Reviews in Darlington

Food was excellent, very tasty. Service from waitress was excellent, very welcoming. Spas was a bit disappointing, not much to do, a few pieces of equipment were not working the day we visited and the spa area felt very open, cold and lacking atmosphere. Shame, as it could have potential.

Nice and relaxing, excellent food and service

Booked an afternoon spa and lunch. I really enjoyed the facilities and found it relaxing. 2 course meal in the hotel was absolutely fantastic. All round great value for money and I will be definitely visiting again.

After seeing videos of ladies saying the spa wasn't nice, we thought we would still go anyways..On arrival lady was lovely, she showed us where to go,told us the hot tubs were on,an outside one and 2 inside, one of them inside wasn't up to temperature so we jumped in the other one which was lovely and hot..but after half hour of been in it,we noticed scum forming around the edges..the sauna was nice,but at the end when we went to get changed, wasn't nowhere to put the towels robes,like a bin..had to take them back to the lady.we then headed for our afternoon tea,the young lad who was serving us was polite, even if he looked like he was hating life..we asked for no fish, so ended up with ham,along with cheese and tomato..the sandwiches felt a bit stale,and the cakes..The fruit scone was lovely, was warm and got clotted cream and jam which was lovely..we were full so asked for a box to take them home in..which the young lad went to get some and bought them back..My friend bought a drink,so when we left we went to the bar bit to pay,but couldn't find anyone for at least 5 mins..I went upstairs to find a housekeeper as we were in a hurry to get off.Finally someone turned up to take our payment. I thought 30 pound for the spa and afternoon tea was good,but if we had to pay anymore I'm not sure wether it would be worth the money..Just feel the whole of hallgarth, needs updating ..

Myself and daughter had a spa day with afternoon tea. My back massage was really good and my daughter loved her facial! Spa was good, plunge pool not in use but didn’t bother us. We tried the outside hot tub which was a good experience. Would be better with a glass of bubbly and maybe a spot of sunshine. Lovely afternoon tea. Quality cakes and a cheese scone to die for!

I bought a spa day with afternoon Tea for two for my mams birthday. The spa staff were very welcoming and although it was disappointing that the plunge pool wasn't in use the sauna and jacuzzi were nice and we were asked if we wanted our welcome drink with either our afternoon tea or in the spa which we chose to have in the spa. Negatives, the taps in the ladies changing rooms were cold, very unpleasant washing your hands in. Leading on to afternoon tea, after going to reception who gave directions to the restaurant, no one was around but you had to wait to be seated. We had a time slot also no bell or something to alert staff we we there and we waited quite some time before being seated by a very unwelcoming member of staff who seemed annoyed like we'd just interrupted her quiet time. She seemed very cold in personality. We were seated on a 4 person table directly in the strong winter sun, we couldn't see no matter which seat we sat at. We had to ask to be moved, there were also another 2 tables that both sat 2 people free which I didn't understand why she had sat us at a 4 person table anyway. We were very pleasant with her and constantly thanked her when placing down food or drinks etc but still not even a corner of her mouth moved, she never smiled or acknowledged us, so rude. Service was very slow and when she disappeared it was for a long time. Some people book these thing's as a treat, as did I, especially for my mams birthday and her attitude ruined it which was so disappointing. The food was mediocre, dry stale bread on the sandwiches, sausages in blankets and mince pies, obviously Xmas leftovers. The only nice part was the scone, clotted cream and jam.

Visited with my mother and sister in-law last week. Friendly happy staff who made us feel welcome. The place was clean and tidy very cosy setting. Dissapointed the Ice bath wasn't filled but never the less we loved our time in the spa area. We had festive afternoon tea and honestly the cheeses cake was the best I've ever had!! Really enjoyed ourselves and hope to return very soon.

Overall I would say our afternoon tea platter was a pleasant experience despite some negatives. The food was of a good quality and the waiting staff member was attentive but that staff member didn't make us feel particularly welcome. She gave us some odd looks. No idea why!! The decor and furnishings in the restaurant look tired/stained and dated. Some of the platter was lovely e.g scones but some if it was obviously shop bought. The spa and spa staff were excellent. The hotel receptionist staff should not be eating and have a mouthful of food when greeting guests ( which is what happened to us) . I think there's work to be done on staff customer service training e.g. thinking about the little things as it makes all the difference. It's a beautiful looking hotel that could achieve better.

We wanted to spend some pre Christmas quality bestie time together and boy did we!! Our treatments were amazing. The spa was so inviting and the beautiful blue sky enable us to enjoy the outdoor hot tub. The food was beautiful too, we really couldn’t have wished for a better time. Thank you

My friend bought me the spa package as a birthday gift.From the friendly greeting from reception staff the 2 lovely girls in the spa it was a perfect day . The food we had was a 2 course meal all freshly cooked and perfectly served by the young man h e was so polite and helpful I would definitely recommend it to anyone

The spa was enjoyable ,although the plunge pool was not in use . The treatment we had was relaxing and as is it was not busy things were accessible. A very disappointing afternoon tea.The sandwiches were dry and bland. The scones had been overheated . Which resulted in not being able to eat the fruit scone . In my opinion it had been made at lunch time and left to stand . Resulting in a disappointing afternoon tea . After serving our afternoon tea the staff disappeared, not giving us the opportunity to give our opinions.

We had a lovely afternoon tea. Service was excellent. Nice decor and comfortable surroundings.

I’ve always liked it here, but it’s certainly lost its appeal. We booked a spa day online. Didn’t get the automated email so had to chase for confirmation. After chasing, the responses were quite curt. When we arrived it was not busy but the greeting from reception was bland and like we’d interrupted her phone scrolling. Not advised we could get water or hot drinks as we wished we were pointed to get changed. Having got changed, we went to use the spa to realise lockers were out of use / none spare for belongings, the plunge pool - one very reason we were going, was empty and awaiting parts (also couldn’t book hot stone massage as parts required!) the hot tubs had thick grimy scum on the top and ring marks from people’s drinks. The treatments were basic, short and sweet. Showers are impossible, you press for 5 seconds of water then must keep pressing for a trickle... After, we had booked afternoon tea for 3pm. We waited u til around 3.30, bread was dry. Last time we got more selection and pots of Tea. The Scones were delicious as always. The spa was silent all but another patron constantly whistling loudly - can’t be helped but not at all peaceful and by this point 3 girls at reception scrolling on phones and playing clips. Despite this we had a nice enough time just glad we didn’t come expecting much more than what we got. And so glad we weren’t far from home for a hot shower and warmth.

Very pleasant afternoon tea. The scones were delicious, both the fruit and the cheese. Plenty of tea to drink, nice big teapot. Enjoyed the background music, very relaxing. It was hard to have atmosphere as we were the only people in, aside from one couple finishing their meal. In light of the fact I have mobility issues, using a walker to get around, the location wasn’t ideal. I would have quite happily eaten the tea in the bar.

We had a wonderful day at Hallgarth for my birthday treat yesterday. The Revive offer of spa use followed by a two course lunch was such a perfect gift. There were 9 of us in our party and we had a fantastic time, I chose the soup of the day started which was carrot and sweet potato followed by the chicken main meal…… cooked to perfection with a tasty sauce and veggies- the presentation was excellent too. So all we had extra to pay was our drinks. The staff were lovely, and so patient with us as we were such a big party. Everyone loved it and agreed it was an amazing day. Thank you to all the staff who made my birthday treat a wonderful experience.

We had a spa day booked with 2 course meal, we both had oxtail croquet to start delicious, then I had the lamb rump and my partner had the sirloin steak both cooked perfectly and the accompanying sides with each wrre excellent too, we paid extra for dessert coconut one it was nice but needed the ice cream as a little dry, overall though I would definitely recommend food there

Bought as a gift for my wife and mother in law included spa treatment , they said they had a great time at the spa but in the afternoon there was supposed to be prosecco included which there was not which was very disappointing. Why on earth people sell these packaged and don’t follow through with what has been promised . Very disappointed.