Ramside Hall Hotel and Resort is built on a site that can trace its history back centuries.

With Medieval origins, the land originally belonged to a monastic establishment and was known as Ramside Grange, but after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the site passed to numerous wealthy families over the ensuing centuries.

One of these families was the coal-rich Pemberton family, who in the early 1800s built Belmont Hall – a grand country house in the faux castellated style. In 1963 the estate was sold, and Belmont Hall was converted into a 10-bedroom hotel – and the rest is history.

Set in 350 acres, over the years the privately owned property has grown and become one of the jewels in the crown of the North East’s hospitality scene, boasting 127 bedrooms, two championship golf courses, an award-winning spa, luxury treehouses like no other and an indoor entertainment complex. Who could ask for more?

In fact, it's true to say that a stay at Ramside can be exactly what you want it to be whether you want to chill out and recharge your batteries, be pampered, indulge in an outdoor or indoor sporting activity or just enjoy the peace and tranquillity that Ramside provides.

Driving through the gates of Ramside and up the wooded drive was like entering the Narnia of resort hospitality – everything was so perfect and everyone so friendly.

Parking was no problem, as there are plenty of spaces for hotel guests close to reception, and in the whole resort, over 800 parking spots are dotted around. Check-in was seamless and quick and so amazingly friendly.

Our Premier Room was large, spacious and wonderfully welcoming, from the plaid wool carpet to the large headboard of our ultra-comfortable king-size bed. There was an abundance of comfortable seating with winged armchairs and French doors that led on to our own private patio.

We loved this with its views of the countryside and a pond with a friend – in the guise of a swan – who really amused us at times when not swimming in the small ornamental lake or sitting in the nest there.

The bathroom was spacious and had a wonderfully deep tub and a large shower, complete, of course, with fluffy towels, gowns and slippers.

But there was no time to linger in our home from home during our stay, as I had an appointment at the spa.

A short walk indoors down the corridor found me at the award-winning spa for a blissful Elemis facial delivered by a truly experienced and proficient therapist. As someone who has visited hundreds of spas worldwide over the decades, I must say I was impressed by the facilities offered – no wonder it's award-winning.

The whole place is an oasis of calm with 14 treatment rooms and 2 doubles, plus a hair salon and nail bar. I loved the Sleep Sanctuary Room here; you can snuggle in a bed in a dreamily lit room after your treatment and doze off. I was also impressed with the heated infinity pool and its views, but it's only for private hire and includes a butler service to keep the fizz topped up – great for girly outings.

The sauna and steam room, the latter of which is scented, really impressed my partner, as did the large pool, which provides a great relaxing experience along with the other four pools, including a hydrotherapy and outdoor vitality pool.

After an afternoon in the spa, nothing was more pleasurable than sitting outside on our own patio before preparing to savour dinner in The Rib Room.

The Rib Room is one of four restaurant options at Ramside. Fusion is a restaurant inspired by Japanese, Thai and Indian dishes.

The Clubhouse, as you would expect, overlooks the fairway and specialises in traditional English light bites and lunches – ideal for when you are golfing.

Charcoa is a great dining space with a large bar and lots of seating – well spaced out with both tables and chairs and banquette seating. They are known for their carvery of classics and small plates, plus burgers, ribs and sandwiches.

This space has lots of differently furnished and decorated breakout areas emanating from it, ranging from dimly lit intimate nooks to a light and airy cream - and gold-decorated space. - all so comfortably furnished you will never want to leave.

We dined that evening in The Rib Room – an AA Award-winning steakhouse in Durham. The restaurant has an atmosphere all of its own with its leather banquette seating and well-choreographed polished tables; it has a welcoming and warm ambience.

I was both surprised and delighted by the menu choice. For starters, I chose the Twice Baked Cheese Soufflé, and I couldn’t have made a better choice. The souffle was light as air and had a great taste of cheese and came with a chive cream which balanced out the flavour.

My partner's choice of King Prawns Pil Pil consisted of a large portion of succulent prawns cooked in garlic, chilli and tomato oil. 'The flavour was brilliant,' he said, 'and the sauce had a pleasant mild taste.'

Award winning food at The Rib Room

Slow cooked confit of pork

My choice of main from the menu was slow-cooked confit pork belly. Once a pre-war working-class staple meat, around 20 years ago the flavoursome and different options this cut of pork could be given were discovered by the elite and famous of the culinary profession, and hey presto, it is still a popular meat cut on every restaurant menu.

The pork was very tender and came in a large portion. The burnt apple puree was the perfect accompaniment, and the maple-glazed roast parsnips were delicious, giving a new dimension to this humble vegetable.

Steak had to be the choice for my partner. It was well cooked and tender and was served with roasted field mushrooms, tomatoes and gem lettuce with a creamy miso mayonnaise. Out of the six sauces offered to accompany the steak, he chose a very tasty Diane sauce.

To share, we chose some chips that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and a portion of creamy Heritage potato mash.

Vanilla Pavlova

Home made ice cream

After a while we were cajoled by our server to choose a dessert. I couldn’t resist the vanilla pavlova served with a tangy orange ice cream and a spiced orange and fig compote, but it was the orange-flavoured burnt sugar topping that really made this my heaven on a plate.

Homemade ice cream and sorbet always go down well with my partner, and his choice of three scoops was, he said, “deliciously creamy”.

After dinner we made our way to the bar in the Charcoa, where its potted palms had been lighted with twinkling lights, giving it a rather ethereal atmosphere.

Time passes so quickly at Ramside, but there was just time to enjoy one last glass of wine in the moonlight on our little patio before we retired.

The next morning it was an early start, as I wanted to show my London-born-and-bred partner more of our wonderful North East, but not without a hearty North East breakfast in the Charcoa, which looked so different now in the bright morning sunshine.

And next followed a must-visit to The Pin with its interactive games, 6-lane bowling alley, 43-bay Toptracer driving range, darts and shuffleboard, plus an impressive sports bar with a curved screen. What did we try at the bowling alley – and the less said about my efforts in that sport, the better!

Soon it was time to say farewell to Ramside Resort, but not without enjoying a cuppa in the relaxing confines of the Norman Cornish Lounge, planning out our route to our next port of call. This sunken lounge is the epitome of old-world style with a marble fireplace, chesterfields and antique furniture juxtaposed with modern sofas and mirrored tables – the perfect place to relax and watch the world go by at any time of day.



Ramside Hall is just 10 minutes away from Durham and easily accessible from the A1M.
Ramside Hall Hotel and Resort
Carrville, Durham DH1 1TD
Tel: 0191 3865283 - Website: www.ramsidehallhotel.co.uk