traveled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We were up for a wedding and The Black Bull Hotel was a convenient place to stay. The landlady was very friendly and bed comfortable. We were a bit chilly during an April cold snap and couldn't work out how to get the heating on. No breakfast at the moment but there are plenty of great cafes in Kirkby Stephen and we had a chance to explore the area before we left. Would defintley stay again.
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2023

4/10 Poor

Gary

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Avoid
I called a few days before to see if we could have early check in or leave our bags somewhere as we were going to a wedding before the usual check in time. I was told no as the room was in use, I was then told that ‘everyone else from the wedding were staying 2 nights to avoid this’. We decided to then use a friends room to get changed in and leave our bags in. When we’re arrived we were met with very slow check in service, this is a pub but the pub was closed and staff were available but no one seemed to know what was going on or who was doing what. We were eventually told we could have the keys ti our room as no one had stated in it the night before, seems the last in the phone was just being awkward. The room was small but that was not an issue for our needs. The room needs serious updating/improvements: -smelled musty/damp -mould & damp around window frames -shower curtain full of mould -dirty walls and light switches -stupidly cold or stupidly hot shower, no in between which was crazy as it was a mixer tap -selection of teas coffee but only one breakfast tea and only decaf coffee provided. -bed very uncomfortable and creaky For room only we found £110 to be a lot for what was provided.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2023

6/10 Okay

Jayne

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Nice welcome, no food available :(
The Black Bull is a lovely looking hotel. The bar looked fairly newly refurbished. The bedroom had been partially repainted, but there were bits missed, some peeling paint, and in the ensuite bathroom, some of the paper on the ceiling (approx 18") was peeling off too. Most disappointing was the fact that when we arrived, we were told there was no chef so no evening meal or breakfast available .... if we'd known this beforehand, we probably wouldn't have made the booking :(
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

4/10 Poor

michael

Stayed 1 night in Sep 2022

10/10 Excellent

lauren

Stayed 3 nights in Aug 2022

8/10 Good

Walter

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

6/10 Okay

Lee

Business traveler
Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Room need to be updated.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

4/10 Poor

Ian

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
poor service
The staff where awful the scruffy woman had a couple of goes at me because our room wasn't ready even though it was 2.30 and she had told us to come back at 2 the man who took over while she was hysterical was pissed off because |I had stopped his break and he let me know it. We have stayed here many times and we love it but this was bad I don't think I will go back
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

4/10 Poor

Richard

Traveled with group
Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in May 2022

6/10 Okay

Alan

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Likes: Both bath and shower provided. Bedroom clean & comfortable. Bar meals available in evening (Popular with locals). Dislikes: No breakfast provided. Limited refreshments in room (tea & coffee only)
Stayed 1 night in May 2022

10/10 Excellent

Russell

Liked: Staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2022

4/10 Poor

michael

Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Bull
poor. breakfast did not happen, email from hotel said breakfast would be from kitchen, not buffet. when I arrived "no breakfast". Room small: though I paid full double b&b rate advertised large double bed was not, only small double. Window frames chilly metal, not closed properly when I arrived (cold February). One smaller pane cracked. Room warm, Shower in bath o.k. but narrow bath and clingy plastic curtain. Shiny new brochure advertising brunch from 11am and cocktails, but it is a hotel not just a food pub needs to get its act together.
Stayed 3 nights in Feb 2022

6/10 Okay

Bernard

Business traveler
Disliked: Amenities
Not great. Cold water to shower and sink - nothing worse than a cold shower and shave in the morning. Not exactly made to feel Welcome on arrival. No breakfast whatsoever nor any offer of alternatives. Bar closed at 10. No drinking water in room although there was a bottle. Room was lean but bed uncomfortable and room way too hot or it could have been the bedding. Not a great experience. Won’t be back.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022

8/10 Good

Gillian

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2022

8/10 Good

Jovana

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2022

6/10 Okay

Helen

Poor tea/coffee and no breakfast
The room was tired but was ok, however tea/coffee facilities were poor, there was no tea and just a coffee crafter with no milk. Woke up to be told we could not have breakfast even though it was included in our room as we did not order it the night before which we found unacceptable, no refund or apology just told we should have mentioned it in check in
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Diane

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021

8/10 Good

Philip

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice, comfortable room
The hotel room (no. 2) was spacious and had a great view of the main street. The bathroom was again spacious and clean. The staff which we spoke with were all friendly and helpful. Perhaps the most disappointing part of the stay was a surcharge for tea/coffee and toast for breakfast. We would normally expect this to be included in the price. Apart from this minor inconvenience, the hotel was very nice and provided a great base for our stay in the very lovely town of Kirkby Stephen.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2021

10/10 Excellent

Scott

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great stay for work.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021

8/10 Good

Ngaire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Black Bull Hotel
The newly refurbished hotel was clean and comfortable. Hosts were attentive. We had booked bed & breakfast for 2 nights but found on our first morning that they arent offering breakfast. We found a cafe directly over the road that did a lovely breakfast though. Lots of small shops on the high street. A river locally where we found Franks Bridge and a walk.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2021

8/10 Good

Benjamin

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Janet

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2021

8/10 Good

Chris

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Hotel could do with a face lift. Our door lock was broken & not fixed during our stay. Double room was very small. Overall we were a little underwhelmed.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

6/10 Okay

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Still hardly operating mid week
The Black Bull is still hardly operating in the mid week - no breakfast available.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

10/10 Excellent

Claire

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2020

8/10 Good

Tony

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2020

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveler

Traveled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Turned up very wet and tired after cycling in pouring rain but made to feel welcome and let us bring bikes inside. Had a nice meal in evening too
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2020

8/10 Good

Simon

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2020

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Nice breakfast, very friendly and helpful owners. Decent band in the pub on a Saturday night. I'd stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveler

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Really warm and friendly greeting by Hannah, check in was very easy.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2019