Name: Mercure Darlington Kings Hotel
Address: Priestgate, 9 - 12, Darlington, DL1 1NW, GB

8/10

Excellent

25 Jun 2026

Louise

Staff are great, rooms are lovely - there was a fan in the room but could do with air conditioning given the weather and heat we seem to be having nowadays. Otherwise, no complaints

2/10

Poor

16 Jun 2026

Kate

The room was tired and Amenities were poor. Staff were unfriendly and unhelpful. Reception welcome was far from a welcome. The bathroom was filthy with black mould marks and the Bathroom door was completely rotten. The walls were paper thin - I was kept awake until after midnight. I phoning reception 3 times to ask if the room next door could turn their television down which was blaring for hours. After the third phone call over 2 hours they eventually did at 10.30pm. After this the room on the other side was on a phone call until after midnight shouting down the phone quite unpleasantly. I will never return to this hotel or recommend it to anyone.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

14 Jun 2026

Stephen

I had positive expectations of this hotel having stayed in other Mercure hotels in recent years, however this hotel was very dated by comparison and run down. The room was clean enough, however the TV was very small for a modern hotel room, and the general fixtures and fittings were not of the standard I expected. My colleague and I both opted for rooms here over other nearby hotels due to it's central location and previous good experience of Mercure hotels, however we were both disappointed with this property and would be unlikely to return or recommend it to others. The sound insulation in the rooms was extremely poor, with both colleague and I both experiencing issues with noise to differing degrees. More positively, the car park, whilst small, felt secure, and the breakfast was fine, with gluten free options available on request which my colleague required. This hotel would benefit from a refurbishment to modernise the rooms, and it this were to happen I'm sure it would attract a very positive reaction from future guests.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

29 Mar 2026

Victor

Friendly staff, clean room.
Great location close to transit and train station.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Mar 2026

NIGEL

Yes

Self

10/10

Exceptional

02 Feb 2026

Michael

No problems

Leisure Friends

2/10

Poor

19 Jan 2026

Ben

Dreadful from start to finish.

2nd night, cancelled

Business

8/10

Excellent

05 Jan 2026

Jane

Great stay

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jan 2026

Hazel

The room was clean and very good staff that we saw were very courteous abd helpfyl. Expecially the lady doing breakfast both mornings. She was great.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

27 Dec 2025

Denise

Staff were very good, helpful and friendly ,room was clean and did appreciate the upgrade ,good convenient location for the purpose of our stay ,very happy customers and would recommend this hotel ,especially the good value for money.

2/10

Poor

21 Dec 2025

Jessica

The towels were stained, many staff were rude and there were multiple holes in the bathroom

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Dec 2025

Cheri

Lovely large room. Hotel very central. Good breakfast

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

14 Dec 2025

Dawn

Great service. Staff very helpful and friendly.

10/10

Exceptional

10 Dec 2025

Dawn

Great location

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Nov 2025

Lee

Nice hotel, room and staff - bar area a bit dull and breakfast ending at 9-30am is ridiculous!

Business

10/10

Exceptional

22 Nov 2025

Robert

Bang in the middle of town. Lovely hotel.

Business

8/10

Excellent

20 Nov 2025

Omer

Average hotel, good location

6/10

Pleasant

17 Nov 2025

ian

Room and general hotel was tired, staff nice, breakfast was pretty good.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

17 Nov 2025

Charles

Breakfast was good - but coffee machine was broken, so only black coffee available. Sunday breakfast, baked beans ran out!
Room was pleasant and clean; window gave poor sound attenuation (noisy bar across the street kept me awake until 2am on Sunday!)

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

15 Nov 2025

Jamie

Yes great stay great staff

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

11 Nov 2025

Jeffrey

Great stay. Breakfast was lovely, with a wide and varied choice of items. The room was very cosy, and the hotel is bang in the town centre, so very convenient for all that has Darlington has to offer.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

10 Nov 2025

Emma

Room was very clean and modern.
Was kept awake most of night

10/10

Exceptional

09 Nov 2025

Joanne

Clean and comfortable room, friendly staff and enjoyable breakfast.

Partner

2/10

Poor

07 Nov 2025

Leora

I stayed in room 329 from 19 September - 22 September. There was no showerhead installed in the bathroom so I couldn't take a shower for the entirety of my stay. When I asked about it I was told that I should have been informed that the room was bath only at check-in, but I wasn’t and was given no alternative options. I was told I should receive some sort of refund and though I directly emailed management through the email address I was given by reception, I heard nothing back. I reached out to Accor, who told me they also contacted management, and never heard back from them. Finally I escalated to communicating with Expedia directly, who reached out to the hotel, and management refused to issue any refund at all, despite me being told by two different employees that I would receive some sort of compensation. It's incredibly frustrating that someone not having access to a shower for 72 hours has just been deemed as a non-issue.

Business Self

8/10

Excellent

06 Nov 2025

Catherine

Room was clean & comfortable. Would like a south facing room next time.

8/10

Excellent

02 Nov 2025

Kevin

Not a lot to say about it really served it's purpose all staff was friendly

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2025

Tom

Staff were friendly and extremely helpful. Room was great, shower excellent and overly a lovely stay

10/10

Exceptional

31 Oct 2025

ELIZABETH

Good for a one nights stay for work in Darlington

Business

10/10

Exceptional

29 Oct 2025

alan

Very quiet and comfortable room
Better value than Travelodge and friendly staff
In the heart of town and handy to everything

10/10

Exceptional

26 Oct 2025

Ian

Didn’t have breakfast so can’t comment. Excellent value for money. There is a car park however it is small and tight. We parked in DL1 about a 10 minute walk. Not a problem to us. Standard room has everything and decent size. We will use this hotel again.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Oct 2025

David

Limited Parking at the hotel but only 5mins walk away 24hr under cover parking for £10 for 24hrs

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

19 Oct 2025

Michael

Friendly staff, helpful.
Room dated but nice and clean
Worth the money

Partner

8/10

Excellent

15 Oct 2025

Mary

Really could do with a bigger sign to show car park entrance. Parking prices show £20 per night for hotel guests where its actually £5, when you get to reception.
Some of the carpet on the stairs are old and fraying.
Small bedside light not working and cobwebs above wall light outside bathroom

Friends_and_family Friends

6/10

Pleasant

09 Oct 2025

Shawn

Paint peeling in bathroom.
Very noisy pigeons on window ledge outside which was full of pigeon droppings

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Oct 2025

Rob

The staff were very friendly and the hotel is nice and central. The bed was exceptionally comfortable. The only slight criticism was that there must have been a slight gap in the window as there was a slight whistling noise from the window.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

29 Sep 2025

Darren

Good to have parking. Reception staff helpful. Nice big room. Lovely shower room. Restaurant had run out of food, so we are out. Bed really comfy. Reasonable breakfast. However, in the morning we could clearly hear loud conversation from the neighbouring room, so sound proofing isn't great. However, overall we are likely to stay again when in Darlington.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Sep 2025

DAVID

👍

Self

10/10

Exceptional

28 Sep 2025

DR A C

It was a very enjoyable stay. The staff on reception were extremely helpful and breakfast was nice.

10/10

Exceptional

16 Sep 2025

Christopher

Bathroom needs an upgrade. Toilet roll holder hanging off the wall.

Self

8/10

Excellent

14 Sep 2025

Rohan

very limited parking, creaky floors, good staff and rooms

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

06 Sep 2025

Graham

.

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

04 Sep 2025

E J

The hotel is tired. The staff were seeking to do a good job, but it was not happening. In the evening a receipt could not be produced for my meal and I am still awaiting it being emailed despite assurances it would be available and sent to me. The service at breakfast was similarly failing. Coffee cups ran out and took 10 mins to replenish. Orange juice ran out and not replenished. No white bread as order had not arrived. Staff were trying, but there was no evidence of effective supervision and they did not seem to have the resources to work with. Absolutely not in accordance with the accor hotels vision statement on the stairs!

Business

6/10

Pleasant

01 Sep 2025

Antony

Clean and comfortable but nothing special !

The hotel room was clean and tidy. The beds are extremely comfortable. The room itself was extremely small and having to get 2 lifts to your room is absolutely crazy in my opinion for a hotel of this size.

Overall I believe the hotel is “not bad” but it’s certainly nothing special. If anything I believe the price paid for one night was a little steep all things considering.

Self

8/10

Excellent

31 Aug 2025

C

Great location

Great location in the city centre.
Room fairy spacious with high ceiling (#429) - stayed 29/8/25 - 31/8/25
Decor throughout quite good and well maintained for standard of hotel.
Bed very springy however and not that comfortable at all. Needs changing.
Good selection of breakfast items and presented nicely.
Also great coffee machine.
Manual hot water dispenser is temperamental and it takes an age to dispense water for tea.
Reception team friendly and very welcoming.
However their knowledge of local electrical charging points is limited. Suggested Morrison car park 1.5 miles away when we found far closer points in local car park.
Also when I asked about local things to do I was told \"Drinking\". Maybe it's a northern thing.... I don't know.
Overall a good hotel and would consider it again.
Thank you for your hospitality.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

31 Aug 2025

Andrew

Staff helpful

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

31 Aug 2025

Nicola

Was in the center so very walkable, close to all the shops and restaurants.
Easy check-in/out. Also the shower gel, shampoo and handwash smelled divine.
Would definitely use this hotel again

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

25 Aug 2025

john

City centre good hotel.

Hotel is situauted in an ideal location, right in the centre. Parking at the hotel is very limited with only 21 spaces available under the hotel. That is 21 spaces if everyone parked within the lines and didn't have a car that is as wide as 1 and a half spaces. The rooms are compact but ideal for a stopover and kept very clean while the bathroom was compact, the shower was good and it had a bath so my wife was happy.The breakfast was good and buffet style, so eat what you want. We only went to the bar once and it was very good, bar staff were polite and chatty and the seating was very comfortable. Overall the hotel is good with staff being very good with any requests and very polite.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Aug 2025

Hind

Darlington stay

Good location but because it is central it is also noisy being able to hear the outside, so be prepared for street/town central noise. Greatful that a fan was already provided in the room. Very helpful staff and Easy to check in and out. A good stay overall.

Friends_and_family Family

4/10

Poor

24 Aug 2025

Scott

Overall tired and dated

Overall a tired hotel in need of refurbishment.

The room wasn't properly cleaned as there was opened tea packets and stained cups in the room. Not cold drinking water in the room, only hot water from both taps. Had to head to reception to get a drink of water in the middle of the night.
Tiny room, overly hot, bed was uncomfortable and dipped in the middle.
Breakfast wasn't great either, no staff when we got there, so had to wait around. When we got in, they'd ran out of loads of food, no pasties, no beans, no bacon, no mushrooms etc ..

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

24 Aug 2025

Narbi

Unbearably hot

Tired rooms and I be

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

24 Aug 2025

Kevin

The room i stayed in was ok but some refurbishment is required. A good place to stay with a shopping center and and shops to visit and i would stay again.

Leisure Self

4/10

Poor

23 Aug 2025

Caleb

Bad

Came here for a work stay 2 nights
Hotel staff at reception were Lovley but room was not nice atall had someone’s mouldy Chinese left over in the fridge, hair in the bathtub when I arrived the toilet roll holder was hanging off the room being a work stay I said nothing but I wasn’t impressed with the quality of the room and won’t stay there again

Business

2/10

Poor

17 Aug 2025

Samantha

'Premium Rooms' were dirty, toilets had poo in them upon arrival. AC broken.

Business Friends

4/10

Poor

15 Aug 2025

Roger

W/C didn't work, toilet roll holder hanging off wall, bathroom door was able to close, peeling paint.

i have photos and video of all the above, which I will be forwarding on to the hotel management

Leisure Family

4/10

Poor

14 Aug 2025

Verified traveler

Breakfast is good, but SKIP DINNER!

Paid extra for half-board. Upon check-in, the young lady on reception did not understand what half-board meant. After attenpting to explaing to her that it meant both dinner and breakfast, she did not believe me, and had to go and check with a senior member of staff. She then said I hadn't paid extra for half-board according to my booking, so I had to go on the app and show her that we had indeed paid for half-board. Finally, after she accepted the fact I had dinner paid for, I was given a severley limited menu, to which I chose Chilli con carne. It came in a bowl, stodgy, slightly cold, and extremely unappealing, as you can see from the image below. It was bland and quite frankly, I wouldn't have served this to my dog. The manager, Maria, wasn't in until this morning when I checked out so I complained and she agreed that the dinner service was unacceptable, and that we should complain to Hotels.com. I did however enjoy the breakfast, which was miles better than the dinner service.

Business

8/10

Excellent

12 Aug 2025

Barry

N/A

4/10

Poor

10 Aug 2025

Elaine

We were on the third floor extemely noisy with kids running down the corridors until late at night sometimes banging on doors as passing, floors in corridors creaky so heard everyone passing during the night, we were in room 369 didn't get no sleep could hear the loud music/noise/arguing and fighting from outside the red lion opposite the property as windows even though they were shut let in all the noise will stick to our regular bannatynes in future

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

06 Aug 2025

Valerie

Comfortable but dated. Could do with some TLC

2/10

Poor

05 Aug 2025

Yousef

To many pubs aroumd and noisy . No aircon or fans so you have to open tiny window . Smell of room is weird . Overall bad experience

4/10

Poor

04 Aug 2025

Alexandra

Not worth the money

Check in was somewhat haphazard, not sure on breakfast times and parking charges and how it worked? Noisy throughout the night from surrounding pub/karaoke bar with the obligatory screaming and swearing from customers entering or leaving added with the local clock tower chiming on the hour made for a broken nights sleep. On the plus side the hotel corridors themselves seem very quiet.
Room itself was very stuffy with no air con so window had to be open constantly which led to other issues relating to pigeon 💩 that blew in and onto the carpet which is a massive health risk. Bathroom was of a poor standard and not what we would have expected for the price paid ( see pictures for both these issues )
Breakfast was good with lots of choice and staff were lovely/polite.
Would I stay there again? Definite no, we’d choice the premier inn or even a Travelodge.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

04 Aug 2025

Darren

BTCC Stayover

Very small double room, quite dated but clean and functional.
OK for overnight stay.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2025

Phillip

Everthing was perfect. A family visit in a great location to meet everyone. Nothing was to much trouble. The staff are friendly and helpful!

6/10

Pleasant

26 Jul 2025

Greg

Ok but tired…

Tired hotel, room clean and serviceable but very very hot. Parking was no issue.

Self

6/10

Pleasant

21 Jul 2025

Andrew

Disappointing in every way.

The hotel is tired, no frills and pretty basic.
We had an upgraded room, which was as disappointing as the carpet in the room was lifting in areas, the walls were damaged and had areas of damp lifting the paint.
The bathroom was dated but functional.
Breakfast was definitely not up to expectations as the self service coffee machine was broken, they’d ran out of yoghurt, eggs and beans so we made to with what was available as the one lady working seemed stressed already.
Upon leaving I popped to the toilet off the bar area to find the toilet leaking and the floor was puddled with water.
All in all, not an ideal stay.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

19 Jul 2025

Michelle

Staff were nice, few amenities in room. Lifts had had work done, floors of lifts and carpets near lifts, full of left debris.
Unable to open windows on hot evening however fan I provided in room.

4/10

Poor

14 Jul 2025

Samantha

Breakfast sunday was crazy. Room warm and dirty. Elevators did not work

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

10 Jul 2025

Spencer

Tv didn’t work , tv on a wall that was 90 degrees away from beds , tap didn’t work , room was two lifts away , the end !!!

Business

4/10

Poor

09 Jul 2025

Kristina

Not so clean

Even though ingot a premium room it was worn and not clean

Business

8/10

Excellent

03 Jul 2025

Chris

Darlington

Convenient

Business

6/10

Pleasant

30 Jun 2025

Verified traveler

Ok

The room was quite tired with hole in wall, paint on door, very dirry windows. Frames in bad condition on windows too. No hotvwater on Sunday morning so could not have a shower

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

29 Jun 2025

Alison

Hotel was lovely. Room was nice with ironing board iron and hairdryer!!
Bathroom was little disappointed. Quite a bit of mould on side of bath and tiles. Behind toilet seat was dirty

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jun 2025

Angela

2 night enjoyable stay

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jun 2025

Jannine

Very clean friendly staff, close to all amenities, stayed before will stay again .

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2025

Nona

We spent one night here as part of an extensive vacation. The hotel was in a perfect location and offered comfortable rooms and a great breakfast.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Jun 2025

John

Rooms are looking tired. Carpet was threadbare in places

Partner

4/10

Poor

07 Jun 2025

Aimee

Dingy and terrible parking!

Business

6/10

Pleasant

25 May 2025

Felix

Friendly staff, hotel is dated and being city centre, it is noisy from the bars and the church bell that rang continously. The breakfast option could be better with the presentation and options.

6/10

Pleasant

25 May 2025

Verified traveler

Good location, strange buzzing sound in room.

Stayed 1 night for a gig at the Forum, perfect location for this with the added bonus of a Wetherspoons just 2 minutes walk away.
The room was quite spacious for a city centre hotel and well equipped. Some areas are looking quite tired, the paint was peeling on the walls and the roman blind needed replacing as it left a gap down the side which meant the room had too much light during the night from the street lights outside.
The main issue was an infuriating high pitch buzzing sound, even after turning off the fridge and TV at the wall so it was a very restless night for me! Bring earplugs if you are staying in room 408.
Lovely Elemental brand toiletries in the bathroom which was clean but again looking a bit tired, in particular the ceiling tiles.
All staff interactions were friendly.

Partner

2/10

Poor

24 May 2025

Philip

Disappointing

Well let's start with the positives, parking wasnt an issue, and breakfast was nice.
Checking in wasnt great the receptionist was stood outside for 5 minutes vaping and scrolling on her phone, and when she did come in, there wasnt an apology, or \"have you been waiting long?\"
The room was of a poor standard, i honestly thought it would have been bigger for starters, small parts of the wallpaper was ripped, the toilet roll holder was hanging off the wall amd lets talk dust, the room looked like it hadnt had a good clean in a good while.
I wouldn't recommend the hotel to anyone and certainly wouldn't stay there again. I booked it for location to the theatre so didn't have to drive ot get taxis, but wish stayed elsewhere.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

12 May 2025

Karen

Nice hotel but don't get front room.

1 night stay. Get together with friends. Good location, easy check in and room was nice and clean. Had room the front of hotel and it was very hot overnight so didn't sleep very well. Early morning road sweeper and delivery trucks meant very early morning wake up call. Later found out there was a cool air fan in the wardrobe!

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

30 Apr 2025

Steven

The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The room was fine but needed freshening.

Leisure Self

2/10

Poor

29 Apr 2025

Christopher

I just checked in The Kings Head hotel Darlington where hospitality doesn’t exist.
When I arrived there was nobody on the desk and one of the tradesman shouted for someone to help me. Two ladies then appeared and did nothing but moan. They didn’t even want to give us a key each. She said you’re on your own!! Which I said no my brother is there.
She then reluctantly gave us each a key saying she would need the other key back to program 2 new keys.
She must have been fully aware we had 2 adults on the booking. I also had to ask her about the breakfast I had paid for. The room wall paper was torn all over every wall. The shower had no water pressure and you could not wash the shampoo out of your hair. When I checked out nobody was at reception. They to have one man that does the maintenance, serves breakfast and tries to fix room issues which he can’t due to the old age of the hotel. Breakfast was ok but ran out of fried eggs.
Welcome to Darlington LOL.

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

27 Apr 2025

Kevin

The lift was out of order we weren't told when we booked the hotel wasn't full so could of put us on a lower floor not the 4th floor

10/10

Exceptional

27 Mar 2025

Andrea

Lovley hotel very nice

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Mar 2025

Claire

Close to the station and shops

Business_and_leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

23 Mar 2025

Catherine

Central location, clean tidy and staff friendly

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

20 Mar 2025

Alex

Nice enough room, and breakfast was good, but the room was frustrating: toilet continuously flushing throughout the night, and broken spikes outside the window, meaning an early wake up call by the resident pigeons!

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Mar 2025

gloria

Nice room, friendly staff, and a lovely breakfast

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

05 Mar 2025

Peter

Lady on reception put us miles away with lift no working to 3rd floor . Hotel did not seem busy so why

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Mar 2025

Kate

Fantastic location in Darlington, the hotel was very clean and staff were brilliant. Highly recommended

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

03 Mar 2025

Blair

Meh

Front desk were fine. Room was ok. Parking extremely tight spaces. The meal I ordered was not good.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

27 Feb 2025

Gbenga Joseph

Lovely night rest

Self

8/10

Excellent

27 Feb 2025

Lawrence

Central, ok for a one night stay

Business Self

2/10

Poor

23 Feb 2025

Sharon

Smelly, grubby room

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

23 Feb 2025

Ian

Great value

Called them for an early check in they sorted me for 1.00pm. Lovely helpful smiley person at check in desk. Great value for money and excellent location. Didn’t have breakfast so can’t comment.

Self

8/10

Excellent

21 Feb 2025

MICHAEL STEWART

Reception staff amazing, helpful and friendly. Did not use the bar.
Breakfast was ok , food was warm.

2/10

Poor

20 Feb 2025

Jon

I wouldn’t stay here again if someone paid me to

Check in was terrible. The staff member couldn’t tell me where to park as the car park was full. I went down after check in and asked what they had on the menu but she didn’t seem bothered! I ended up going across the road to a sweet shop and had a packet of crisps and an oasis for dinner. Breakfast was awful too!!

Business

6/10

Pleasant

19 Feb 2025

Leanne

Needs some work

The room is really dated. It’s smelled of a nursing home. It was freezing and took ages to heat up. I took a shower to warm up but the water was luke warm.
There was really poor lighting. Lots of strange brown stains on the old net curtains and walls.

Business

8/10

Excellent

18 Feb 2025

Joanna

Variable

Nice hotel, staff friendly & helpful!
But, from reception, which is modern & fresh, as you head to your room it starts to look tired!
The room was ok, but tired, window did not open, so very warm. Bed a bit soft, seen better days!!
Very reasonably priced though & in a good position

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

16 Feb 2025

James

Quite noisy

Business