Holiday Inn Darlington North

This old hotel has a modern reception, and the reception staff were friendly and informative. The position is excellent for touring the town, and parking was cheap. Our room was clean and had good facilities, though very basic, small, and cool, with only electric heating. It was a budget-priced room, and the price was moderate.

The location is very central, and the friendly, helpful staff and cleanliness would bring us back. Breakfast was a tasty buffet that was topped up regularly. The building is old but has modern features, and its character was part of the appeal. Our room was large, though the view of the bins out back was pretty lousy. We could hear some noise from nearby pubs, but it quietened down. The nicer-view rooms seem to be pot luck, though we didn't spend much time in ours. For parking, don't count on finding a space out front. We used the multi-storey, about a 5-10 minute walk away.

We stayed one night for my partner's birthday. The rooms were very nice and clearly well looked after. A loud bar downstairs was a problem at first, but staff moved us to an upper-floor room, and we had a lovely night. I was pleased with breakfast in the morning.

For a business trip and Christmas shopping rolled into one, the location was brilliant. We had a hiccup finding parking, but that was sorted before check-in. Room 503 was on the top floor, with great city views, and the hotel felt warm and clean. The shower was very weak, clearly a fault, but I didn't report it since we were only there for one night and left at 10@m. We didn't try the food or breakfast. The Pickle Sprout, the on-site restaurant, looked excellent and was packed with diners, so it must be good. I'll definitely return, hopefully for a longer visit, and will dine there next time. A lovely traditional, old-school hotel.