The Old School House
County Durham
View on Google MapsPhoto: Peter Erdelyi
The converted schoolhouse stands in rural County Durham near Bearpark, its grand staircase and period features intact but the interior thoroughly modernised. Walking in, you face a substantial living room with a 65-inch Smart TV and electric fireplace, while the kitchen-diner spreads across to the other side with full cooking facilities including electric oven, hob, microwave and air fryer. A utility room handles laundry; downstairs also has a separate toilet. Underfloor heating and Wi-Fi are included throughout.
Upstairs are four bedrooms: a master with kingsize bed and en-suite shower, plus three doubles or twin rooms, one with two singles. A family bathroom with bath and shower serves the other bedrooms. Each bedroom has a Smart TV. Bed linen, towels and electricity come as standard. The property is yours alone—all eight guests in one self-catering rental. One dog stays free. Parking is on the road outside; smoking is not permitted.
This layout works for extended families or two couples sharing. The combination of period character and working appliances means you can cook properly, and the separate living and dining areas give people room to spread out. The countryside around Bearpark is accessible for walks; Durham city centre is a short drive away.
Sleeps & rooms
What's on offer
Check-in & check-out
Arrive after 16:00 Depart before 10:00
🚭 No smoking, please
What guests say
The place was indeed a school; we stayed in what used to be the 'reception.' It was a very cool studio-style space, ideal for a one-night stay. We spent the afternoon in the courtyard—the garden was comfortable, nice and quiet, and the hosts were lovely and helpful. It was perfect after a long day spent at Beamish.
2 months ago · via Google
Our hosts are fantastic and couldn't do more for us. Our room is clean, comfortable and warm. Highly recommend The Old School House.
4 months ago · via Google
If I could leave zero stars because of the service we received I absolutely would. I would like to clarify there was nothing wrong with the room itself, but the way the host spoke to us was as absolutely abhorrent and I’ve never experienced anything like it again. My wife and I were made to feel immediately uncomfortable and didn’t even feel safe staying in the room anymore. It was as if us staying at the hotel was a complete inconvenience. First we arrived and the host had no idea which room we were in, and had to guess purely from our booking on Booking.com. When it transpired that we were in the wrong room, (after managing to look at photos of what we booked) the problems started. I came back to the front door and rang the doorbell, and advised of the issue. Firstly , the host complained that we didn’t know the code to the door. Then when he came to our room he starting getting on at us and complaining to us that we had sat down in the bed, at first I thought it was a joke but he was being perfectly serious. Complaining about how he would need to change and clean the room over, and go up and down stairs to do so. We felt so uncomfortable for how we were spoken to, it felt threatening and we no longer even felt safe with staying, so we left immediately. When returning the key, the host continued to shout and act so rude to my wife, approaching her in a threatening manner too, slamming the door in her face causing the ring doorbell in the property to fly off the door. Do not stay here.
11 months ago · via Google
Feel I need to give a bit of balance to the reviews here. Reviews on booking.com are fairer. The croissants are not stale for starters! We were looking for a budget stay and admittedly got 17% off which made our room an absolute bargain for three (double and very comfy camp bed). Having the additional facilities to microwave a meal and make breakfast saved us a mint as we're on a road trip and all other hotels were well over £100+ per night. (We didn't use the bus and driving into Durham was a bit of a nuisance but it's clear that the location is elsewhere. It's only a 10 min drive. ). So in short. This place was perfect for our needs. We didn't park behind the house but I can't imagine being the kind of person whose going to kick off about a couple of loose paving slabs... There was even butter, jam etc for toast... And shower gel... Honestly didn't want for anything. To put this into context, tonight I'm staying at a place 3x the price and I'll need to drive to the co-op for shampoo. I think if a hotel is at a budget price it needs to be reviewed fairly and in that context.
a year ago · via Google