Headlam Hall Hotel & Rural Retreat

Fantastic experience: Literally the pinnacle in service class and location.

Fantastic experience: Food was great - just had lunch.

Fantastic experience: Played golf followed by an excellent Sunday lunch

Fantastic experience: Had lunch there. Excellent meal and good value.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful country hotel with excellent food and service.

Fantastic experience: A fabulous place with very helpful staff and loads of parking

Fantastic experience: Excellent hotel, good service, very peaceful, good food

Fantastic experience: Stayed at Headlam on a two night dinner, bed and breakfast package. Our room was in the Main Hall which was very traditional and superbly furnished. We were very close to the bar and main restaurant. The food was exceptional - a real highlight. The Spa was quite small and I had a very professional and soothing treatment from Scarlett.

Fantastic experience: What an amazing location. Food was gorgeous and service was very good.

Fantastic experience: Thank you for such a warm welcome, from start to finish we had a brilliant day. Friendly, thoughtful, and highly professional. As a team, you put us at our ease—and all the regular spa goers we chatted to raved about you too. Much appreciated. Lunch was delicious - and the gardens are beautiful. Special thanks to Julie and Rachel in the spa too.

Fantastic experience: Went for wedding anniversary as a special treat and it was special. Excellent service from cheery staff who really treat us well. Peaceful gardens but best of all excellent food - perfectly cooked and presented. I love the classsy lounge area. We also had great fun on the electric bikes for a day visiting the rose and crown. Teesdale really is underrated as its beautiful with far less crowds making for excellent cycling. A special hotel break.

Fantastic experience: Just returned from a stay for our anniversary and birthdays. Excellent hotel with superb facilities and service. Rooms very well appointed, and the hotel is exceptionally well presented. Spa, 9 hole golf course, gym, brassiere in addition to the superb facilities of the main hotel. Grounds were extremely well maintained and lots of local walks available. Restaurant provided great service for both dinner and breakfast. My only small personal issue was that we had to upgrade to be able to access a room with a walk in shower which was needed, making the stay a bit more expensive than we needed it to be. Overall though, superb hotel and facilities and would highly recommend to anyone for a very relaxing break.

Fantastic experience: Love this place! Golf is great. Staff in Hotel, Spa and brasserie are all amazing.

Fantastic experience: Our second visit and really can't fault it. Lovely room in the old house overlooking the gardens. Food excellent. A great choice but particularly nice each evening a special amuse bouche, starter main & dessert. Cocktails bang on. So enjoyed one each evening, really enjoyed English Garden & Cucumber Spritz. Thanks Carl & Ben. The location is nice and quiet but great for visiting The Auckland Project, Raby Castle and Barnard Castle & The Bowes museum. If you enjoy a walk there are a number from the Hotel. And finally so nice to have the Spa facilities. This time I really enjoyed my reflexology appointment and hubby his back massage. Thanks to Mary and Scarlett. Suffice to say we will be returning.

Fantastic experience: Lovely place with comfortable room / bed, great service, good food options. I'll certainly come back.

Fantastic experience: Just back from a wonderful weekend away at Headlam Hall with my Rotary Club. Such beautiful areas in the main hall and ancillary buildings. Warm paneling and genuine antiques make it very welcoming, especially on a cold, wet March weekend. Large choice for breakfast.

Fantastic experience: Had a one night stay. Enjoyed using the spa. Large spacious bedroom. Hotel full of charm and character. Dinner was superb absolute fine dining. Breakfast first rate. An excellent stay all round. Look forward to staying again.

Positive experience: Thoroughly enjoyed our meal here it's just a shame the toilets didn't have baby changing facilities.

Fantastic experience: stunning place, absolute great value

Fantastic experience: Stayed for our honeymoon. A beautiful hotel with amazing grounds, brilliant service and food and we even had the pleasure of using the spa. We will certainly return

Fantastic experience: Spa hotel but didn't take advantage of the treatments available. Swimming pool, steam room and hot tub - great facilities.

Fantastic experience: Two night winter escape, thoroughly enjoyed our stay, warm welcome, cosy atmosphere, fabulous food, good facilities in the spa, pool, steam room, sauna and hot tub plus treatment rooms. We liked the rural location. We had a room in the main hall, tons of character, stone framed windows and a fireplace (chimney sealed) in the bathroom! Rooms were lovely and warm despite our British winter weather. The dinner menu was not extensive but had a choice for most tastes. The gruyere and sage soufflé was fantastic. Staff were all friendly and polite with good service.

Fantastic experience: We had two days stay here for our anniversary and couldn’t fault it. The staff (especially reception and bar) were friendly and efficient. Especially getting us a room with walk in shower was very much appreciated. Food, both breakfast and evening meals were excellent. Used facilities at the Spa and everything was clean and well maintained and enjoyed a good swim in the nice warm pool. Maybe the music could be varied!

Positive experience: Visited as a table of seven for dinner. The Food was absolutely outstanding, the service could have been sharper we were struggling to get drinks at the bar. Beautiful setting and otherwise amazing

Fantastic experience: Had our family Christmas gathering here last weekend and had a fabulous time. Food and service were excellent and the room was stunning. Lovely location in the countryside and the building has real character.

Fantastic experience: Amazing stay ! What was a late booking turned out to be an amazing weekend away, The location is beautiful and the hotel has such a welcoming feel, from start to finish I could not fault anything to do with my experience. The room we stayed in was vast, with all the charm and feel of an old stately home, without being cold on unwelcoming. The food was very good, all well presented and tasty. But above all, the staff made the stay, everyone was polite and happy to help, and willing to go the extra mile to accommodate us, I wish I had made a note of the lady on the reception desk on the Saturday, as she deserved a personal thanks, going way above and beyond what would be expected when out transport to a local venue let us down. Fantastic weekend retreat, highly recommended !

Positive experience: Afternoon tea was nice but not spectacular. Service was poor. We had to ask for tea and coffee. Empty plates, glasses and cups were never cleared away. We were not rushed at all, which was good.

Negative experience: Very eerie & creepy place! Staff are snobby & not so welcoming - the location is very remote....prepare, for driving through floods and looks & feels completely different to the gallery photos, to be honest. Wouldn't book here after a brief visit to see if it would be suitable for a conference. Flickering lights, dark, small & gloomy rooms!! Most likely haunted

Fantastic experience: Just spent a lovely weekend at headlam hall for our anniversary. What a beautiful location. The staff are really good throughout the hotel and spa. Food is really very good. We took advantage of the headlam weekender offer which is just fantastic value for money. Really would recommend for a get away.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely lovely place a hidden gem just gets better every time we stay great food and service and lovely rooms

Fantastic experience: The trip was brilliant, I proposed to my girlfriend and she said yes. One of our favourite places to stay

Negative experience: Sunday lunch. This is lamb. The veg was rock hard. Roast potatoes too salty. 1 yorkshire pudding. Not worth £19.50. ☹️

Fantastic experience: Fabulous place, immaculately kept especially the grounds. The room was beautiful. The food was delicious and the spa fantastic

Fantastic experience: We had a very relaxing and comfortable stay. The facilities were excellent, the rooms clean and comfortable. But it was the staff that really made our visit. They were friendly, helpful and efficient Thoroughly recommended

Positive experience: Lovely family lunch with excellent service. Very nice gardens to explore and enjoy a coffee or drink on the terrace. Good Spa too.

Fantastic experience: So amazing went for a family do and the beauty of the place is evident as you arrive with love clean and kept grounds with beautiful view of the gardens, we come to the barn (or what looks like a barn) with massive window slide doors it's homely but feels high-end. Staff were brilliant and very friendly and the food omg I literally went to food heaven started with troovine chicken and ham hock was nice and different but then the main was a sea bream battered with a nice helping of chunky triple cooked chips with mushy peas.... Loved it so much I had to tell the waiter to pass on that it was the best fish and chips I've ever had! Not thinking that it can be topped they brought pud out oh my this was parkin cake with a dark toffee sauce with some ice cream that was on another level with a caramel snap. I couldn't fault it apart from there wasn't enough lol. Absolutely amazing place with amazing service.

Fantastic experience: Amazing place a little off the beaten track but well worth a visit. First class service and spa

Fantastic experience: Amazing little gem of a place. We love Headlam so much. Everything is just spot on. Never anything out of place. The effort of the staff is appreciated as they make every visit perfect thank you Headlam

Positive experience: A one night stopover. The spa was great, rooms comfortable. The beer in the bar was limited. Make sure you book the restaurant we booked 3 weeks earlier for 20:00 but on the night they had no room and had to dine in the bar area alone.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful place. Went for a family spa day and enjoyed every minute of it. They did have to shut the hot tub etc but gave us a voucher to come back again which I thought was a nice touch !!! The food was amazing too !!

Positive experience: Sunday lunch. A cut above the usual and not over expensive. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Fantastic experience: Loved our stay here, was excellent with great service

Fantastic experience: Everything about this place was amazing. Food was first class and the service superb. The room was very comfortable, and the spa was just fab.

Fantastic experience: Felt very comfortable and enjoyed great food at this spot! The crowd is much older there, but everyone is super friendly. Loved the spa staff, they were absolutely lovely!

Fantastic experience: Lovely hotel with very pleasant staff. Enjoyed dinner last night. It’s a calming atmosphere. Used the gym for the first time and it was good. Will be staying here again.

Fantastic experience: Fabulous atmosphere just the right blend of homely and posh. Love it here!

Negative experience: Nice enough if you want a quiet wedding in the country. Nothing else there apart from golf. Spa was OK but small. They are charging a fortune for food and drinks and the menu for the price is poor. The food had no seasoning and pork belly was Full of fat and its one of the cheapest cuts. Certainly not "fine dining". I would certainly disagree with the owner in their prices, cheapest fattiest belly pork with? a runny black pudding and potato slosh (not hash), a fatty sausage roll, mush like cabbage and a bit of apple cider ..... £23.00, so... we left the whole plateful! We waited before at the bar for half an hour, person too busy with coffee's to serve us, had 2 beers and 2 regular vodka and tonic, £38.00. Really, shame on you. And there really isn't anything else there.

Fantastic experience: Great location, excellent restaurant and hotel with very good facilties including spa, swimming pool and a well kept 9 hole golf course, although most holes are shortish, is nevertheless challenging. Excellent coffee shop and all the facilities staff is very welcoming

Fantastic experience: Superb, high end, caring and service driven place. A stunning setting, facilties, food and location that's superb. We've had many a family event here and it it wondeful

Fantastic experience: We didn't stay, but were there to have a meal to celebrate a golden wedding. Had drinks while listening to a brilliant pianist, then were shown into a lovely dining room, overlooking the gardens. Meal wonderful with friendly efficient staff. We'll done all, a thoroughly brilliant day.

Fantastic experience: Lovely spar, lovely food , lovely hotel, great service, highly recommend xx

Fantastic experience: Hedlam is a beautiful place, inside and out! The whole place is lovely and clean and the outside is so picturesque. The spa is fantastic, staff, treatments, and products included (Mary is fab). Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: Great location, propper good luxury friendly hotel.

Fantastic experience: Stayed at the hotel for two nights with four other friends on a golfing break. Couldn't fault it at all. Accommodation, dinner etc. Spa and coffee bistro all brilliant. Staff very friendly Couldn't do enough for us. Booking again later on this summer.

Fantastic experience: Great service, food and accommodation. Well done.

Fantastic experience: Beautiful location, lovely night's sleep and the most relaxing and enjoyable hot stone massage and facial from Natalie.

Fantastic experience: Had a 2 days break here. Everything about it was really lovely. Very relaxing. The spa is small but has everything that you expect, it's clean and has a good atmosphere. The room was spacious and clean and a decent size with everything that We needed. The restaurant was great smashing menu the food was exceptional. The staff in all areas were friendly and helpful.

Fantastic experience: Just gorgeous...Headlam Hall is my happy place! Delicious food, fabulous service and so relaxing!

Fantastic experience: Another fantastic stay for our wedding anniversary. We have stayed here at least once a year if not twice for the last 10yrs. Staff are amazing, food is out of this world.

Fantastic experience: Fabulous place to stay with excellent food and lovely friendly atmosphere and really nice staff. We will definitely be back ! X

Fantastic experience: We had a spa afternoon and it was in beautiful surroundings. The food was excellent. The spa was not over busy but not quiet making it a very pleasant time.The therapist for our treatments was fabulous.

Fantastic experience: Went on an overnight spa package which included use of the spa facilities, three course evening dinner, double en suite room and a full English breakfast. Bottle of bubbly in room included in the price. Friendly, helpful staff in great surroundings with plenty of free parking. Nice bar to relax in with real fire. 5*

Positive experience: Went for afternoon tea which was actually delicious. However, the experience was spoilt by the 10% 'discretionary' service charge which was added to the bill automatically. This is hardly discretionary. Seems a lot to pay for someone to carry your food from the kitchen to the table, which is in the fact the least you would expect! Maybe you could ask people to carry the food themselves to save the embarrassment of having to ask to remove the automatic service charge.

Fantastic experience: I was so Lucky to find this place when looking for a Spa weekend away. what a amazing place this Hotel and Spa is. We had a hour and a half in indoor pool & Hot tub outside . Then in to the indoor Steam room before our treatment . The staff very helpful and very friendly. Spa treatment was 10 out of 10 amazing . I recommend you to try. We booked into our room just after 4 o'clock in the hotel. Our room was the chestnut sweet it was very nice. Had our even meal booked for 7.30 the food was fantastic. Recommend to everyone to visit this place. Thank you to all you and your stuff for making a fantastic weekend. Look forward to returning soon . Thanks again.

Fantastic experience: Brilliant golf facility with great driving range, putting green and chipping area to go alongside the beautiful 9 hole course .

Fantastic experience: Visited the spa on their afternoon spa deal with 2 course meal. Well it was 100% worth it if not only for the food and the relaxing in the spa, with comfortable loungers inside and out the out door hot tub was nice the pool just a nice size too. Then the treatments they were one of the best iv had at a spa to date and you get 2 of them in this deal the muscle melt massage was amazing but the facial was not just your average facial. The staff were all so lovely and welcoming. 100% recommended this midweek treat Well worth the price

Negative experience: Lovely surroundings nice facilities,awful meal and service on the Wednesday night. Wife served Hake that was off. Waited till 9.30 to sit down. Waiter never asked how we wanted our steaks cooked. Also charged service charges. These were never mentioned in the prices. Wouldn't recommend eating here,unless an honest explanation was forth coming

Fantastic experience: Lovely place great food and staff, ashame it rained so heavy for our golf but great time had.

Fantastic experience: We had a lovely time here when we celebrated a friends birthday. Great improvement in the menu . Staff as usual friendly a d helpful as usual . A good place for a special celebration

Positive experience: Expensive afternoon tea! Lovely place and surroundings. Intend to try Spa and overnight stay sometime.

Positive experience: Lovely hotel and surrounding gardens, staff very pleasant and friendly. Large comfortable bedroom ( bed a little too firm but personal choice), lovely large bathroom with nice toiletries. Has nice golf course, tennis court and spa facility. Ample parking. Only complaint with room was that the windows did not open therefore room very warm, could do with the addition of a ceiling fan. Looking forward to a nice evening meal, however very disappointed, food very bland. Chicken salad had no taste nor did the prawn cocktail ( I’ve never know my husband not eat prawns before). Main courses also mediocre, the lamb and steak were ok, however the dauphinois potato’s and accompanying sauces were tasteless. Desserts also not great, cheese board poor selection of cheeses, again bland. Not sure if the chef has recently had Covid and therefore has no taste buds or he does not season or taste his food prior to sending it out to the customer! What a let down probably one of the most disappointing meals in a long time, not cheap either. Would not stay again because of this unfortunately. Staff did say they would pass our comments on to the chef, I hope they do as improvements are definitely required.

Positive experience: Beautiful and well appointed room in the main building was the highlight of our stay, breakfast was very good too. Dinner was fine but not outstanding, service was a bit hit and miss but overall a very pleasant stay.

Fantastic experience: My Husband and I booked the Summer Spa Stay as a minimoon as not going away until later on in the year. Everything was perfect. The Staff were so polite and friendly, the food gorgeous and the Spa even though a little small was ideal for us as it was quiet that day. We stayed in The Mews Room which is as you come into drive to go to the Main Hall. It was lovely as it was in a row of about six rooms with our own parking space. After dinner we sat in the Main Hall area on one of the comfy sofas having our drinks. We will definitely be back. Keep up the excellent work everyone. X

Fantastic experience: A wonderful hotel in a beautiful setting. The food was excellent, the staff were friendly and efficient and the attention to detail was superb making it one of the nicest stays we have had in any hotel in the UK. For dog owners it is without doubt the best hotel we have ever been to with excellent places to exercise our furry friends and again a super welcone and attention to details. I cannot reccommend this hotel highly enough

Fantastic experience: Excellent ambience, food, and service in a lovelysetting. Lovely Spa and staff.

Fantastic experience: Excellent service before playing 9 holes on their picturesque golf course. Lunch afterwards was gorgeous and again the service was superb

Fantastic experience: Absolutely enjoyed our stay, Staff were fantastic ,room amazing ,food fabulous, All very professionally without losing the personal touch . Thank you to all ,amazing 24hours

Fantastic experience: We ve been here a few times and it’s always great. We booked a bed and breakfast with spa. The spa is perfect for what we need the evening meal was really superb the breakfast was great and the room above the spa was contemporary and comfortable. This hotel doesn’t set out to be flash or pretentious it’s just right. The staff are also universally friendly.

Fantastic experience: Sunday night DBB stay in Spa room with 2 hour spa session. Edited Feb 2023, this time in the Virginia Suite (new photos). Easy to find using satnav, though take care on the single track road to the village as there are very few passing places. Staff were all brilliant, friendly, and helpful from the first to the last. Room and bed very comfortable with a super soft mattress. The air-conditioning unit was a bit noisy, even when turned off. Could perhaps benefit Bluetooth speaker or similar to be able to listen to own music. Spa was very quiet and relaxing with everything working and just the right temperature. Dinner was very nice and all perfectly cooked, with sides included as part of the main course and not an extra like some other inclusive menus. Service was excellent and paced just right. Breakfast was also perfectly cooked, although some breakdown in communication with the kitchen meant it was delayed, so we had to rely on toast to start with. Edit Feb 2023 - dinner still excellent (new photos of mains and desserts). Breakfast was again an issue with other people who ordered after us getting served before us, and when our breakfast arrived, poached egg was solid. Mitigation is they were much more busy and seemed short of staff. The only other comment is on lack of signage as to where reception was both from the carpark and once in the main building. Definitely will be back again.

Fantastic experience: Went on the Spa Snuggle break with my best friend . Had an amazing couple of days. Food, rooms, location and staff were all fabulous. Spa was so clean and relaxing, our third visit, can't wait to go again.

Fantastic experience: Lovely, relaxing stay with spa treatments. The staff were perfect, attentive but not overbearing. Delicious evening meal. We will return.

Positive experience: Went for a wedding, the place looks amazing. The staff were polite and helpful. The food was even better than expected although the starter menu did seem to only offer vegetarian or vegan options. For me this was the only thing that let it down.

Positive experience: Beautiful place,excellent service,everything was perfect,spa,food,and staff,highly reccomended,and a stunning £50 bottle of wine

Fantastic experience: Beautiful setting; spotlessly clean and so comfortable. The food was superb and the staff friendly and helpful. Three of my best friends and I had our annual overnight spa treat. We have been coming for 20 years, every February, and look forward to 20 more.

Fantastic experience: Just had a lovely weekend stay at Headlam Hall. Gorgeous food, fantastic staff and comfy bed. Will definitely stay again.

Positive experience: Stayed over at Headlam Hall & Spa for a special occasion last night, The Spa and Hotel facilities and evening meal was great. However the breakfast was uncooked and raw...I did feed this back... a rather disappointing end to a great stay.

Fantastic experience: Very nice overnight spa break with my daughter. Lovely room. Good food and friendly staff. Lovely hotel.

Positive experience: Had a snuggle spa break with my partner. We both had a really enjoyable time, both in the spa and the hotel. Its was only let down by, a couple of minor things. We had room service for our meal on the evening. We were given butter and knives, but no bread roll. For breakfast, we both had the full English, no beans with it, they had to be asked for. Also no buffet for cereal or croissant, which at the cost of the stay I'd have expected. In all honesty better breakfast at Hardwick Hall, which we stayed at before Christmas.

Fantastic experience: Pretty close to perfection. the food was superb but it was the friendliness and hospitality of the staff that really prompted me to complete this review. The house is beautiful and very well decorated for Christmas and our short trip to the spa was pretty cool as well. Highly recommended and we will be returning.

Fantastic experience: Amazing venue, staff were so friendly, nothing to much bother. Our suite was very clean and cozy warm, the evening meal was delicious with ample food served. Same goes for the Breakfast. Cant wait to return.

Fantastic experience: The indoor and outdoor public areas are beautifully maintained. Staff were courteous and made a positive impression.

Negative experience: Called in for lunch 2 days ago after having been on numerous occasions before and always been happy, but this time came away feeling a little deflated. Normally we would eat lunch in brasserie but to have a 'warm' choice we were sent into hotel to use the bar facilities which has never happened before. We ordered leek and potato soup which came very luke warm so had to be sent back which the staff did without question but to be honest we've had much better tasting soup. Ordered bacon sandwiches in brioche buns with potato rostis. The presentation was very poor, it looked like it had just been plonked on plate with no attention to garnish and it was not cheap. I feel for a high class hotel this was a disappointing experience.

Fantastic experience: Lovely food and brilliant setting. Staff are fantastic, really welcoming and friendly. Lunch menu is great with £19.50 for two courses or £24.50 for three courses. I can recommend the duck parfait starter and battered sea bass for the main course. I didn't have room for dessert, sadly. The pot of coffee was lovely and we were left to chat over coffee for as long as we liked. Really relaxing atmosphere.

Fantastic experience: First class. Could not fault it. Accommodation excellent, also service and food. All 5star.

Fantastic experience: Perfect spa break, The food was amazing would highly recommend the fillet steak cooked to perfection, We loved the whole experience

Positive experience: Lovely hotel, beautiful location friendly staff, good food. One star off as the one and only baby change not well signposted and could be a bit more baby/child friendly in places like with swimming pool access etc. But overall wonderful place to stay

Fantastic experience: Lovely golfing venue, driving range. Gem of a place, tucked away in fantastic surroundings. Will be a regular here.

Fantastic experience: Very clean lovely staff spa is fantastic just wish TV we're better in Spa room's and Internet is terrible apart from that it was great fabulous

Fantastic experience: Fabulous hotel. Beautiful grounds. Great food and excellent staff. Played four rounds of golf during our stay so all in all a total experience. This was our fourth stay and already planning next years trip. Love this place.

Fantastic experience: We were part of a classic car club and booked for 3 nights. Everything was perfect, rooms decorated well and the meals and service from all the staff was superb. The owner a classic car buff even showed us some of the cars in his collection with the family taking part in the viewing. We are planning a return in the near future if not at the Christmas and New Year programme we saw details of.