Fir Tree Vacations from $1,237

The hotel was lovely, the breakfast was lovely and the staff were friendly and helpful. Its in a nice location for food and drinks, as well as local attractions like beamish museum. Oh the beds are super comfy as well My only negative review would be the bed sheets were clean but they were heavily stained.

Booked the accommodation for a middle-aged stag do, so really only used for sleeping and toileting the next morning and consequently did not have many requirements, but those we did have the venue met and seemed to have decent kitchen/lounge facilities as well. Price per person was certainly very good value. Despite what negative reviews said, the venue was near the centre, walkable but also next to major bus routes, and seemed like a safe residential location. Well-designed system in place for making sure you are all ready for checking in, with a lock box on the wall meaning you can access at any time and remote monitoring of the entrance late at night to ensure security. The only area I'd flag is the process around the deposit. While advertised on the listing (and nothing actually taken as far as I can see, just authorised in case), Hotels.com makes it clear no money should be sent separate to their booking system, so was a little uneasy with the process for authorising payments. That being said, the system being used seemed to be run by Expedia, so there was some protection in place. Would be good if there was some way of running this through the Hotels.com booking system, but given nothing untoward happened, nothing to worry about.

The hotel is very well located right in the centre of town. Breakfast was good with plenty of choice at a reasonable price. The coffee provision from a machine wasn’t great though and we’d rather the music, played via speakers in the breakfast room, had been quieter, different or not been played at all. Similarly we’d prefer the TVs there had been switched off (although they were at least muted). These are minor quibbles though as the clean, comfortable room and friendly, helpful staff contributed to a lovely short stay in a hotel we’ll definitely use again.