The Old Rectory

We had a great girly weekend here,plenty of rooms for everyone,We are looking forward to another stay

The house is beautiful and very spacious which makes it a perfect place for a large gathering, will probably come back once the below has been addressed.<br/>The instructions to reach the house were not clear and the host was not very helpful in indicating the correct location.<br/>Hosts and Stay is an external organisation that requires additional insurance payments, and this is now made clear on the listing, but wasn't when we booked. They will also retain a 10£ for "admin" reasons, which feels very much against AirBnb rules requiring no additional payments outside of the platform.<br/>The property listing advertises for 10 guests, and there are enough sleeping spaces but there are not enough wine glasses, plates, etc. Furthermore, the dining table has 7 chairs, with an additional chair that could be collected from another room, but it is hard to seat 10 people around.<br/>The AGA in the kitchen could not start and the host was unreachable for help, which prevented us from cooking for the kids.

Nice stay, the house is beautiful and very clean. <br/>Host and stay are an external organisation so they ask you to pay an extra damage deposit (either £250 refundable or £25 non refundable) that was not mentioned in any other reviews and this is done through a link in a message. Once I called to check it was legit it was ok to navigate. <br/>The check in instructions were clear but unfortunately the code for the gate was missed off which meant we had to wait on the phone for a few minutes until we had a response from host and stay so make sure you have this before going.

The Old Rectory is a great venue for a large family gathering with plenty of space and off road parking for several cars. It is well located for visiting Beamish, Diggerland & Durham.

Great

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The host communicated extremely well and responded to queries quickly and efficiently. Highly recommend!

Best Airbnb I have used, the property is well beyond what I expected in regards to size and decor. Nice and private location with ample surrounding area.<br/>Hosts were really responsive will definitely use again.

De kook voorziening was een Aga oven met 2 kookpunten die werkte op gas. Er was wel een kleine gebruiksaanwijzing aanwezig, maar daar kwamen wij niet helemaal uit. De oven moet heel de dag aan staan om avonds een iets te kunnen koken, wat erg lang duurt. Nadeel is dat daardoor de woon-keuken de hele dag heel warm is.

Lovely house with lots of character, outside space was a bonus<br/>Nothing

Inside was lovely.<br/>Outside areas very untidy. Rubbish overflowing. Gardens overgrown. Weeds everywhere including the front entrance. Hanging baskets were dead with weeds in too. Patio areas needed weeding and cleaning.

Beautiful home with secure gardens. Within easy reach of Durham. Would definitely return.

A beautiful house, great location, easy to reach Durham (by car). The house was mostly wonderful as described, and the hosts were very responsive. However, there were some aspects of attention that could have made the stay better.

Exceptional

Beautiful property beautiful location but in need of some TLC especially for the price paid

Superb

Highly recommend! Great property

Large house with plenty of space and easy access to surrounding area

Recommend this property! Very clean & tidy.

Lovely big house for our weekend visit with friends. Great communication before/after.

Returning guests! Great property.

Perfect property to our employees working in the area! Highly recommend.

Fantastic property!

The Old Rectory was an excellent house, perfect location for our family and a good amount of space. The bedrooms and bathrooms all well presented. Facilities good. Secure garden for the puppies too. Would definitely recommend this house for large groups and family gatherings.

The old rectory is a fantastic house, very spacious and well presented. The house is really nicely decorated to a high standard and ideal for our extended family (9 of us) during a long weekend stay. <br/><br/>The house was really warm during our stay and the gardens & tennis court a bonus for the kids to play in. <br/><br/>Ideally located for exploring the local area with good local transport access into Durham.

Our employees were working in the area and loved their stay at this property! Host was always quick to respond and very helpful. <br/><br/>Would highly recommend!

Beautiful house. Would highly recommend for a large group. 10 minutes drive away from Durham City Centre

A very lovely stay at this property to celebrate a special family birthday. The host gave very clear instructions on how to find the property on arrival (because it is a little hard to find if following a sat nav.) Despite being on a busy road there was no road noise. There is a massive driveway to park cars. The beds were very comfortable and there was lots of space within the property to enjoy whilst making it feel homely. It is well decorated with nice touches. Highly recommend if visiting the North East.

Amazing property ran by a lovely and organised team. I arranged a surprise party for my partner here and they were on hand whenever I had a question and even let us check in earlier. The property itself was absolutely beautiful as well as being spotless. Everything you need is at your disposal from cooking equipment to tennis racquets this place has everything. Everybody woke up the next day and said how good of a sleep they had as well with the beds being amazing too. I would love to stay here again and can’t recommend it enough

This is just as good as it looks In the photos. We had a lovely family reunion here with seven adults and four children. Spacious enough for all of us. The grounds are v big. <br/><br/>.It is a little tricky to find a postcode will take you to a different location but the company aware of this and if I bet if I would’ve found it easily of I had followed their tips.<br/><br/>There is a fence around the property that keeps children and pets safe from running onto the busy nearby road. the only downside is that with all the fencing there’s no possibility of going for a walk around the property you have to get your cars and drive to do that. <br/><br/>My only complaint will be that they were no dishwasher tablet, oil, salt or pepper . So one of us had to go out and drive and pick these up which is a shame given how much we paid! Also they could do with a dustpan and brush on some cloths. It was hard to keep the property clean. Otherwise no real complaints and I’m sure we will book when we have another family r

This house is beautiful. The rooms are very spacious and we loved the number of lounge areas and TVs. There's plenty of room for parking too. Loved it so much that we me well book again in the future.

Absolutely beautiful house, really nicely decorated and finished throughout, very spacious and had everything we needed. Great location with its own private gated driveway. Tennis court would be brilliant in the summer!

Superb accommodation with excellent internal design features.<br/>3 wooden dining chairs were in a dangerous condition (creaking wobbly legs) and one collapsed under me while I was sitting on it twisting my back and banging the back of my head on the stone floor.

Lovely stay with a group of friends for the weekend. Excellent location and close to the city, would definitely recommend!

We throughly enjoyed our stay. The house was large with all rooms finished to a high standard. Also good location, close to Durham.

A wonderful stay where we were able to join together from Berlin, Suffolk, Essex and Newcastle for some family time. House was gorgeous and the grounds for our dog were phenomenal, could not fault the stay and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! The large kitchen/diner is also a great social space and the tennis court was used daily for some friendly competition games! <br/><br/>We had the best time, will gladly return! Thank you.

A wonderful, large house, very comfortable with large gardens<br/>Some lamps in the lounge would be good as the overhead lights are very bright, we had to borrow one from one of the bedrooms

A lovely house with fabulous gardens. We had a great weekend and would certainly come again.

Had lovely time. Good communication.

We really enjoyed staying at this lovely old Rectory

The property is in a perfect quiet and private location with amazing facilities, gardens and grounds. Interior design is spot on, Communication was excellent although being reminded to check out almost a whole day before check out is due does rather spoil the last day! Just a matter of timing maybe but most people already know when they're due to check out.<br/>If I could I would give the property 9.5 out of 10 rather than 10 out of 10. This was due to the slight lack of cleanliness of the property. The carpets were not very well vacuumed and the windows and blinds were actually filthy. Cobwebs with dead flies all round the outside of the windows and also around the key box where you have to enter the code to retrieve the key. Also around the exterior gates which we could not get to shut. Overall this was over-shadowed by the superior elements listed above - but cleanliness could have been better.<br/>Also almost all of the windows could not be opened which wasn't great in 32 degrees heat.

Incredible property, the size and layout serves a large group of guests so well. The facilities throughout the property were of a high standard. Easy to check-in and easy enough to find. <br/><br/>Such a great space.

An absolutely lovely place, in a great location and within some great grounds. We had this booked for a couple treat away and the place was spot on. The place was super clean, very well presented and matched to our expectations by the pictures. The space outside was lovely to enjoy in some very hot weather. Good communication from the team throughout and made for a very enjoyable stay away.

Fantastic hosts, lovely house, beautifully furnished and extremely spacious.

Not as advertised. We had many faults during our stay that were not resolved for us - no working stove top facilities or aga, no wifi, broken chairs and insufficient glassware.<br/>Location was good though and it was generally clean although we did have to wipe down some dusty surfaces and wash some dishes

We really enjoyed our stay,

This is a fantastic property which is well maintained and impressively spacious. The bedrooms are large and bed very comfortable. The three sitting areas allow flexibility for everyone. The grounds are the most impressive with an exceptional plot of land that is absolutely tranquil. Thank you for a great stay.

Lovely house, great size rooms, and bathrooms. Convenient location for Durham city, some road noise.

The Old Rectory is a great space for a large gathering.<br/>Spotlessly clean inside and the aga was lovely to come down to in the morning.<br/>The beds were so comfortable and the properly laundered bed linen was appreciated.<br/>One small point, there were no cooking basics so bring salt, pepper and anything else you need for cooking!

Everything! What an outstanding stay!<br/>N/A

Great house, loads of space and comfy beds.<br/><br/>Super easy to get in to Durham using the park and ride just up the road.

Had a wonderful stay. Really well located, fitted out to a high spec, and the garden and tennis courts were fantastic - would really recommend.

We had a fantastic stay, plenty of space. <br/><br/>A couple of issues upon arrival, however these were soon rectified and the owner handled it brilliantly. <br/><br/>We would love to return.

Great place to stay

This house is an amazing find: it’s huge! The rooms are all massive, with plenty of space. We used it to host a retreat for work colleagues, and the great wifi really helped too. Worth noting it is on a very busy road, though the view out to fields out the back do make up for it! The kitchen could be better equipped to ease cooking for large numbers, but in general it is a fabulous property. Thank you!

Great house beautifully decorated and cleanliness was great. Close to the city and in walking distance of a nice pub. Would definitely visit with friends again. Thanks

A large property which lends itself ideally to a large property or a number of smaller groups. A combination of open plan (tv lounge, dining area, and kitchen), with a number of other separate tv lounges. Something for everyone. Well located for Durham and surrounding area. Two pubs within walking distance. Absolutely fantastic property.

What a lovely house. Easily large enough for 10. Enclosed gated private grounds with tennis court and parking for at least 8 cars. Modern and warm with period features. Close to the local pubs, takeaway, village and childrens play area and only a few miles from Durham. When we arrived it felt like we were arriving at an hotel with towels and toiletries laid out in our huge bedrooms. You could see it had been well looked after with a modern kitchen and bathrooms. It was so lovely and clean and the beds were so comfortable. Fantastic communication with the owner. We had a brilliant time there. We will be returning.

The house was beautiful <br/>There wasn't any pans in the kitchen and we wanted to cook a Christmas dinner so had to buy pans

Beautiful property, superb furnishings and lovely comfy bed , great communication from host we could not fault it even stayed an extra night which was so kindly accommodated <br/>Can’t wait to return in the future!!

This is a lovely property in a pleasing setting and is on the whole maintained to a high standard. Its location made it an ideal base to tour the renowned national historic attractions in the area.

This is a fabulous house,with the comfiest beds I’ve ever slept on! We look forward to visiting again!

The house certainly lives up to expectations. We had an enjoyable stay with two mums and 4 teenagers. Plenty of space for us all to be together or apart. <br/>The bedding and pillows were all clean and very comfortable. Super fridge with ice maker and plumbed for cold water on tap. We took our own hairdryers but they were available in every bedroom.

We had a really great stay at the Old Rectory. There was plenty of space, the beds are comfy, the kitchen was lovely and the surrounding areas are very beautiful for walking. Would definitely recommend.

We loved our stay. The house is beautiful, much bigger than it looks in the photos, and the grounds are also really big. We enjoyed the tennis court. There were ten of us staying, and we had plenty of space to all be together, but also to have some time in different rooms doing our own thing.

Stunning property within a 5 minute drive of Durham city centre.<br/><br/>3 families with 6 kids under 5 yo. Plenty of space in bedrooms and loads of communal space. Kids loved running up and down the corridors. <br/><br/>Garden is huge and tennis court is a great bonus.

A beautiful home within easy driving distance of lots of hikes and walks. The tennis court was a lot of fun and the Aga was great to use for cooking. Bedrooms and bathrooms were clean and the living rooms were really comfortable. Good for lots of people staying together, and very quick communication whenever we needed anything.

Lovely house a short (5 minute) drive from Durham City centre - plenty of space to easily accommodate two families with lots of different rooms for personal space when required. House is furnished to a very high standard, with lovely clean bathrooms, and has a really nice warm, cosy feeling, despite being roomy and spacious.

Stunning house. Is in a secluded spot in huge grounds but is beside a busy road which cannot be seen due to lots of trees but can be heard. <br/>Clean. Comfy beds. <br/>So much room for our party of 5. <br/>Was a 10 min taxi ride to Central Durham costing approx £15.

Beautiful house. Great stay.

This house is so comfortable, stylish and spacious, we had beautiful weather while there so made full use of the tennis court. Very relaxing stay.

Very lovely house, in a beautiful setting. The house was very clean and has boutique style decor. Plenty of room for a large family. We enjoyed our stay here, and we were very central to Durham town centre, restaurant’s and other sites and attractions. I would recommend.

The Old Rectory has plenty of space for large groups in a private setting easily accessible from Durham. All of the areas of the house are of generous size, with a particularly lovely large kitchen which is perfect for socialising.

Lovely property which has been updated to a high standard. <br/>Lots of space for a party of 10. Good location with Durham city centre only about a 5 minute drive.<br/>Huge gardens which gets sun all day.<br/>Well catered for wheelchair access, with downstairs bedroom & bathroom with no issues moving from room to room<br/>Communication with host was excellent.<br/>Would have no hesitation recommending or staying there again

Great place set back from the main road, giving you a good sense of privacy. All rooms a good size, with a nice area to congregate in the kitchen dinning area. <br/><br/>All rooms are furnished and decorated to a good/high standard.<br/><br/>The outstanding space is great, with a BBQ area and a tennis court. <br/><br/>Our family really enjoyed their stay, thanks!

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, the photos do not do this house justice for how big it is, plenty of communal space and lovely bedrooms. We enjoyed a bbq with the weather being so nice our stay and a game of tennis <br/>Would definitely recommend to anyone considering

Beautiful house, probably larger than it seems in the photos.

Absolutely stunning house even better than the pictures!!<br/>Perfect for our family trip, good communal space but also plenty of room to spread out. Outside space &tennis court was perfect too.<br/>Well located for visiting Durham and the surrounding area.<br/>Newcastle easily accessible too.<br/>Some great pubs and restaurants nearby... takeaway for us due to current rules.