I stayed at The Ancient Unicorn while attending a friend's wedding at Lartington Hall, and it was a fantastic experience. The property itself is full of charm and history —the building is over 450 years old, which gave it such a unique character. The room was spotless and recently refurbished, the shower facilities were excellent, and the breakfast in the morning was great. Karli, the manager, was incredibly friendly and welcoming throughout my stay. In the morning, she went above and beyond by even offering to drive me all the way back to Newcastle the next day on her way back to South Shields — an unbelievably kind gesture, especially considering the lack of public transport in the area and how she had been working there since the Thursday!

Breakfast was lovely, but if I’m being really picky, I wouldn’t have said no to a little more bacon and eggs! Otherwise, everything was spot on.

We happily recommend this historic hotel. It's an imposing building with an interesting layout and the staff work hard to a common purpose to recover the hotel from a period of virtual closure. The staff all showed a genuine interest in the requirements of their guests and if you prefer a historic setting without glitz and glamour then this is for you. It is also well situated for access to the National Nature Reserves and Pennine walkways and the world class Bowes Museum, perfect on a wet day, is just a few miles away.

For the moment this is a dog friendly hotel and we should have liked a much tighter rein kept on some dogs

Breakfast was great, juice, tea cereal, all you wanted in a good breakfast. The only issue for us was internet connection in the old part of the building and our room was nonexistent. we had to go down into the bar each morning to connect. was not a major problem as we were on holiday and Karli was really good about us in the bar early. Dinner was delicious with the best chip around. Karli was a great host, very friendly and helpful to all our needs. The shower was great, hot and roomy to enjoy a shower each night. Guss was the star attraction each morning and we loved him.

No internet connection in the room at all. we went into the bar each morning to connect early before breakfast. Room was not serviced each day and milk/sugar not topped up.

We were able to swap from a shared bathroom to an ensuite, which was better for us. The room and bathroom were very clean. The bed was very comfortable. The evening meal was good and we had a nice time playing pool and catching up on the 80s music. Nice walk to the castle with great views over the Pennine Way. Good breakfast with choice of cold items and cooked, vegetarian option too. Friendly atmosphere

Limited space in the bathroom for our toiletries. Squeaky floorboards ( due to the age of the building so can't be helped). The doors had a tendency to slam so had to be closed gently. Would have preferred mugs rather than cup and saucer on the tea tray but fair selection of hot drinks.

Stayed in the main building - Very clean room. Didn't use the TV or kettle as we were shattered by the time we arrived but they were available for us as well as cups, tea/coffee/sugar and even biscuits. Beds were comfortable and accessing the room via keybox was really easy. Breakfast in the morning was delicious. interaction with the staff (lady making the breakfast) was pleasant. In house pup was adorable too. Came over for a back scratch which my teen was over the moon with. Will definitely be booking again when we need to stop off overnight.

Not a reflection on the hotel per say but the communal toilet was left unflushed. That's on the other guests though not the hotel. Literally the only downside of our stay. Guess its a risk with a shared bathroom.

Reliable and affordable location close to Barnard Castle. Staff were helpful to allow me to upgrade my room when I realised I’d accidentally booked without private bathroom! Pleasantly surprised to find a cooked to order breakfast rather than continental only included. Owners were friendly. (Replacement) room (deluxe double en-suite on top floor) was extremely clean, comfortable, warm and well maintained. Very good shower!!

Staff weren’t very present on the day the pub was closed - didn’t realise breakfast was in the main pub room as there was no one there for ages. (Staff on other days (owner?) great though.) WiFi is listed as unreliable but actually it just doesn’t reach outside of the bar area at all, there was absolutely nothing in my room - and the bar WiFi was slow and dropped out a lot. I had to keep popping down to download things in order to work on my laptop, so wouldn’t recommend if you specifically need WiFi.

very close to the A66 and easily accessible. there was no parking left when i arrived and a staff member moved the outdoor tables so i could park. the room was delightful. i didn't have dinner as just wasn't hungry after the long journey but it did smell lovely when i went to have a look at the pub part :) breakfast was excellent and my dog was welcome to join me.

the creaking floorboards :) not in my room but on the corridor / other rooms. some rooms had a shared bathroom and the way to it led in front of my door. i know it's a 400 year old building and it wasn't a big issue. and i'm not even sure if it can be helped.

Second time visiting the Ancient Unicorn and again could not fault anything. We were warmly greeted when we arrived and had dinner in the restaurant which was great. Classic food done really well. Great beers on tap too. Our room was spacious, comfortable and was immaculately clean. Had a great nights sleep on a very comfortable bed. Bathroom was well appointed and spotless, a lovely hot shower with lots of power! Had a lovely breakfast in the morning and again staff were warm and welcoming. Thanks again for another lovely stay-we will be back!

Nothing!

The staff were so friendly and welcoming. It said dog friendly, and we have a Saint Bernard, and usually, when venues see the size of her, you can tell they normally aren't keen. Here all the staff were amazing with our 2 dogs so friendly and welcoming. The food was amazing. Everything was homecooked and so good. It's in an amazing location where we took the dogs out walking , it's so stunning the views. We will definitely be coming back to stay again . It was the perfect getaway from everything we needed peaceful quiet and stunning

Everything was perfect

The location was perfect as a stop over on the way to the Lake District. Warm welcome, comfortable room and bed. Excellent shower so much so I had one at night and morning 🙂The room was away from the bar area so it was very quiet. Breakfast was very nice. Resident dog Gus was a cutie! The self check in was so easy and we were sent all the info that was needed the day before. Nice little circular walk via Bownes Castle. There are many other places to walk to but we were there for just the one night so couldn't explore further. All in all a very nice place that we would stay at again.

Can't fault anything but was a little disappointed with our meal of bangers and mash. Other people's meals looked much nicer. Breakfast however was top notch.