I had a room with private bathroom and double bed neither of which I could fault. I looked to have been newly decorated and new carpets. Nice and clean. Bed was as comfy as my own at home and had no problem sleeping. The generous use of an additional kitchen area meant I could keep my own drinks cold. The B&B was also quiet despite it being a local pub noise did not travel. Also an ideal location for anyone visiting the Beamish museum. This is a hidden gem! The breakfasts were excellent too. There was no skimping on portions at all. Well done to the chef.

The only point I picked up on was that the local road was a little busy as I am not used to the traffic noise.

Fantastic value for money. I was in the area for a wedding and had already booked a room in a different hotel. The hotel I was meant to be staying in (hotel 52) cancelled on me on the day of my booking due to "unforeseen circumstances" and did not provide me with any alternative accommodation. In a panic, I booked with Ball Alley on the same day as my stay. Not only were they cheaper than my original accommodation, they also provided breakfast, the staff were super welcoming and friendly and the room was perfect for what I needed. I could not recommend them enough!

Considering the price of the room there was nothing I did not like and everything exceeded my expectations!

Nice quiet accommodation. Looked like the accommodation had recently been refurbished. We had two rooms with a shared bathroom as my partner and I were travelling with my mum (going to Beamish). Fabulous beer garden. Good breakfast. Friendly staff. Access to a kitchen if needed. No food (apart from Breakfast) on site but a nice chip shop up the road and we sat eating our fish and chips with a drink in the pub beer garden. There is a Sizzler pub 'The Hilltop' 5 minutes drive away which serves meals in the evening. Ideally located for Beamish a short drive away. Can't fault the place really. We would stay again.

Needed a hook on the bathroom door for clothes/towel.

The rooms were clean, well equipped, bed was comfortable with plenty of spare pillows if needed. The breakfast was lovely and plentiful! All the staff we came across were helpful and the owner was lovely! A group of us stayed here for 2 nights when attending a wedding at the South Causey Inn which is literally a 10 min walk up the road. There is a 24 hour garage just across the road which was helpful. Overall I would recommend the Ball Alley to stay. It may not look much from the outside however don’t be fooled! You will not be disappointed.

Nothing!

We were dropping off our son to Durham University and booked one night stop here before heading back to London. We didn't expect much from a room above a pub, but we were very pleasantly surprised. Room was superb, clean, it all looked like quite recently refurbished to a very decent standard. Obviously we went downstairs to a pub for a drink and were helped by the staff to organize some extra food. Breakfast provided was very good, made to order and served fresh. We will definitely recommend this location.

Honestly couldn't find anything.

We had a double room with en suite. Everything was spotlessly clean. The bedroom was comfortable with plenty of wardrobe and draw space. The en-suite was spacious with a shower and plenty of shelving/ cabinet space for toiletries. Although the rooms are above a busy pub we were not disturbed at all by noise from the pub even when there was live music on the Saturday night.A full English breakfast is included making the whole stay excellent value for money. Would stay there when visiting family in the area again.

No negatives for us. The accommodation was ideal for our needs.

The room was great, with spare supplies (teabags, loo rolls etc)on the landing of that floor … there was even a small fan heater or cooling fan available. The beer garden was lovely and quiet with plenty of picnic type tables in a well maintained lawn. The owners, Michael and Lindsay, were friendly and helpful.

If I’m to find any fault, and it didn’t affect our stay at all, then it might be that we had to be gentle with the shower cubicle doors as one side had come off its rollers ….. that in itself tells you that there were no serious issues.

We stayed for two nights and used for a base to visit Beamish and other surrounding Roman sites. The room was comfortable and all the staff and Landlady were very friendly. The pub itself is very welcoming and the locals were very friendly and the noise was barely audible upstairs even with the live music on the Saturday night (which was very good by the way). The breakfast was really good with cereal options and full English with toast. We went to a pub called the shepherd and shepherdess inn a short drive or 40 minute walk away for dinner. Food is excellent and reasonably priced. We would definitely stay again when we are in the area.

We booked so we could visit Beamish museum, the location of Ball Alley was great only about a mile away. Hosts were so helpful making sure we had everything we needed, and pointing us in the direction of near by eateries for our evening meal. The rooms were exceptionally clean with the addition of a residents kitchen should you need it. All topped off with a lovely breakfast every morning. Would definitely recommend and book again.

When we booked, we'd booked expecting cheap and cheerful, but the Ball Alley very much exceeded that. We had a very warm welcome by the bar staff when checking in. The room was clean and comfortable. The bar below was busy (on the Friday night we arrived) but in no way noisy. We bought some, very reasonably priced, drinks and sat outside in the large beer garden. Breakfast was superb - the owners know how to cook decent bacon! Again, a very warm welcome at breakfast and had a good chat about the area. We'd booked the two rooms that have a shared bathroom, i.e. no en-suite. That wasn't an issue for us as we were with family in the other room. Just to note, there are two very wide steps down from the bedrooms to the bathroom but there are hand-rails and the landing was lit all night, so this wasn't a problem. This B&B was in perfect location for us, not far from the A1 and only a few minutes drive from the Angel of the North. We're already considering staying here again in the near future when we have some non-UK friends staying with us and want them to experience a wonderful pub and B&B.