Rockliffe Hall Hotel Spa Review

Since moving to North East England, I’ve been fortunate enough to have stayed at some of the region’s best hotels. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to lap up the luxury at these places, and I relish every second of each stay – none more so than my recent overnight experience at Rockliffe Hall Hotel and Spa in County Durham.

Thanks to all of these experiences, I like to think I know what creates a five star hotel experience these days (check out my list of the best North East spa hotels if you need some recommendations). My recent stay at Rockliffe Hall Hotel in Darlington though, has blown the local competition out of the water.

We were hosted by Rockliffe Hall as part of our foodie weekend with Enjoy Tees Valley and everything, from the warm welcome from each staff member we encountered to the incredible spa facilities – including the new Spa Garden – were positively delightful.

I wasn’t contractually obliged to write a review of Rockliffe Hall but was so impressed that I just had to share the place with you!

My Rockliffe Hall Hotel and Spa Review

We drove through the well-kept grounds and strode into the lobby, where we were greeted by impeccably polite staff. After a quick check-in, we were shown to our New Hall Superior Double room.

My first thought was that Rockliffe Hall would be perfect for weddings (too bad we already booked ours in Italy), because there’s so much space to entertain or get ready. New Hall Superior Doubles have a large seating area with two huge sofas, a desk and a dressing area separate from the bathroom. The rooms are south-facing and look out onto the pristine gardens and golf course.

In the bathroom there are two basins and a deep bathtub with a TV! The shower was great and there are hotel-branded toiletries.

The large, comfortable bed gave us such a good night’s sleep that I had to check the labels in the morning (Egyptian cotton, of course). I need to get some of that bedding for our house!

Dinner at The Orangery: Full Review

I mentioned our incredible meal at Rockliffe Hall’s flagship 4AA Rosette Orangery restaurant in my foodie guide to Tees Valley, but I wanted to save my in-depth review for this post. First of all, that venue! The Orangery is so elegant and refined, and definitely a place for your poshest frock. You know, the one you never usually get a chance to wear? Get it on!

Our server was wonderful and guided us through the options: a la carte or the chef’s tasting menu. We went for a la carte, and were served an amuse-bouche of chickpea dahl. I don’t like chickpeas or dhal usually, but I could have eaten an entire dish of this. My bouche was certainly amused!

Starters were beautifully presented: Whitby crab for me and lobster for Tom. The Orangery has a garden-to-plate ethos, and their homegrown vegetable garnishes were impossibly fresh.

For mains, I ordered Yorkshire lamb with shoulder bolognese, olives and anchovy which was a taste sensation, while Tom opted for fillet of beef with king oyster mushrooms. Both proteins were impossibly soft, but Tom’s meal was the stand-out dish. I made him share it.

I had the ‘jammy dodger’ dessert (literally like a deconstructed, very fancy version of the childhood favourite) and my dining companion had the ‘apple pressing’: a stellar end to a very memorable meal.

We had a nightcap in the bar and chatted to the lovely barman, who told us what a great place the hotel was to work. I could have lingered in those downstairs reception rooms for hours longer, they were so tastefully decorated and well looked after, but that big bed was calling!

Breakfast at Rockliffe Hall Hotel

After our solid sleep, we revisited The Orangery for breakfast. It lived up to the high expectations our dinner had given us: fresh orange juice, excellent coffee, a good continental selection and varied hot menu.

Tom had fluffy American pancakes with bacon and maple syrup and I had perfectly poached eggs royale. The man at the table next to us was exclaiming that the sausages were the best he’d ever tasted, and we both kicked ourselves for not ordering them. Next time!

Rockliffe Hall’s Spa: my new haven

The spa at Rockliffe Hall is probably the largest I’ve been to and the facilities are excellent. It’s not at all crowded (my personal pet-hate when it comes to spas), there are comfortable daybeds and a huge swimming pool. We thoroughly enjoyed the thermal suite, which has a series of hot and cold therapy rooms.

We were thrilled to spend two hours in the Spa Garden, bobbing in the heated infinity pool and gazing over the luscious gardens as squirrels bounded across the grass (I’m not making this up). The Spa Garden offers an enhanced experience and I definitely recommend booking in for an extra special treat. I kept thinking how amazing it would be to hire out for a hen do. It has a separate sauna, heated beds and even a Bali bed. Bliss.

There wasn’t time to sample a spa treatment, but I’m going to need facials in the lead up to the wedding next year and I know exactly where I’ll be booking them.

All in all, our stay at Rockcliffe Hall put it a head and shoulders above the other hotels in the region. My measure of a good experience is always, ‘do I want to bring my mum here?’ and I’m dead-set on booking a spa break at Rockliffe Hall for her next visit. Their afternoon tea is on my list of North East to-dos, too!

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As mentioned at the beginning of this post, we were hosted by Rockliffe Hall on a complimentary basis as part of a press trip with Enjoy Tees Valley. Opinions are (obviously) my own, and I’ll be sharing them with anyone I happen to encounter in the coming weeks who happens to ask what I’ve been up to lately…

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