Leeming Wells

I’m on the road around the U.K. a lot and have stayed here many times. The pub next door is brilliant, too, with great food and staff. If you enjoy the countryside and a good local pub, I’d highly recommend it.

The quiet and the views are what make this place, and the rooms were clean with good service. It’s a non-attendance hotel, and a few areas could do with touch-ups, but that hasn’t affected my stay or my score. You won’t be spending all day in the room anyway. Dog & Gun next door is superb for both food and beer.

The staff were really friendly, and the evening food at the pub next door was faultless. The pool was a bonus for my husband, who used it several times during our two-night stay. Breakfast had a good range to choose from, though it had been sitting under a heat lamp and arrived lukewarm apart from the egg, which was hot. Our room was clean, but the connecting door meant we could hear everything the guests next door said. I assume they could hear us as well. Since we were on the ground floor, there was no locking device on the window to let us leave it open for fresh air. The room got quite stuffy, so that could be an issue in summer. The bathroom was spacious but had a few problems. The cold tap ran hot, and the shower screen wouldn’t open, making it difficult for me, with a slight disability, to reach the plughole and run a bath. There were no grab handles to help getting in or out of the bath, and there was a lot of mouldy mildew around the windows, blind, sink and a roof fitting.

Our room was fine for a night, the bed was comfortable and I slept well, but it looked a bit tired and could use freshening up. The setting is handy, just outside Howarth, about a five-minute ride into town. When we arrived there was nobody at reception, so we had to go next door to the pub for our key. Someone showed us to the room but didn’t explain things like the pool. For breakfast at the pub, we had to fill in a questionnaire for the next morning. Be on time: we were only thirty seconds late and a staff comment left us feeling like we were in their bad books. We were seated quickly for dinner, but the meal was nothing special. The onion rings were so greasy I left them, worried about my cholesterol. My steak was nice, though I’d asked for medium and it came well done. The homemade chips seemed reheated and were very mushy, and my wife’s salmon was swimming in sauce. It was a busy Friday, so we couldn’t find a seat in the bar for a drink after dinner. The walls are very thin. I was woken abruptly by someone next door passing wind so loudly the walls and windows rattled, like a trumpeting baby elephant. Whoever it was, I’d strongly suggest seeing a doctor, because it didn’t sound normal. It was a pleasant enough stay for the price and location, which felt like good value, though I’ve stayed in better places.