Durham City Retreat

Very comfortable, exactly as described. Great location. Friendly and accommodating hosts.

The host lady is very hospitable and friendly. I enjoyed my stay in Durham. The bed is comfy and cozy. The room is very quiet and safe. The transportation is very convenient. The bus stop is very near to the location.

No

The location was perfect as it was only 3 minutes away from my Son who I was helping to move in. The room was nice and the bed was comfy. There was an ensuite bathroom with bath and shower. A small kitchen area if I had needed it with a microwave, kettle and toaster plus an undercounter fridge. (However, I would have appreciated a bottle of water in the fridge, like most other places I have stayed with a fridge provided). The owner was very welcoming and friendly. There was use of the owners kitchen if required, however, I did not need this. There was also a TV in the room which I did not need to use but obviously good if I had wanted to.

The bedsheet had a mark on it where it looked like it had been stained but the mark had not washed out. I new the sheet was clean as the rest of it was clean and smelt newly washed which is why I didn't make a fuss. However, I fee this should haven been noticed by the person who changed the sheet and maybe the sheet should not be used. The room is downstairs in the owner's own home which is a nice idea but the noise from outside the room on the first morning woke me up with people in the kitchen making food and talking, which I do understand but it did disturb my sleep. The second night was noisy from upstairs where I could hear two women talking and laughing until around 2am. The owner at one point asked one of his children to turn something down (I assumed his TV or computer) because there were guests staying, however, I could not hear anything apart from the owner saying this. The doors upstairs were shut quite loudly during the evening, so I was not really able to relax after a physically and mentally exhausting weekend. The bathroom had a slight drain smell and the shower had no power to it at all. I think if I had not had a tiring weekend and was happy with family noise and a sort of community feel (if that makes sense?!) it would have been fine. I think I was just hoping for a less noisey and relaxing nights sleep.

A comfortable night's sleep and host helpful in returning a left item. A couple of points need attention

The toilet is not secured to the floor. Everythime I sat on it, it moved. No lock on outside of bedroom door meant I had to empty the room of my contents each day.

This isn't a B&B or guest house, it's a room in a family home. We felt like unwanted intruders in the home rather than welcomed guests. We were never even asked our names, just referred to as 'the booking.com people'. We were in the twin room, which is a kid's bedroom, the shelves are full of books and toys and the drawers are full of clothes. There's a clothes rail and a couple of hangers for guests. One bed was okay, the mattress on the other was completely worn out, with a huge dip in the middle and little padding over the springs. The most uncomfortable bed I have ever tried to sleep in. The bathroom is shared with the family and I had to wait well over 20 minutes to get a turn in the evening. Breakfast was a rummage in the kitchen and help yourself. There were a few types of cereal, sliced white bread and a couple of crumpets, but only marmalade to go on them. The kitchen sink was full of last night's dirty pans and plates. It was convenient for where we were visiting on the outskirts of Durham. Suffice it to say we won't be repeating our mistake and staying here again.

Location

Breakfast was included yes, but it was cereals already opened and used by host as well.

It’s a very very clean convenient and well priced accommodation for short stays. Will definitely book again

very comfortable and homely good facilities we had a lovely sleep