OYO The Townhouse

United Kingdom , Durham
Durham, 34 Old Elvet, 34
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75 reviews shown

2/10

Poor

10 Oct 2025

Andrea

We got there and there was a note on the door saying the hotel was repossessed as and they still took payment out of my account do I’m now in the middle of trying to get money back,

2/10

Poor

01 Oct 2025

Steven

Property was closed with a sign on the door. They tried to charge me anyway. Terrible!

2/10

Poor

28 Sep 2025

Arkadiusz

The hotel stopped operating in July

Friends_and_family Family

2/10

Poor

16 Sep 2025

Jennifer

Left out on the street!

My wife has stayed here in the past and liked it, however, this place is currently closed and up for sale (Sep 2025). We arrived on a friday night after making a booking a couple of months prior. The doors were locked, curtains all drawn and no lights on. No response when ringing bell or knocking. On calling the 'hotel contact number' we were connected to a foreign call centre who were of little help, and Hotels.com are refusing to refund our payment because they cant get approval from a manager... He's legged it!

Partner

2/10

Poor

15 Sep 2025

Jeanette

This hotel is closed

This hotel is closed and has been for several weeks.

Partner

2/10

Poor

02 Aug 2025

Frances

The hotel closed down the day before I was to arrive so I had to scramble to find new accommodation at the last minute

8/10

Excellent

25 Jul 2025

Leanne

Good location

Great location, lovely staff and breakfast included, shower only rooms though and a bit tired in decor - wallpaper coming off, ceiling stains and no toiletries, only one towel for two people too.

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

15 Jun 2025

Caroline

Warm welcome and wacky decoration at beautiful townhouse, well situated for university. Inflated prices due to open day not entirely justified - no towels or hand soap in bathroom, limited breakfast choice (only full English, only white toast)

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

22 May 2025

Sarah

Overpriced considering the condition of the hotel. Very dated. Friendly staff though.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 May 2025

Victoria

Lovely if slightly quirky property with friendly staff in a great location
Missing a few of the amenities you might be used to in a major mainstream hotel chain but made up for with welcoming and helpful staff

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

21 Apr 2025

David

Mixed feelings... great staff and hotel, poor room

Daniel and his staff are very friendly and do a good job. The hotel reception, bar and restaurant are all of a very good standard. The theme of the rooms is good.

Its a really hard review to give as the hotel is nice and I know Daniel has only had the hotel since January but on this occasion the room fell short

The room was themed as a cruise line. Colours and furniture were all matching the theme.

Few points room needs a bin as the tiny bin in bathroom was not suitable. Some blackout blinds are needed as the curtains are very pale and let lots of light in.

The room does need some attention there was damage to the decor and lots of bits wrong.

The bathroom was probably the worst bit. Needs lots of attention. Mixed fittings, shower temperamental, bath needs resealing

Would I stay here again, I would but just not in the cruise room

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

16 Apr 2025

Ian

Great location

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Mar 2025

Shaun

Fab

Fabulous stay, staff so helpful and friendly. Would definitely stay again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Feb 2025

David

Date night

Perfect couples night

Partner

4/10

Poor

22 Feb 2025

Fiona

Nice Interiors, Shame about the Guests & Breakfast

I stayed here with my boyfriend as Valentine Weekend Treat. A nice hotel utterly let down by the behaviour of other guests who were drunk, shouting, arguing loudly, and then the sound of vomiting from 11pm- 3.30am. Reception is not staffed overnight so there was no-one to report this to during the night. Breakfast was supposed to Full English, À la Carte, Continental and Vegetarian, but it was cereal and meat-based Full English only. There was no-one to report these issues to upon check-out (reception unstaffed). I tried for a week to email the hotel to report my experience, and I received no reply. With so many other nice hotels in the city, I would recommend avoiding this one and going elsewhere.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

25 Jan 2025

Verified traveler

Was more like a doss house, would not book again

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

17 Nov 2024

Lucy

Wonderful stay. Lovely hosts

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

29 Sep 2024

Lynsey

Had a fantastic stay for our wedding Anniversary would definately recommend

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Sep 2024

Verified traveler

Small lapse in room preparation.

Unfortunately whoever had prepared the room had left behind the dirty pillow cases from the previous guest on the floor. Apart from that we had a perfectly fine stay but than again we only stayed one night.

Partner

2/10

Poor

25 Aug 2024

Elizabeth

I booked a room at The Town House months ago for a surprise for my Husband on our 10th wedding anniversary. The room was pricey at £176 but I had seen some fabulous photos on facebook and I thought it would be worth the price. A couple of weeks ago I contacted the lady at the reception desk and asked if I could upgrade because I had seen better rooms with breakfast added at cheaper prices on their facebook page. The receptionist was very helpful but pointed out that as I had booked through hotels . Com there was nothing I could do but kindly said that if any of the luxury rooms were still available on the 24th August they would upgrade and make it special for our anniversary. We also booked Sunday lunch at the town house. We arrived at the hotel yesterday and was shown our hotel room. It was very disappointing. The room was small and quite frankly grotty . The ceiling was water damaged with plaster and paint missing and it was all very worn . When we went downstairs the guy on the desk asked if everything was ok with the room . I said I was very disappointed as the room was far below the standard we were expecting and nothing had been arranged to make our room special for our anniversary as promised. The guy at the reception apologised and told us that the hotel has changed hands . He also told us there wasn’t a chef now so there were no Sunday lunches. This was the first time we had been informed about this. Later on our shower leaked into the room below.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Aug 2024

Shaun

Great little boutique hotel right near the centre of Durham. Staff are great, would stay there again.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2024

Birthday Break

Outstanding room, with everything you need to relax, short walk to city centre this hotel & room give you everything!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Jun 2024

Dillon

We were amazed by our stay at OYO townhouse. We stayed in Le Jardin room and know Durham well. It surpassed all expectations with a truly gorgeous room with a beautiful that was also very private. The hot tub was super and lit up lovely in the evening/night.
The service was exceptional and we were well looked after by a range of people. The hotel bar was really lovely too and we enjoyed this before and after meals. We were lucky enough to get engaged on our stay here and it made the whole trip even more memorable. Nothing to fault from the whole experience!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

21 Apr 2024

Paul

Fantastic room love the unquie less of what the room..great location and friendly helpful reception staff

Partner

4/10

Poor

15 Apr 2024

Crystal

Disappointed!

Myself and husband thought we would book in for our 12th anniversary when we arrived we didn’t get a warm welcome it was dull and miserable we got showed to our room when we arrived inside the room it was cold the room was dark and dull only one window was to be open if needed as the other one had a sticker on it saying it need’s replacing then to find loads off small hairs in side the bath tub as we was just about to take a shower it was disgusting definitely hasn’t been cleaned properly when checking out in the morning there was no one on the desk we waited for 15 minutes! We left the room key on the counter as we had to dash of I wouldn’t be in a rush to return to this hotel definitely not worth the money it’s such a shame this hotel has gone right down the hill it used to be beautiful and clean since new owner have taken it over it’s definitely not the same we didn’t enjoy our stay we was very disappointed!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

07 Feb 2024

Natasha

Gorgeous night away.

We had a lovely stay at the townhouse, wand stayed in the garden lodge and it was lovely, very clean and trendy.

Wendy at reception couldn’t do enough for us, she was so helpful and friendly. Would definitely recommend and we will definitely come back!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jul 2023

Veronica

From my very first contact with the Town House I was impressed by the friendliness of the staff. Nothing was too much trouble. The room itself was beautifully furnished -if a little dark and I would have welcomed a reading light as the
'interior design lamps' gave little light
Would certainly go again the next time I visit Durham

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

07 Jul 2023

Margaret

Very central, lovely room with patio door onto a small terrace and nice views. The only negative was the overwhelming scent of air- freshener. We only stayed one night and didn’t have breakfast (not included) so can’t comment on food or service. Would have been good to have a coffee maker as indicated in the information.

Business Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jul 2023

Cameron

Brilliant hotel with great service

Partner

8/10

Excellent

26 Jun 2023

lyndsey

Lovely stay and the staff were very helpful and friendly making our stay more enjoyable. Especially Wendy who went out of her way to look after us :)

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2023

Verified traveler

Fantastic room

Wow, what a nice hotel. Room was great, and staff very friendly

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

13 Jun 2023

Janet

Beautiful room

The room and staff were wonderful! We will be back and will recommend to our friends!

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jun 2023

Mark

Quirky deco, nice spacious room, friendly helpful staff. Really enjoyed our stay here.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jun 2023

Matthew

Great staff couldn’t do enough for you, thanks so much

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 May 2023

Linda

Quirky, friendly small hotel handily placed for access to Durham city, without parking problems - street parking available across the road. We were lucky to be upgraded to the Penthouse, an amazing room. Huge comfortable bed, fantastic bathroom. Breakfast was delicious too. Thank you for the welcome and service during our overnight stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 May 2023

Chris

Great stay!

Fantastic hotel in a great location. A special thanks to Wendy for the warm welcome and incredible service.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Mar 2023

Richard

Fabulous welcome. Nothing was too much trouble. Rooms quirky and comfortable. Great coffee from the bar.

8/10

Excellent

22 Mar 2023

Sarah

Lovely property with a warm welcome , this place was a real gem . So close to everything , staff super friendly and rooms were so beautifully decorated and very comfortable

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2023

Julie

anniversary stay

Brilliant service from the moment we checked in, very clean.
Staff were so friendly and went out of their way to help.
Room was spotless.
Breakfast was lovely.
Our room was the Azzurri

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Mar 2023

Simon

Aside from a leaking tap, the room was perfect for our needs. Very much \"Bijou\" but no complaints. It is what it purports to be.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2023

Nick

Brilliant hospitality and friendly faces

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

17 Feb 2023

Erin

Quirky room, we stayed in Midas. Wallpaper peeling in places and just looks like it could do with a freshen up, but still clean. Door handle broke when we tried to leave the room in the morning, room telephone wasn’t working so had to use our mobile to call reception, and the man was prompt in coming up to free us!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

10 Feb 2023

Verified traveler

Lovely time

Gorgeous room, lovely decor, wonderful deep bath and helpful folk on reception.

Minutes away from all the fun stuff. Some noise from the road outside but minimal.

Room is beautiful but has some signs of wear round the edges but who cares, it was comfy and gorgeous.

Self

8/10

Excellent

25 Nov 2022

Daniel

The room was amazing, really romantic for our first wedding anniversary, and the decor throughout was great. My only gripe was there wasn't a lot of horizontal space and my wife had to sit on the floor to do her hair and makeup as that was the only spot near a plug socket and in front of a mirror however we would both definitely stay again

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

12 Nov 2022

Claire

Great stay

Great stay in this unique hotel. We stayed in the Midas room and loved the decor and layout of the room. Clean room and good service by the staff.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Oct 2022

Matthew

Very friendly staff and super convenient for durham town centre.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

17 Oct 2022

Warwick

Very friendly staff made our stay very enjoyable.

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

05 Sep 2022

Susan

We got the last room , it was convenient for our night out , nice and clean ☺️

6/10

Pleasant

07 Jul 2022

Julie

Stylish in s good location

Very stylish decor and in a great location. Ryan on Reception was outstanding.. although our room needed some TLC to justify their 5 stars.. bathroom was titchy with no space to put toiletries.. wardrobe small and bedside light didn’t work. Bed very comfy and lots of hot water.

2/10

Poor

01 Mar 2022

Lindsay

Only profit matters

Extremely dull small room with shoddy cheap interior. Terrible smells coming from drains made room almost unbearable to sit in . Food was poor & the bar was a joke . 3 gins Gordon’s & beefeater.
Not one malt whisky. How can you rate this hotel with 4 stars, it’s a total joke . Easily one of the worst places I have stayed

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Nov 2021

Harvey

Very good stay however when booked online I chose my preferred theme of room and was given a completely different one to the photo I chosen

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

09 Sep 2021

Paul

Fantastic Individual Hotel with Great Hosts.

A very enjoyable stay in a very individual & beautiful hotel. The owner and staff were very helpful, especially when they upgraded us free of charge to the fantastic Hideaway room. The parking is off site but within 25 yards directly opposite the hotel and was very cheap.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Aug 2021

Alastair

Lovely hotel well located comfortable and with lots of character.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

27 Aug 2021

Lisa

Fantastic

From the moment we arrived we had a fantastic stay the room we booked was lovely, but we were upgraded to the penthouse room which was amazing huge bathroom with stand alone bath and walk in shower. The staff were fantastic couldn’t do enough for us. Would definitely stay again.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

20 Aug 2021

Adam

Great location, few minor issues

Nice location, parking situation was beneficial - Service was good. We was in the Cruise room which was clean and tidy. Only issue was the shower would not cool down to a useable temperature, even after letting it run for over 10 minutes, so that was disappointing. Also no toilet roll was in the bathroom on arrival.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

03 Aug 2021

The place was ok. Strange decor but each to their own taste.
We had a small room at the top which was ok. Creatively constructed attic room.
The room was ok but elsewhere throughout the hotel there was a strong smell of damp.
The air freshener used throughout the public spaces was a very nasty artificially scented product.
Decided not to stay for breakfast.

Partner

2/10

Poor

28 Jul 2021

Unfriendly and uncaring

I think this might be my first one bubble hotel review after hundreds of stays.

Staff here just do not care about guests. On arrival we were shown to our room but quickly found the bathroom did not supply cold water - just boiling hot. We tried to call reception but the phone was broken. I went down and told the front desk and was told it was an old house and I needed to run the tap longer. They did not care about the phone.

Running the tap in the bathroom did get cold after 3 minutes. We found out the following morning that even after steaming up the bathroom for over 5 minutes there was only boiling hot water in the shower so we left without a shower.

Our room was stifling hot and windows did not open. There was an AC control but despite running from 4pm to the following morning the room temperature never changed. There was a fan in the cupboard and we always bring earplugs so we did manage to sleep on top of the duvet. The main areas of the hotel are cool so it seems the staff keep themselves comfortable.

Finally there was almost no toilet paper and no spare. The phone was still broken so that morning we checked out and found somewhere else.

There were no COVID protocols in evidence, and not one member of staff wore a mask. Despite a relaxing of the law, hospitality should be more careful and all the restaurants and cafes we visited in Durham certainly were.

I came very close the night before to booking another hotel. If we’d been here a second night I would ha

Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Sep 2020

James

Good Durham option

Great location. Nice quirky fit out. Looks tired in places. Fantastic service and great breakfast.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

23 Aug 2020

Verified traveler

The proprietors were very welcoming.

The themed rooms were quaint. Ours was very warm - even with the window opening.The view was towards the river.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

01 Aug 2020

Verified traveler

Nice stay, but needs a bit of TLC

Stayed with my husband in the Eden Lodge in July for 1 night. The lodge itself is nice but in need of some TLC - the carpet is quite stained, the bedding although clean was quite stained, and the bathroom needs a revamp (toilet very stained, shower has mould in the grout and is in need of redoing), and the door leading out to the terrace was covered in spilt drink from previous guests.

The hot tub was great to relax in, but it was missing covers from the filter area inside the tub so not exactly a nice view when sat relaxing.

We have stayed in this lodge previously prior to the gazebo being put up around the tub so that it is covered over, whilst this might be great in bad weather, it completely obstructs the lovely views across the fields which we enjoyed previously. The view from the hot tub is now simply the wooden cladding of the gazebo or the lodge, this is a real shame.

Overall a nice stay, the bed is comfortable and the room spacious enough for two, but needs a bit of care or perhaps a revamp.

Partner

2/10

Poor

28 Jul 2020

Anne

Filthy dirty

Partner

2/10

Poor

24 Mar 2020

Verified traveler

Wouldn’t stay again. Just after your money. Avoid avoid avoid

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

Friendly welcome, slept very well in perfect comfortable bed.

Business_and_leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2020

Extremely friendly and helpful staff. Great breakfast and comfortable room

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

11 Jan 2020

Clive

A quirky place in town

Stayed in the Ruby room, with impressive 4-poster bed and a nice view from the front of the property. On the downside, the whole place really needs an overhaul and maintenance to deal with chipped furniture, tiles, grouting etc., and the standard of cleaning was not great. On the upside, staff were welcoming and helpful, and it’s in a very convenient location in central Durham.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

Friendly welcoming staff, amazing location, lovely room with hot tub

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

16 Dec 2019

Alyson

Looking tired and shabby

We had a lovely stay at the townhouse although it’s now looking very tired and a bit shabby and in need of a refurbishment As we stayed there a few years ago and it was in much better condition,the only two staff Beth and Linda that were on duty were trying to multi task the whole time But they still managed to stay extremely pleasant and helpful and couldn’t do enough for us they were so
Lovely they made up
For the poor state of the hotel

Partner

8/10

Excellent

02 Dec 2019

Philip

All good except for the shower that we could not stop dripping.

Partner

4/10

Poor

15 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

Access to the hotel was very difficult due to the Lumiere event - it would have been nice to be advised beforehand

Our room appeared to have a leakage issue forcing us to change rooms at 10pm

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

22 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

The individual styled rooms and the large TV but very small room

Friends_and_family Partner

8/10

Excellent

04 Oct 2019

Henry

Nice place but a little tired around the edges

The Townhouse is a cute hotel with an innovative and different feel to it. The staff are friendly and helpful but parts of the hotel are a little tired and in need of updating and tidying.
It was also unfortunate that 6-7 bags of laundry were left at the bottom of the staircase for all to see.
The breakfast was nice although a little overpriced at £15 for coffee, juice, cereal and something cooked.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

03 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Lovely hotel with everything you need and its own flamboyant style which gives a nice cosy feel. Unlike some of the bland characterless hotels on offer. IThis was a 1 night stay to bring my son back to uni- will be back for graduation!

Business_and_leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

28 Sep 2019

FEZAN

Great hotel conveniently located close to center

Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Sep 2019

Verified traveler

Perfect

The hotel is very unique with highly designed rooms that are in excellent conditions. The level of comfort is outstanding for this price range and the staff were enthusiastic and had a 'can-do' attitude that was very welcome.
It is also well situated: not directly in the centre to have a bit of piece but just a 5-10min from all the sights.

Business

4/10

Poor

15 Sep 2019

Charles

Does boutique mean small?

Very expensive room, very small room and very poor value.

Partner