Durham East Hotel

I have been staying here for work for over 3 months and all the staff are amazing, nothing was ever too much they even fixed the guttering outside my room that was keeping me up when it rained. Special thanks to Tamsin hope you enjoy your camping in Vermont.

As with all Premier Inns we've experienced the staff were excellent and always smiling. The rooms were spotlessly clean and the bed extremely comfortable. Ample parking and very little traffic noise. Ate in the Beefeater next door where the staff and food were also excellent, friendly and always smiling.

We have stayed here (Durham East, Broomside Park) at various times over a 20 year period because it is convenient for family living nearby. I booked for 3 nights, requesting an accessible room on the ground floor (as no lift) and a lowered bath as I have moderate mobility issues. The room & bathroom were sort of adequate, clean, and the bed itself comfortable, but the pillows were bullet hard. I tried the extra pillows (optimistically marked 'soft' but were, if anything, worse). Reading in bed which we habitually do, was difficult because of the poor bedside lights. There were no electrical sockets adjacent to the bed which was a problem because I also suffer from sleep apnoea, and have to sleep using a cpap machine (this pushes air in and out of my lungs when asleep). Fortunately I always carry an extension lead with my machine, but this did mean an electrical cable (trip hazard) was draped across the floor. I never remember using an hotel room before, without electrical sockets near the bed. We arrived mid/late afternoon, entered the room which was exceedingly dark. All lights were immediately switched on but the room remained more than dim. There was not one light/mirror/socket combo which was good enough for applying cosmetics or drying/styling hair. The skimpy long mirror was, of course, placed in possibly the darkest part of the room. I understand that we all need to use less power, but functionality is a basic requirement of a hotel room. I borrowed a powerful lamp from family which restored room usability in part. There was just enough clothes storage, but only just. The furniture was so placed that didn't lend itself to both of us watching TV at the same time, and when I tried to move the lower backed armchair, it was so heavy I could hardly move it at all. The general decoration of the room was dated, the fabric of the heavy chair and the desk/dining style chair, were both stained. The tea/coffee offer was basic in the extreme (my husband cannot tolerate caffeine). The bathroom was clean but did show long use and shoddy repair work. There was plenty of room within the bathroom and the grab bars adjacent to the shower were reassuring. My husband spoke bitterly of the shower curtain, but after seeing that, I showered without using the curtain. Why no shower screen? A large walk in shower would have been so much more usable instead. There was no towel rail/ring/hook adjacent to the washbasin for the hand towel. I wear a long nightgown and there were no clothes hooks on the wall at a decent height so that I could hang this garment up while showering. Not everyone with mobility issues is in a wheelchair with limited reach. The sliding door into the bathroom was heavy, didn't always slide easily and looked very ad hoc. I have used several NHS bathroom facilities which are more user friendly than this. The room heating was adequate and it was good to have an opening window. The lack of air con obviously not a problem at this time of year. I am sorry these negative points need to be made. Do senior management ever spend a couple of nights staying in and using these rooms, needing to look smart as they leave at any time of the day or evening? With some minor changes the offer could have been so much better. The price (I paid up front, room only, no cancellation refund but booking transferable) was good value. The hotel staff were pleasant, and I am sure, hard working. We used the restaurant for breakfast on two of the mornings, and the breakfast food & drink offer was better that I remembered. The restaurant decoration and furnishings were clean and acceptable and the service, friendly and good. I did note that several of the ceiling lightbulbs required replacement bulbs. Sadly we noticed on the tables outside the restaurant that the SAME empty glasses/cups were still uncollected from tables from the two previous nights. Same glasses, same crockery, same tables - did management staff not notice? I have given (I believe) a good overall rating, balancing room cost against the conditions and failures within the room. Many of these issues do require attention. Will we stay here again in future? Don't know. Would we recommend it to friends? Location suits family visits, but I would be bound to point out the number of shortcomings. We stayed in Room 17. Thank you for reading this honest review.

Our stay here was just amazing!! Tamsin who greeted us was just superb. Nothing was too much trouble, check-in was effortless & very friendly. She did so much to help us enjoy our stay. She set up a bed, provided extra towels, gave us a very warm welcome.. a real credit to the Premier Inn! Well done & keep up the good work! It was lovely to meet her. The breakfast was delicious. All the staff were very attentive & friendly. The hotel & restaurant very clean. I highly recommend this hotel. I stay in Premier inns a lot for work & this one has been the best! Thankyou!

Awful visit room smelt like a geriatric's hospital , no hot water to run the bath. Staff were okay and restaurant next door welcoming at breakfast.