Spotless throughout. My bedroom was much bigger than what a hotel would offer! It was so warm and cosy. I didn’t have breakfast but the menu looked lovely and the price extremely reasonable. I felt very safe as a lone female, staying at The Shoes. The owners are lovely and welcoming and also the lady who does the housekeeping. I was only staying for 2 nights and didn’t expect my room to be cleaned. But she kindly offered. You wouldn’t get this service in a hotel. This is my 3rd visit and won’t be my last! My son is a university student, and I’d recommend this simple but lovely accommodation for those visiting their kids.

Nothing!

The staff were so lovely, received a warm welcome from the staff upon arrival and at breakfast the following morning. The room was very spacious with the ability to open the windows and a good sized bathroom. The shower had great pressure. Lovely Breakfast with a Full English served (a la carte) and cereals, yoghurts, orange juice available from the buffet.

Previous Tenants rubbish was not emptied sadly from the bathroom. Location was a struggle whilst coming from Durham city centre, the hill is very big, although buses are available from right outside the property and would take 5 mins into the city. Beds were fairly standard but did the job for a single person.

Very clean, comfortable, tea and coffee facilities. Great shower with good controls. Spacious and sizeable storage. Frequent bus service to City 20yds away.

Bedside table lamp not plugged in but when I sorted it, flex a bit short leaving toggle switch behind the side table. Not a problem for me but could be for someone not so savvy! No decaf coffee-minor niggle. Stayed here a few times pre pandemic but booking through the agency missed the Breakfast button (they do a good one!) However Durham City itself has handy breakfast outlets but believe parking can be nightmare!

Very cosy home from home experience. Yet it had the quietness and privacy I needed. Warm clean rooms. Good facilities, and staff available if I needed them. The cleaning lady even offered to clean my room after the first night, which was very kind even though I didn’t need it. There is a little walk to town which was fine for me. My son, a student lives in the other side of town near viaducts, so we’d both walk in to town and meet there. If you don’t want to walk, there are regular buses. Also a breakfast is available at shoes but I didn’t have it. Reviews show though that it’s very good and great value. As a solo female traveler, I felt very safe at the shoes and would recommend it to anyone in a similar position. It’s such good value and much more restful than the more expensive corporate hotels. Save money on accommodation and use that bit extra for a nice meal in one of the many Durham restaurants!!😋

Nothing!

We had a super stay, the staff were all lovely & couldn’t do enough for us. Billy’s breakfasts set us up for all day! Marvellous, generous traditional full English- fantastic! We hope to go back again. Thank you.

It is right on a main road & my partner had to close the window because of the noise of the traffic. However, we wanted somewhere close to the city centre & it took us about 30 mins to walk in from here - along the river. A beautiful leisurely stroll along the river; down hill on the way in with a steep up hill on the way home. I would not recommend this walk to anyone with mobility issues. There again, we never took a bus & there looked to be plenty thundering by.

Very friendly staff; the hotel is very clean and comfortable with pleasant decor, and dinner in the restaurant was delicious. Fabulous location in wonderful scenery.

Sadly, as is not uncommon, the walls seemed very thin. Conversation at normal level on one side was perfectly audible, while on the other a man was talking and laughing very loudly until almost midnight. It would be nice if the piped music could perhaps be switched off in one of the communal rooms downstairs, so guests could have a quiet place to e.g. sit and read.

The Shoes is a local landmark — a typical British B&B with rooms above a pub. My room was cozy, clean, and perfect for a short stay. It was within walking distance of the city center, making it ideal for my two-day visit.

The beds were extremely soft — it felt like I was sleeping on a water mattress! Unfortunately, the welcome wasn’t very friendly. When I asked for a nearby cafe to have breakfast, they didn’t make much effort to help. I ended up finding one just around the block using Google Maps.

We had a charming night at the Shoes on our way to Scotland. We checked in on a saturday night and the pub was in party mode with a singer. It would have been too noisy to sleep in our room on the 1st floor so we decided to join the party. Best decision ever. the singer was amazing and the pub patrons were friendly and lovely. we had a great time. Everything stopped at 11:30PM sharp and we could have a good night rest.

It would have been great to be able to get breakfast, but Durham is only 10mn drive away and there's a Tesco practically next door. so no big deal.

A really lovely place - easy to find, plenty of parking, very close to the city centre. The staff were all very friendly, and the breakfast was excellent - particularly for the price. I was a bit surprised to realise that this is a popular pub, and concerned that it woul dbe pretty loud at night - but from the bedroom it was impossible to hear a thing. There is also a back entrance directly from the car park (with a key), so you don't have to go through the pub once you have checked in - and if you want a pub, with good TVs for sport, it's right there! The room is a very good size, as was the bathroom (shower rather than bath) and we were very comfortable. Food-wise there is a very good Lebanese takeaway next door, a vietnamese restaurant 3 minutes away (on foot) and a Sainsburys express half way between the two.

The beds were a bit soft, with slightly crinkly sheets - I'm only putting this in as a negative because the review site is asking for what I didn't like! The were perfectly comfortable and we both slept well in our own single bed.

The Shoes is on the edge of Durham but only a few bus stops to the centre. Had a large room as a base as was visiting family in Durham for a beer and it suited me just fine. Had en suite shower, tv etc. Staff were friendly and had a nice veggie breakfast before toddling off the next morning. No parking but a side street adjoining it had loads of room. All good.

Tv wouldn't work but I suspect it's just the batteries need replacing in the remote and there was no light at the top when trying to use it. Forgot to mention it to the staff!