Mercure Darlington King's Hotel

The warmth, friendliness and helpfulness of all the staff (every one of them them) was fantastic. The location being in the centre of town was perfect.

Whilst the breakfast was satisfactory it was not very inspiring, I would have liked a little more oomph in the fruit compote,, but the melon was a nice addition, and maybe a choice of eggs - the fried eggs did appear rather rubbery although I can't say they were as I did not try them. I did struggle with having to use 2 lifts and long identical looking corridors,, fortunately staff were usually around to point me in the right direction.

Everything. We stayed for 18 days over December and February, so we left and came back as we were staying as our Son lived near by but his house was not big enough to stay. The staff were top notch with there duties, friendliness and professional appearances. Sue, Carl, Barbara, Cathy , Vince along with the others treated us like Family. Location in the middle of town, food and room service we would not fault. Yes we were there along time but our impression did not change. Sorry I forgot Marie. Nothing was any trouble. A credit to the Mercure group.

If there was anything I would suggest to improve and this is not a criticism, more selection in the bar area. But THANKYOU.

The room was nice and clean and the reception staff and cleaner were very friendly.

The breakfast staff were incredibly rude! they made the breakfast experience very uncomfortable giving dirty looks. My other half and myself were stood waiting to be seated for breakfast infront of a sign that stated ‘please wait to be seated” we waited and then my other half walked up to the room where we could hear the two members of staff talking about pot noodles. He asked if he needed to be given a seat to which the girl replied “Just pick your own table and it’s buffet style breakfast” as if we should have known this or how dare we ask her for help! the whole time after that every time she came in the room she gave me dirty looks which I didn’t appreciate!

Customer services was good, I’d asked for extra pillows and was contacted on the booking app to help me further. Breakfast staff went above and beyond for us, they had ran out of bacon completely and I wasn’t happy. They then ran out of beans and croissants, they filled up the beans and 20 mins later came to our table with croissants. Rooms were lovely and spacious, beds and pillows super comfy. Toiletries in the room were good.

Parking. The fact that bacon had totally ran out, how can a hotel possibly forget to order bacon? Putting bottled water in the room would be an extra nice touch.

Girl on reception was lovely. Location was lovely stayed here before. Hotel was lovely and clean. The clock in square was a bit annoying but only woke me up once at 5am so must have slept through before..

Breakfast was very very badly organised. Dirty tables left. The staff were walking around like snails. Actually the worst breakfast experience in a hotel. No sauce available without asking no salt and pepper on table. Ran out of bacon. Scalded hand on tongs. Only onr knife and fork in table for 2 no guidance. Other people were the same couldnt find plates there were none out. Latte was horrible like milk was off. The list is endless but the organisation was a shambles

The bed was comfortable and big and the bar/restaurant area was really nice where you can lounge have a drink in the evening or work on the laptop. Staff were super helpful and friendly.

The breakfast was good although there were no vegetarian sausages on the first morning. I was told they ran out. However, the next day was the same thing but this time the staff said they haven’t been getting them for a while. This needs to be advertised properly as i paid for breakfast because of the vegetarian option available. The shower kept going really hot then cold and back and forth when having a shower which was very frustrating.

Great location for transport links and shops we ate our meals at the wetherspoons pub a 2 min walk away. The room was clean on arrival, great shower and lovely smelling toiletries. You get 2 key cards and the wifi was a strong signal. A good sized tv and plenty of channels to watch (although no guide as to whats on so buy a tv mag) we would stay again but would bring my own pillow for comfort and an extension lead

View from window was the back of the local shops and there bins and fire escape but didn't matter to us. The bed was very soft and the pillows too soft to sleep on. The room was very hot there was a fan but with only 1 plug socket available charging our phones was more important. You can hear alot of noise of people up and down the corridor and food being delivered at breakfast and tea and from people in the rooms either side it was mainly kids thankfully it was quite by 11pm. The cleaners made the bed whilst there but no bins were emptied we ended up having to use a carrier bag and floors not mopped or hoovered. Light switch only worked on 1 side of the bed and reading lights didn't work at all

Location is excellent. There is 24 hours parking just for £5, very convenient. Both receptionists I dealt with in the evening and morning were very nice, very helpful people. Room has everything you need, including a desk to write. Check out time is 12 noon and that was very helpful as I needed to do some things in the morning, Very close to hotel there is everything you need from atmospheric coffee shops, yards, markets, malls etc. Very pleased with my stay. It was very good for the price.

Room is very small. A bit more space would be appreciated.

Room was quiet and comfortable. Clean, comfortable beds. Breakfast was very nice. Lovely staff.

Parking was very limited. We got the last spot but it was a very tight squeeze in the space due to columns. Waited a while to get checked in. It's a bit of a maze trying to find your room, corridors and more than one lift. We weren't able to eat in the hotel after checking in as we hadn't pre-booked. We weren't aware we needed to book. Perhaps this could be mentioned on the booking form. The hotel bar was closed quite early considering it was NYE.

Clean and comfortable rooms. Good bar area and good selection of food at breakfast, including freshly prepared hot food. Good centre of town location and not noisy at night.

The fire alarm sounded at 01.15 on our first night. We evacuated the building but the staff on duty did not give any reassurance or even appear to have had any training in this area. The fire brigade were only contacted after 20 minutes after we refused to return to our rooms until everything had been checked. Thankfully it was only a false alarm but I would think twice about staying here in the future.