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The Ancient Unicorn

Enjoy the free parking at this Barnard Castle guest house

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Photo gallery for The Ancient Unicorn

Classic Twin Room, Ensuite | Lounge
Exterior
Classic Double Room, Ensuite
Bar (on property)
Deluxe Double Room, Ensuite | Bathroom
Reviews
8.8

Excellent

Popular amenities

  • Breakfast available
  • Parking included
    Parking includedParking included
  • Free WiFi
    Free WiFiFree WiFi

Check-in time

3:00 PM

Check-out time

10:00 AM

Explore the area

Map
The St, Bowes,, The Street, Barnard Castle, England, DL12 9HL
  • Popular LocationBarnard Castle5 min drive
  • Popular LocationBowes Museum8 min drive
  • Popular LocationEgglestone Abbey8 min drive
  • AirportNewcastle (NCL-Newcastle Intl.)73 min drive

Room options

View all photos for Deluxe Double Room, Ensuite

Deluxe Double Room, Ensuite

Deluxe Double Room, Ensuite

  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Classic Twin Room, Ensuite

Classic Twin Room, Ensuite

Classic Twin Room, Ensuite

  • Sleeps 2
  • 2 Twin Beds

View all photos for Double Room, Ensuite (Upstairs WT)

Double Room, Ensuite (Upstairs WT)

Double Room, Ensuite (Upstairs WT)

  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed and 1 Double Sofa Bed

View all photos for Basic Triple Room, Shared Bathroom, Courtyard View (Mini Unicorn)

Basic Triple Room, Shared Bathroom, Courtyard View (Mini Unicorn)

Basic Triple Room, Shared Bathroom, Courtyard View (Mini Unicorn)

  • 18 sq m
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Twin Bed and 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Family Triple Room, Ensuite

Family Triple Room, Ensuite

Family Triple Room, Ensuite

  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Double Bed and 1 Twin Bed

View all photos for Comfort Cottage, Ensuite, Courtyard View (Charles Dickens Cottage)

Comfort Cottage, Ensuite, Courtyard View (Charles Dickens Cottage) | Lounge

Comfort Cottage, Ensuite, Courtyard View (Charles Dickens Cottage)

  • Sleeps 4
  • 1 Double Bed and 1 Double Sofa Bed

View all photos for Classic Double Room, Ensuite

Classic Double Room, Ensuite

Classic Double Room, Ensuite

  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Comfort Double Room, Ensuite

Comfort Double Room, Ensuite

Comfort Double Room, Ensuite

  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Basic Twin Room, Shared Bathroom

Basic Twin Room, Shared Bathroom

Basic Twin Room, Shared Bathroom

  • Sleeps 2
  • 2 Twin Beds

View all photos for Basic Double Room, Shared Bathroom

Basic Double Room, Shared Bathroom

Basic Double Room, Shared Bathroom

  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

Similar properties

Front of property
Shoulder of Mutton
Breakfast included
Pet-friendly
Parking included
Free WiFi
4.6 out of 5, Wonderful, (36)
The price is CA $168
per night
CA $202 total
includes taxes & fees
13 Jul - 14 Jul
Shoulder of Mutton

About the area

Barnard Castle

In Barnard Castle .You'll be within 2 miles (3 km) of North Pennines and 6 miles (10 km) of Barnard Castle with a stay here. Bowes Museum is within 6 miles (10 km) and The Garage Spa is within 9 miles (15 km).
View more Guest houses in Barnard CastleOpens in a new window

What's nearby

  • Barnard Castle - 5 min drive
  • Bowes Museum - 8 min drive
  • Egglestone Abbey - 8 min drive
  • Eggleston Hall - 14 min drive
  • Yorkshire Dales National Park - 18 min drive

Getting around

  • Kirkby Stephen Station - 21 min drive
  • Durham (MME-Teesside Intl.) - 40 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪Redwell Inn - ‬8 min drive
  • ‪Golden Lion - ‬6 min drive
  • ‪The Cricketers Arms - ‬7 min drive
  • ‪Coach & Horses - ‬7 min drive
  • ‪Costa Coffee - ‬7 min drive

About this property

The Ancient Unicorn

Enjoy the free parking at this Barnard Castle guest house
Public spaces have free WiFi. Free self parking is available.

This Barnard Castle guesthouse is smoke free.

  • 17 guestrooms or units
  • Breakfast available (surcharge)
  • No smoking on site
The Ancient Unicorn offers 17 accommodations. Housekeeping is provided weekly.

Languages

English

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and transportation

  • Free self parking on site

Food and drink

  • Breakfast available for a fee

Accessibility

  • This property does not have elevators

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: anytime
Contactless check-in available
Minimum check-in age: 18

Check-out

Check-out before 10:00 AM
Contactless check-out available

Special check-in instructions

Guests will receive lockbox information

Access methods

Lockbox

Children and extra beds

  • Children are welcome.

Property payment types

Important information

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card, or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit/debit cards
This property is professionally cleaned
Charges for extra guests may apply and vary according to property policy.
A cash deposit, credit card, or debit card for incidental charges and government-issued photo identification may be required upon check-in.
Special requests are subject to availability at the time of check-in. Special requests can't be guaranteed and may incur additional charges.
    This property accepts credit or debit cards, Visa, and Mastercard. The property is professionally cleaned. Contactless check-in and contactless check-out are available.

We should mention

  • Please note that this property can refuse certain bookings for the purpose of group events or parties, which include pre-wedding stag/bachelor and hen/bachelorette parties.

Property is also known as

Ancient Unicorn Inn Barnard Castle
Ancient Unicorn Barnard Castle
Ancient Unicorn
Ancient Unicorn Barnard
Ancient Unicorn Inn
The Ancient Unicorn Guesthouse
The Ancient Unicorn Barnard Castle
The Ancient Unicorn Guesthouse Barnard Castle

The Ancient Unicorn Reviews

Reviews

8.8

Excellent

Rating 10 - Excellent. 58 out of 101 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 31 out of 101 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 5 out of 101 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 6 out of 101 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 1 out of 101 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

7.6/10

Amenities

8.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

7.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

Brenda

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
We loved the quaintness of the hotel - it was beautiful too. The area is perfect for walking/rambling and was very quiet. The staff we encountered were lovely, kind, helpful and polite. And we particularly loved Gus, the resident doggie. Checking in was easy when we realised it was a staff-free experience and had to use codes and lock boxes to get the keys - simple and effective.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

jennifer

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
It was in a quiet wee village but if you have a car you can go to town I upgraded to a cottage and it had a microwave and kettle also a hob was very clean and there’s parking the breakfast and food was lovely would go again
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Beth

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

8/10 Good

Caroline

Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Marcel

Liked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Craig

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lisa

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Andrew

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic experience
Booked the Deluxe double as a stop over, and had a lovely night's sleep.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023

4/10 Poor

Nicola

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Not great
No WiFi available in our room even though it is stated on the website. You had to go down to the door of the bar in the pub to pick up the WiFi. I contacted the number given and they sent the WiFi password a couple of hours later after they obviously didn't read my message properly. I measured back but heard nothing else. The hairdryer in the room turned on, got hot without blowing air and then shut down, I left a note saying this may be a fire hazard.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

4/10 Poor

clive

Travelled with family
Disliked: Cleanliness
Unfortunately our stay was ruined by the repulsive smell contained within the property (Charles Dickens Cottage). When we arrived the smell of damp dogs was overwhelming. We were offered a tokenistic can of air freshener to spray around the property. This failed to eliminate the smell which remained all week. This was compounded by a number of soft furnishings containing dog hair. The property is defined as pet friendly on their website but be warned (certainly within the Charles Dickens Cottage) that if you have sensitive smell you would be advised to book a different cottage!
Stayed 5 nights in Aug 2023

8/10 Good

John

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
A very convenient overnight stop on our drive north to Scotland. Lovely old building in the heart of the village. We arrived late but had been provided with codes that gave us access to our 3-person room, which was very comfortable and fine for an overnight stay but might be a bit small if you were staying longer. Very comfortable beds but rather a lot of noise from the adjacent room. Very good value for money - we would certainly consider returning to use the Ancient Unicorn as a base for exploring the local area.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

Geoff

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2023

10/10 Excellent

suzanne

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Happy visitors
We were delighted by this place, we had a very warm welcome and very well appointed, spotlessly clean rooms; which were very comfortable. The food was good and the atmosphere very relaxing. Cheerful friendly staff made it a good place to stopover on our travels.
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

Steven

Travelled with partner
Liked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Rooms feel very comfy and the colour style was lovely
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2023

8/10 Good

Beverley

Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2023

10/10 Excellent

John

Stayed 1 night in May 2023

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
Not happy with the check-in!!!
We travelled 4 hours to get here to find out that the code they had given us wasn't working. With two tired children, we kept trying the door and making phone calls where we just got told that they didn't have any booking by my name. They kept asking if we were at the right place!! After around 45 minutes or so, the lady at the pub downstairs, tells us as a matter of fact that it was door 15 and not door 1 that we were allotted!! The door number on the WhatsApp message sent to us was 1!!! She also shouted out our door passcode out loud in a pub full of customers!! And after one of our outings, we found our door open (none of our stuff was missing and no, it wasn't opened by the staff for cleaning as the neither the bins were emptied nor the dirty mugs taken away). No apologies at all for any of the things listed above!! And she behaved as if it was our fault for some reason! We made a formal complaint and got a compensation. Apart from the very disappointing check-in, we enjoyed the stay there. The apartment was in an old cottage style and very beautifully kept!
Stayed 2 nights in May 2023

6/10 Okay

Hannah

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
Cosy means not much space. Shelf in bathroom and coat hooks would have been really useful. No evening meal to be had anywhere on a Sunday evening unless you drive somewhere . We were on foot and couldn't even get a pizza delivery. The howling baby in the next room was just unfortunate.
Stayed 1 night in May 2023

10/10 Excellent

Mr DAVID

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

Karen

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

10/10 Excellent

S

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Ancient Unicorn
Lovely Hotel full of character. It was comfortable, clean and the service was excellent. It was was very clean and well maintained throughout. Food was very good too.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2022

4/10 Poor

Caroline

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The owner who checked us in was awfully unpleasant unfriendly host 🙈no idea why I get it everyone has a bad day but aww my god we cancelled staying the next night the hotel was dirty our room was okay
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2022

10/10 Excellent

Rev Derek

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Recommended
Such a great place with an interesting history. It is well located for local attractions and the service was excellent. I (personally) found the bed uncomfortable but that could just be me.
Stayed 2 nights in Jun 2022

4/10 Poor

STEPHEN

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities
Disliked: Staff & service
I liked checking out and it was nice bacon at breakfast.
Stayed 1 night in May 2022