Blackwell Grange Hotel

Beautiful property and period features

The staff- such bad attitude and everyone seemed to hate their job. I walked in on arrival to a customer and the reception staff arguing and the staff storming off. Took 20 mins to get a menu in the restaurant when it was empty - the service was none existent. I was given a cocktail menu at the bar that was smudge with ketchup- small things that would make a big difference.

Beautiful spacious room and bathroom. Perfect place to chill after a long day at work. Would love to stay again with my partner in the future and make more use of facilities available.

A great atmosphere. The room was excellent. A great nights sleep in a super sized bed. The bar meals we had, although simple, were the best we can remember. All in all a great stay and we’ve already booked our next stay.

Can’t think of anything we didn’t like.

I joined Blackwell gym in June 2025 after leaving a well known gym where I was a member for ten years. The first couple of months I though that I had made a big mistake leaving my old gym, until Byron joined the team, he has made a enormous difference, putting on classes, his professionalism, the atmosphere is so Friendly as people are getting to know one another via classes and the clientele has doubled. He is always on hand for advice and always greets you with a friendly smile. Now I know I made the right decision joining Blackwell

Stayed over at the Blackwell grange hotel as we went to see the buddy holly story at the Darlington hippodrome,brilliant show I must add. The entrance to the hotel is outstanding as is the bar and restaurant but that’s about it. The menu is slim to say the least but we both chose to sit in the bar to eat. The bar menu and restaurant menu are the same,bit strange I thought. We both struggled really but decided we would have a Parmo each,one hotshot and one not. Looked lovely when it came but after peeling the cheese topping off we were greeted by a thick layer of what should have been bechamel but looked more like grey custard,awfull colour and far too much. We picked at it but left most and at around £18 quid each,it wasn’t cheap. Off to the room for a quick change. Up on the second floor we missed the lift so walked through corridors of rooms and up the stairs to more corridors and eventually finding our room. On the way up I saw a lot of peeling paint on the walls and everything was painted in a dark colour. Looked very grim. The room was ok but nothing amazing for our £130 quid. Dust on all the four lampshades in the room,no bag in the room bin and a noisy toilet and shower which when used would groan like a banshee. No bottled water or fresh milk either. The big single window had a loverly view of the car park. The bathroom had the dirtiest extractor fan ever. We were quite glad it was for only one night.if we ever visit the hippodrome again for a show then we will find a better 4 star accommodation than the grange. Can’t be that hard surely. We left after a mediocre breakfast next day and on the way out to the car there was a lot of discarded cigarette ends,not a good look.

Blackwell is our go to hotel I have lost count of the times we have stayed there staff,food and rooms are excellent and no dogs so I am disappointed to find dogs are now allowed in the bar but some owners do not take any notice and are using the lounges too. We always have a walk in the park then back for a sandwich and drink to relax but this time a muddy dog was brought into the bar next to us and began by shaking itself then barking. My husband has a dog allergy and asthma so we left but in my opinion dogs should be outside and nowhere near food and I don't think we should be told where we can sit to accommodate dogs. In the interest of my husbands safety I don't think we'll be back which is very sad for us.

Beautiful building, lovely bar and restaurant, good leisure facilities. Helpful staff.

When we arrived, the swimming pool was closed. The staff did not know how long it would be closed for. It remained closed for the whole of our second day too. Our room was quite basic, which did not fit with the style of the building.

Arrived at Blackwell grange for a spa day as a treat for my mam, we were told on the phone what day would be best for us to book. Unfortunately when we arrived there were working men painting in reception and the outside area was closed which was very disappointing. We were there for over 4 hours, the treatment was lovely and the blonde lady who I was with was really professional and I can’t fault her at all but for the price we paid for the day it was not a very good experience at all, being unable to use the outdoor facilities when the weather was nice and also having working men walking around when your trying to have a relaxing day was not nice we weren’t offered anything when we arrived or given the option to change our day, there was no apology and unfortunately the service was not good either which is a real shame because we had been looking forward to our visit There was also a social media post to show how lovely the spa was and this was very misleading as it is not what it was like at all very very disappointing

room comfortable breakfast very good dinner - n/a

the sauna and spa facilities were tired. struggled to find a key that locked in the men's changing room (wife said they were fine in the female change rooms) . thought i'd cut my foot on an upturned piece of plastic on the poolside. the property is in the middle of nowhere, but handy for us, who visited the Darlington FC across the road. If I'd made a specific trip for the spa, i'd have been disappointed. Overall - I was happy.