Lumley Castle Hotel

, Chester Le Street, United Kingdom
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Lumley Castle Hotel

, Chester Le Street

Rooms: 59

Chester Le Street - Chester Le Street - England - DH3 4NX - United Kingdom Hotel Website | | 44 01913891111
277 Traveller

Reviews - Lumley Castle Hotel

Historical Traveller Reviews of Lumley Castle Hotel

No ordinary hotel!!, or was that motel??

from BaddyPurt
I wonder what the Australian cricket team thought of this place last year, maybe it set them into the decline that lost them the Ashes, if so all power to this hotel that tries so hard to be a castle and wins because it is a castle, but hotel!!, well i'm not so sure.The staff seem dispirited, no rude and sad better describes them, as though they know that their jobs have been lost or maybe it's because their eyesight is shot having to grope about this dark and dingy hall. I have had disappointments in quality establishments in the past but this place wins hands down, and it's not cheap either. Poor quality all round I'm afraid and best given a miss if your expectations and budget are high. If you have never been anywhere "posh" before I'm sure you'll love it, especially if you are a trucker or road ganger for the ample restaurant servings, yuk!!!

Loved Lumley

from lovetotravel1704
We stayed in a Castle Feature Room for two nights from 15 - 17 May 2006. We booked a North East Heritage Break which was good value as the price included bed and breakfast, one night’s dinner in the Black Knight Restaurant dining from the Table d'Hôte menu, two entrance tickets to Beamish Museum and a bottle of champagne on arrival in our bedroom. The castle building itself is very impressive and is in a lovely location surrounded by gardens and a golf course and the communal areas are very nicely and interestingly done. There is ample car parking and residents are able to park in the courtyard. Our room was located in the castle itself and was nicely furnished in a style which was in keeping with the surroundings. We had a wonderful four poster bed, seating area, dressing table and small television. The bathroom was located through a wardrobe door and had a nice corner bath, over bath shower, lovely large bath sheets and nice range of toiletries. It was all very comfortable and clean. Staff overall were very good. On check in our tickets for Beamish were given to us, the porter took our case and pointed out the location of facilities on route to our room and the champagne was already in our room waiting for us. The service on the first night in the bar and restaurant were excellent. The turndown service with the next day's weather forcast is a nice touch. Breakfast included a self service buffet with cereals, fruit and pastries and waiter service for cooked breakfast which had some nice choices. However we felt that the service in the bar on our second night and breakfast on our second morning was not as good as we hoped as staff were slow to take our order and were not attentive and hence the reason for four and not five stars in our rating. Overall though we loved Lumley and it is a great location for a special stay. We would be happy to return or recommend it to others.

t like old hotels until this one

from neilyork
I'd always dreaded old hotels as they always seemed to be excuses for not having things like Broadband and the modern conveniences that I expect to have in life. Lumley Castle however seems to have the balance just right. I stayed in room 60, at the top of the castle. The room is large with plenty of character. Lumley Bear was expensive at £18 but what else could I expect from a hotel like this. Dinner was nice, breakfast too. In short, I'd love to stay here again but looking at some of the cheaper motel rooms in the courtyard, I'd have been disappointed with those.

s an affront to the castle, history and customers alike

from A-non-o-mouse
It's not a question of castles being dark. Of course, castles are dark, naturally. This would not be a problem. But recently built constructions, such as the courtyard rooms (better described as motel rooms complete with cars parked directly outside your chintzy curtains and marble-look bathroom tiles that are more in keeping with a poor Liberace wannabe's place) need not be so squalid and depressing.

Staff seemed indifferent - felt sorry for most of them just as you might for anyone who has to dress in a badly fitting theatre costume in order to perform their job.

Moved to a room within the castle itself which was better, but still nothing about the interior was tasteful or really in keeping with any discernable historical period. I think it was supposed to be Victorian, but it was distinctly Hyacinth Bucket/Naff in quality and execution – also very tired looking to top it off. Still it is clear that this is enough to please some people – astonishing really, but there you go.

So expensive and bad value though, you can't excuse it in my humble opinion.

Stay in Durham Castle instead. No brainer.

Beware of the courtyard rooms!!

from Rob74
Looking for something interesting and comfortable after a week staying with friends in Edinburgh we logged on to Trip Advsior to for a last minute treat. We booked a room at the castle having read the first few reviews and were excited when we we pulled into the car park. Alas, our excitement was to be short lived! We were given the key to our room which wasn't in the castle but was part of a series of tiny rooms on the ground floor overlooking the carpark (our room was 41). We had paid 120 pounds for the room (it was the cheapeast) and so we decided to have a quick rest in the room before getting ready for dinner. The room was dark and in need of an overhaul (olde worlde is one thing, dirty and tired is another!) and within about 20 minutes we heard the loudest banging coming from the room upstairs (we could hear every voice and footstep - nightmare!)
The restaurant wont allow you in if you're weaing jeans and all of the staff (inclusing the cleaners) were in period dress (think Beefeater)which looked absolutely ridiculous and most of the staff seemed thoroughly pissed-off! If you're into 'themed' events and we know that many of our American cousins like this kind of stuff then you'll have a great time. If you're into historic buildings but not looking for a truly naff experience, we recommend you give this place a big miss!

s siter hotel

from H.D.Snowden
As I said in the title, Lumley Castle is a sister hotel to Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire where myself and my husband have previously stayed. Therefore our expectations were high, and thankfully we were not to be disappointed.
It was just as wonderful as I hoped it would be as I had booked a 2 night stay here to surprise my husband for Valentines Day, Feb 2005.
Unfortunately, due to my late booking I missed out on the King James Suite, but we were placed in a lovely room within the Old Stables, just across the courtyard. The room was beautifully decorated in a gothic/classical style with dark seducing colours and rich fabrics.
The 2-person corner bath was set up several steps within the main bedroom area on a raised plinth with a velvet privacy curtain, great for watching TV whilst surrounded in bubbles supping champers!
In the evening of our first nights stay we first had pre-dinner drinks sat in front of a roaring open fire within the main hotel lounge, part of the 'bar' area was also set within the library area. This was then followed by a meal in the cellar restaurant. It was a beautiful setting with a stone gothic arched ceiling, excellent food and a lovely atmosphere.
On the morning of our checkout, we ordered breakfast to the room, as we weren't quite up to socialising in public after too much champagne the night before! The continental breakfast was delivered in two individual 'boxes' which contained an array of treats to satisfy any appetite.
I can fully recommend Lumley Castle for that extra special treat where oppulance and luxury are well worth paying for!

A real treat

from eddiemercx
This hotel is simply marvellous. I have been to the Maldives for the first time this year, which I highly recommend and will return to next year. I will also be returning to Lumley Castle as it is superb. The rooms are full of character and appropriate objects of antiquity. The reviewers who say the place is too dark or too small are doing this hotel a great injustice. The rooms although not massive are more than big enough and can not be any wider as the castle cannot be widened! It is 600 years old after all. The whole place is very dark, brilliant as this gives the whole place so much atmosphere and a certain spookiness. So to all those reviewers who poo poo this exceptional experience I say bah humbug! I love it.

Fantastic

from CATHSTER13
We have visited this hotel for three consecutive years. Each time we have booked for the medieval banquet! Fan-flipping-tastic!! We have stayed in various rooms and have been thrilled at their uniqueness eaach time. Fab food, nice staff, very romantic and worth every penny!! We will be back (but maybe for the murder mystery!)

This is a fantastic hotel!!!!

from triphell
I had stayed at Lumley Castle twice previous to this occasion but I had stayed in a Courtyard Room, which are lovely but not a patch on the Castle Rooms. We booked for the August special offer which was only £45 per person and an extra £22.50 each for a Castle Room but was totally worth it. Think we were up in the gods though, up 2 flights of the main staircase then through the corridors and the snooker room etc then up another very narrow old staircase to our room. It was amazing, the huge bed was up on a platform and the bath and shower were behind a curtain next to the bed. The bathroom with toilet, bidet and sink were hidden behind a bookcase which was a real bookcase with books in. The bathroom was huge also. There was a seating area, tv in a cabinet and loads of old fabulous antiques.
This will hold a fanastic memory for me because my boyfriend proposed to me the night we stayed there. He knew I'd be embarrassed doing it in the restaurant so he did it in the room as we were all ready to go out. I just did not see it coming and he had the ring and everything so it was unreal!

We had a yummy meal there too that night and champagne even though I was as high as a kite all night and kept giggling and grinning at the staff, they probably thought I was mad. The Black Knight restaurant is lovely, quite dark but very romantic, we chose from the Table d'hote menu and it was beautiful. It was a very warm night so we sat out in the gardens and drank until midnight. David even thought he saw something behind a window which was in complete darkness, I think it was a ghost but only cos I love spooky places and was willing for it to be something. This is a fabulous hotel, which I agree with other peoples reviews can be very dark but it is perfect for it is a very old castle after all and wouldnt look right with bright lights everywhere.

The breakfasts were also lovely the next day and you can have a choice of many hot cooked meals aswell as the cold buffet of cereals, fruits, bread, cheese and muffins.

We have since booked our wedding reception for Lumley Castle next Christmas. It is a bit pricey compared to other hotels but I think it's well worth it and it holds special memories for me and I will come back time and time again and recommend to everyone.

I've also been for christmas functions and cannot fault it.

We love lumley castle

from micmac75
We had our wedding reception at Lumley Castle in 2004 and returned the following year.

This is a beautiful, unique hotel. Some of the hotel corridors are dark , but this is in keeping with the 'castle' theme.

The king James Suite is magnificent, with 2 large rooms and a whirlpool bath.

The Castle feature rooms are smaller, but furnished nicely. The do not have showers though, just large baths.

The staff are polite and on our wedding day helped it to be a perfect day that we will never forget.

Top Local Tips for Chester Le Street

Beamish - 5 minutes from Lumley Castle Go if you have time. This attraction is spread over a big site, although once you have paid your entry fee the trams and buses are free, hop on/off at each place to visit. What a great way to go back in time and see how things were. Also has a coal mine which we went down (not too far underground but needed to bend down at certain points so no good if you have a bad back) but very interesting. Fresh bread and scones baking in the old ovens in some of the properties you visit, smells lovely but you are not allowed to taste or buy due to H&S. There is a coffe shop in the main building, and also nr the Farm area around the site. The old town is not as big as it looks on the telly, but there is an old fashioned sweet shop where you can buy Pontefract Cakes, Poor Bens etc, and a real working pub.

dress code We really wanted to dress up in costume for the banquet but decided not to as there was just the 2 of us,we were glad as we made the right choice as nobody was,i would only dress up if there was a big group of you going.

Elizabethan Banquet For parties of four or more, the Lumley Elizabethan Banquet is excellent value for money and a great, fun alternative to dining in the Black Knight Restaurant. Nb. pre-booking is essential not least because the banquets do not occur every night of the year.

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Other names for Lumley Castle Hotel

  • lumley castle durham
  • lumley castle
  • hotel lumley castle
  • castle lumley
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  • Address: Chester Le Street - Chester Le Street - England - DH3 4NX - United Kingdom
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