The Shoes

The room was warm and the bed comfortable and the breakfast lovely.. The shower worked well and there was a tv and tea and coffee in the room as well as an armchair and an ordinary chair and a desk.There is a small Sainsbury's supermarket next door. The town centre is about 20 minutes walk or a short bus ride away.

The car park outside the pub is privately owned with a 90 minute time limit during the day and so you need to move your car after breakfast to a free on street parking road nearby if you want to leave later. If you come back before around 10pm the same applies.

Very pleased to have found this place! Used to extend my stay in Durham after a work conference. Owners were friendly, check-in straightforward and I felt perfectly safe as a solo traveller. Room and bathroom very clean. Bathroom not in room but directly across the corridor, still private though, can't see that anyone else would bother climbing up to the top floor to use it! The pub itself seems a nice locals' pub, no noise up in the rooms. Good breakfast, owners very attentive. And of course very reasonably priced, would definitely return.

The room decor is a little dated, not in itself a problem, although the mattresses could do with replacing.

Breakfast was really good, chosen items cooked to order. Large pot of tasty breakfast coffee; no messing about with coffee machines or waiting for someone to top up your cup. Room was fine, would have liked a double bed but... Outstanding value for money. £45 B&B. Premier Inn charge about £130ish per night. Think about that for a minute. Some people who leave reviews might go searching their room looking for bits that arent perfect (you know who you are...), but I have stayed in hotels and B&Bs all over Europe and I know what I need and what I'm looking at. And bearing everything in mind, you cant beat The Shoes...

Nothing. All good. Understand this....Its not the Savoy Hotel, and it doesnt pretend to be.

The property is so close to the town, within 15-20 mins walking distance. The bed is very comfortable. The en-suite toilet, can’t ask for more. The beamish museum is 20 minutes drive away. The breakfast is very good too.

The off street parking behind the shoe. There is an on site parking but they don’t own it, there is a 100 pounds fine if you have not got a permit, is monitored by CCTV. In the past we were caught out so never again. Is only a few step to walk to the next street parking, so not a biggie.

I had to book a night quickly and they accommodated me very well. I was greeted by a lovely friendly face, (lovely girl) who showed me to my room. The first thing that struck me was the smell. The smell of freshly washed laundry!! Heaven!!! I had work to do and took my laptop down to the bar where I soon abandoned it for the fabulous company of the locals. Great night! Xxxxxxxxxxx

Nothing. Would highly recommend this place. Will book again. Loved it. X

Excellent breakfast - a wide range of cereals and a well cooked and presented full English A twin room for one person is generous, so lots of space, and the private shower/room toilet was just opposite the door (room 3) My daughter had the en-suite twin (room 2) - very generous size and well appointed.

We were on foot, and this site is a fair walk out of town and up a hill. We could/should have taken a short ride on the bus - stops just opposite and pretty frequent. To be fair, there is no B&B accommodation we could see near the town centre. We don't use fabric conditioner at home, so it's always obvious when we get home that it was present, though nowhere near as strong as we've had in other locations.

Staff were able to let me in with my arrival being just after midnight. This wasn't the case with other places I contacted! Very friendly and catered for every need I had on my very short stay, with a nice breakfast included at a very reasonable extra cost. Room was roomy, with nice little touches of decor. Well worthy of their Four in a Bed victory!

Maybe a double bed? But my sleep in a single bed was great and very comfortable any way. Only a minor issue, don't let it deter anyone who's considering staying!

The Shoes was a little further from downtown than I had thought but there are numerous buses going past. Once we worked out where we were, it was about a 15 minute walk into town. We were the only guests and found the caretaker/ manager super nice, friendly and obliging.

We did not dislike anything. We were not paying a lot of money so we were happy with this cheap and cheerful pub.

The breakfast was a wonderful full English!! I was at the table at the time I suggested...and food was there within minutes! Well prepared and presented! Truly satisfied with serving size! The location was perfect for my needs for the stay. On a main road with access to major routes. A mile out of Durham city center gave me a lovely walk into town. On a bus route, so I could have chosen that way...but it was a great route for a walk.

Not that there was a problem for me but giving a heads up to guests that booking a taxi in advance a good idea at beginning/end of school day. Of course, they would be solidly booked for school runs. (I didn't decide until last minute...but had plenty of other options).

We were made very welcome. Lovely clean pub with a friendly atmosphere. We stayed in room 2, nice en suite, comfy beds. Bathroom adequate, clean if dated. All in all, very good value.

Only gripe would be that the cleaner took our glasses away, thinking they belonged to the pub, when they were our own. 1 glass was half full with whiskey and coke! After speaking to Billy the owner, they were returned (but not with the whiskey)