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.

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.

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.

The room was great. We stayed in room 10 which was in the courtyard. We had a meal Friday night which was nice and home cooked. The pub had a great atmosphere .

This isn't in the Inns control at all, which I totally appreciate. However, our room backed out to the Air B&B next door. We were woke up at approx 130am with guests outside in the hot tub making such a noise! I looked out of the window and a guy was literally looking straight at me the garden was that close. Our room was lit up due to the outdoor lights in the ABB , I ended up having to bang on the window at 3am to get them to shut up. Hopefully no-one else has this in room 10. I did email the hotel and was assured this was a 1 off and they would let the other owners know. But this was a rebooked birthday weekend and just wasn't worth the hassle. Absolutely no sleep sadly.

Stayed at The Ancient Unicorn for the first time as we were attending a wedding at nearby Lartington Hall. Stay was for two nights, in the Charles Dickens cottage, so we had the opportunity to visit the restaurant and bar on the first night. After our self check-in, which was a breeze especially with parking directly outside of the room, we headed over to the bar where we were greeted at the door by a four legged landlord going by the name of Gus. Such a lovely well behaved dog who gets a lot of attention from visitors. We were then welcomed by Karli who is dedicated to ensure that her guests are happy and have a wonderful stay. Great selection of drinks and the food was really good with plenty to choose from the menu. All the staff were very polite and extremely helpful, making sure that we had everything we needed whilst serving food, drinks etc. Evening meal and breakfast were both good quality, home cooked, plentiful, very tasty and very enjoyable. The apartment has everything you could possibly need, it's clean, with a very comfortable bed, lots of space, well equipped kitchen, powerful hot shower, etc. Looking forward to another stay later on in the year so we can explore the area.

We were welcomed with open arms by the owner, staff and locals. Room across the courtyard was clean, compact, tastefully decorated and had everything we needed for a one night stay on our way home down south. By the end of the evening we were treated as old friends, dancing with the villagers to the "Shamrocks" from Bishops Auckland. A mix of the Pogues, meets sea shanties with a few old favourites thrown in, made for a very entertaining evening. Evening meal was traditional pub grub and the breakfast was superb, back in the bar where we had been dancing only a few hours before, but all tidied up and clean. A very unexpected but memorable night, and we would re-book in a heart beat if we were passing by again.

Nothing not to like.