Ravensworth Arms by Chef & Brewer Collection

This is our 'go to' for lunch or an evening meal as the food, service and ambience are always great. Ross is especially attentive and welcoming - as ever. I couldn’t fault any of meals or service we've had here, and believe me, we have been here many times. My favourite place to eat and we actually travel for County Durham to eat there. My son had his first ever steak and devoured the lot, stating he was now a convert to steak! I particularly love the décor in the restaurant and bar area. I do wish they had a slightly larger vegetarian menu, but in all honesty, I always enjoy what I have there. We were there on a Monday evening and although we were expecting it to be quite quiet, it was at least half full, so had that lovely atmosphere we always enjoy. Ross always provides the ultimate in service and conversation, without being intrusive. There is a wide selection of beers and wine, so even a large group would be catered for. I have been meaning to leave a review for some time as the food and service is consistently great and we are serial ‘repeat customers’. When the weather is good, there’s nothing like a cold beer in the outside area of the Ravensworth Arms.

Having recently moved from Kibblesworth up to Glasgow, my partner thought the ideal place to propose to me would be a special place to us local to the area. We had arranged to visit friends anyway (surprise proposal) and so I booked the Ravensworth Arms Hotel just for the 1 night on Saturday the 8th of June. We've both been to the pub several times before for delicious meals and so we thought it seemed the ideal choice for an overnight getaway. We checked in quite late (around 9.30pm) but had called ahead to advise. When we got there the staff were very friendly and helpful and gave us the key to Room 20. Unfortunately, as soon as we got into the room we could tell it was dirty. The bed linens and towels were clean but the top of the shower head, all the skirting boards, and the shelf above the bed were thick with dust and clearly hadn't been wiped in a long time. We didn't raise it to staff at the time as it was very late by this point and we made the best of it considering we'd just gotten engaged earlier that day. We did consider mentioning it the next day but they were clearly understaffed and had a large party from Yorkshire to serve breakfast to. However, it did take the shine off the stay a little, especially as it was over £100 on a room only basis. We won't be back to stay. As mentioned, the bedding and towels were fine, the decor of the room was also lovely - clearly a new bathroom suite had been installed fairly recently with a lovely waterfall shower head. Just it wasn't clean - which for me defeats the point of having a nice looking room. Especially on the day we got engaged. A real shame.

We stayed over Easter 2024. The staff are friendly and helpful. The room was clean, tidy and very well decorated. There were a few issues which let the place down: The phone is NEVER answered and if you eventually get through the person dosent know how to deal with your issue. There are no staff on at night at all and the "contact number" is never answered and even if you leave a message no one gets back. The heating went off the first night and we could not contact anyone. The room was freezing and the heating was fixed the next day otherwise we would have moved hotels. The staff all had coats on at breakfast! The bathroom fan was stuck on which made the room icy. No one knew how to fix it , eventually I found the isolator switch high above the door and stood on a chair to turn it off. The cooked breakfast was excellent but the continental was awful, stale pastries, stale fruit no yogurt and they brought the bread for the toast out four slices at a time! Must be a bread shortage in the North East. The hotel is lovely and the housekeeping are great but the hotel is let down by the poor concierge and the booking system which is completely broken. The continental breakfast needs a big improvement as well. A shame really as with some very easy fixes this could be a great hotel.

First impressions, very good. Then it all went down hill. Requested a ground floor room didn't get one, never mind the room was clean and tidy but very very hot and stuffy. Went down for dinner the service was ok, the food was mediocre at best I had the fish and chips I don't think the fat had been changed in while or burnt. My wife had the smothered chicken, I think the microwave technician got the the sittings wrong as it was only just warm. Back to room still very hot and the radiator had been off a while and the windows open. Then started the worst night's sleep, not the bed but the pillows they were a total waste of time one pillow not enough, two, too many. I could go on a big wet hairy dog in the restaurant area, sorry but I don't think a carpeted restaurant is a place for dogs. If you have any accessibility issues this not a place for you, you've got to walk across a tile floor which they insisted on mopping in the middle of breakfast time sittings, could they not just do it before or wait until after? My stick kept slipping on the wet floor I certainly wasn't going to risk walking on that so another breakfast paid for but not able to have.

Another pleasant lunch enjoyed today with friends. Julie, our waitress is always welcoming and even remembers what we usually like to eat and drink! All staff are helpful and friendly and kitchen staff do a great job too! Not the cheapest eatery in the area but the menu appeals to all budgets.

We stayed at the Ravensworth for 3 nights and thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We had the dog with us and never once was this an issue. The room we had (18) was ideal for us, lovely comfy beds and nice bathroom. Only thing I’d say is the top of the shower head was very dusty just a small thing though. Tea and coffee in the room was replenished every day which was great and you could ask for fresh milk from the bar too. Breakfast was really lovely! Great choice on the main menu and the help-yourself continental. All staff friendly and helpful. No complaints at all. Will definitely be back when we visit family in the north east again.