Lord Crewe Arms - Consett

mwgerard221

We stayed in this charming inn for Christmas and had an amazing visit. The food was unbelievably delicious -- and plentiful! We couldn't eat everything. The location is in the stunning tiny village of Blanchland, on the banks of the Derwent River (border of Durham). With a boot room and drying room on hand, we were able to take multiple walks on the nearby moors and along the riverbanks. The room was very comfortable with beautiful views of the back courtyard. Near a Dark Sky Park, stargazing was just out the back door and a character pub in the basement served great drinks. The staff were thoughtful, pleasant, friendly, and helpful. While everything, including the service, was top quality, it was never stuffy or fussy.

Cleveland A

Lovely place. Fantastic building. All the staff were excellent and the service was first class. The food was excellent. I made a major error with the booking (booked the wrong month🤣). The staff sorted it without fuss. We felt nothing was too much trouble. Rooms lovely. The bar is great and has a local atmosphere. Great beer too! Will definitely be back in the near future. ||James Dixon

Arya Hashemi

My wife just brought me here to celebrate my birthday. The room was clean and well stocked (including free home made cookies and fudge) and a wood burning stove. Bed was comfortable and the shower was lovely.

The real star of the show was the chef - my wife has a lot of dietary needs and they couldn't have accommodated her more. They had made her a specific menu for dinner before we arrived but due to a miscommunication she couldn't eat most of the options on this menu. We were apologetic but the waitress said don't worry, I'll be back. 10 minutes later she returned having had another discussion with the chef and provided my wife ANOTHER specialised menu - they'd produced the most amazing options on just 10 minutes notice.

We had what was possibly the most delicious dinner that knocked both our socks off.

It was a perfect way to spend a snowy winter evening in a stunning setting. The chef and waiting staff genuinely blew us away with how accommodating they were. Thank you.

Jools Moore

The lord Crewe Arms is lush. The best fireplace I’ve seen in a long time greets you in the dining room. The Cavan Bar is really nice to enjoy a beer and some whisky’s after a long walk the rooms were awesome. Even had a little pot burner to keep us warm into the night. The bath tub and shower are also worth a mention as is the food. Wow oh wow. Thank you chef!

Leah Bouchrif

Don't know how all these 5* reviews got on here. Our party of 4 were completely underwhelmed. Never been there before so didn't know what to expect. Seating was very uncomfortable, long wait for any attention. Seated at 1pm and no-one approached before 1.30. Food acceptable but very pricey. Cheese dessert was miserable for £14 for three very thin slices of cheese. Wasn't offered a drinks menu but when asked what I'd like to drink I replied what have you got and the retort was "lots" with a snarky laugh. I asked for the wine list and that took another 10 minutes. I'll stop now as I'm trying to be kind. 12.5 per cent service charge. Ouch.

Mark Malone

We didn’t stay but will definitely consider it if lunch is anything to go by.
The setting is magical, the service was really great and the food was fantastic. The whole team were really accommodating of children and dietary requirements.
Highly recommended.

Nicola S

We’ve just had the nicest 2 nights stay at the Lord Crewe, everything was perfect. All of the staff were excellent which made our stay really special. The food and the wine was outstanding and worth every penny! ||Blanchland is a beautiful area, I would definitely recommend The Lord Crewe Inn for that special treat!||I would also like to thank all of the staff for helping us get out of the really snowy car park, can’t wait to return.

K M

I booked 3 double rooms for single occupancy for a 3-night Twixmas break. Prices were based on a B/B basis with no DBB rate available for this time of year. The location is wonderful and the buildings are lovely but the hotel did not live up to expectation.||Service was mixed. There were one/two helpful individuals but mostly service was poor. It was an odd set up. Without knowing the score our order was taken for drinks/hot breakfasts on Day 1 after which we were told to go upstairs for juices/continental fare. It was quite a performance when collecting for three. I worked out what was required and using a tray took 3 trips to deliver. On my third return I found my hot breakfast waiting for me. My food was cold although it has to be said presentation was lovely. By Day 2 I thought it best to order breakfast after the upstairs run which seemed to upset the staff. Provisions should have been set up downstairs as carrying food/glasses from the dining room down steep narrow steps was a risk. Upstairs there was always a wait for replenishments with a waitress clearly annoyed at constantly being asked for supplies. The first morning’s breakfast was beautifully presented but a different chef must have been on duty by Day 3 because presentation was awful and my friends were unable to eat their food which were a poor repeat of the previous day. Crumpets arrived uncooked and straight from the packet!||Dinner service was slow with food mostly tepid. A truffle soup was returned stone cold. Not a great experience and tables were uncleared between courses.||An ‘optional’ 15% service charge is added for dinner/drinks. It was undeserved but it is so difficult to ask for it to be removed which I was unable to do and I felt aggrieved at my inability to make the request. I did not receive an itemised bill at the end of each evening despite asking for same. I received print outs for two meals but not a third with adhoc drinks added to my room.||My bedroom was nice but there was no information pack on what was available within the hotel. There was lots of hot water and perhaps this was the reason my room was so hot with no instruction for the heating control panel on the wall. It was a question of radiators fully on or off. There were plenty of goodies on the tea tray but the carpet was not hoovered during my 3 night stay. The used water flask and glasses were where I left them unwashed in both bed and bathroom and I was surprised more concern had not been shown for the stale water in the jug. I mentioned this at reception and was told to refill with water from the bathroom. Oat milk was in short supply and only one occasion resulted in a decent sized offering which was very welcome. The TV had two channels and the make up/shaving mirror light did not work.||Given the opportunity I would have mentioned all points whilst settling the bill which was emailed on the morning of checkout. I felt the bill was steep at around £3.2k for three of us for just 3 nights. This figure did not include hot/cold drinks which had been settled directly with the Bar. I wouldn’t have thought twice had everything been up to scratch but be warned it may not be.||The reason for this outpouring is simple. Had the gent on Reception asked if everything had been OK with our stay I would have raised my concerns. He did not ask and I settled the bill in more or less silence. This only adds to how I feel about the Lord Crewe Arms and the impression I am left of it.||This was supposed to be a treat for two friends and whilst it was ‘OK’ it was not what I wanted or expected for them. Can I contest the bill I have settled because of the poor room change (see below), poor food and service, the 15% additional charges? It will be interesting to see if my review is read and actioned. The hotel is in a beautiful location but has limited facilities and the food was not as expected. What a great shame.||Rooms - A failed door lock repair to a room forced a change. I had requested a room with walk-in shower for a friend with a hip replacement and a change to a room with shower-over-bath made life difficult for her. The hotel had not checked the repair undertaken the day before our arrival and suggested use of the room without a lock would be ok as nothing would happen/go wrong. I was unaware of the problem but should have been involved as the booking was in my name. I would have insisted on a better swop.||Safety - Trips up and down the steep stone stairs to collect breakfast bits and pieces from the Dining Room is tricky. No table of provisions is set up for the ground floor. This can be difficult and I found it quite dangerous coming down the stairs with a tray of glass and food. Three trips were usually necessary for three people.||Food and drinks - Dinner was a mixed bunch with strange food combinations (fish and meat in the same dish) with only one veggie option which led to little choice for the veggie pescatarians in our party. Disappointingly the menu did not change so we were glad we had booked Sunday lunch as this would provide something different. With no ‘light-bite ‘menu available early evening after our Sunday Lunch one of our party went to bed hungry.||Noteworthy details - With two dogs we were confined to the ground floor. If we were not in the restaurant and the bar was full we found ourselves without a place to sit. This could have been down to the time of year but a comfy dog-friendly lounge (as this is such a selling feature of the hotel) would have been most welcome particularly as we could not sit outside.