St Mary’s Inn Stannington, Northumberland

Disclosure: We were invited on the break for the purpose of this review however all opinions are my own

Last Saturday, we really were living the dream. Spending the night away from the kids, eating lush local food & relaxing on a giant bed! The day hadn’t been without it’s stresses brought about by the wintery weather. But once we entered St Mary’s Inn on a snowy winters afternoon everything was forgotten about. It was time to kick back and relax.

Where is St Mary’s Inn?

St Mary’s Inn is around 20 minutes up the A1 from Gosforth. Taking the Morpeth turn towards Whitehouse Farm and heading towards Stannington Park until you come to a large modern housing development. St Mary’s Inn is in the middle of the estate. A pretty red brick Victorian building, which once housed the administrative block of the old Stannington asylum and TB sanitarium. The rest of the hospital no longer remains with new homes taking their place in the surrounding tree lined grounds.

St Mary’s Inn is the country sister to Jesmond Dene House, owned and operated by the same people. The Inn was shut for a few years while progress on the housing development took place. However, St Mary’s is back open and ready to entice visiting tourists, locals looking for great food & residents who can make the most of the weekly quiz nights. The Inn is dog friendly & shows live sport. When we checked in on Saturday afternoon, the bar was lively with people watching the Rugby on the screen, kids in snow suits who had been sledging & there was plenty of cute dogs enjoying the log fires.

Rooms at St Mary’s Inn Stannington

Our room was Greenlee Lough which was accessed from a corridor across the roof tops, one of the 11 rooms. We’d just seen the new Mary Poppins the day before and Alan seemed to have an urge to sign ‘Step in Time’ a la Burt in the original film every time we crossed it. He’s a funny one!

Rooms are spacious, modern in decor and can I just mention this bed! It was ginormous, as too was the bath stocked with Noir White Company Toiletries. Might need to treat myself to some of these for home-the smell is amazing.

It’s worth noting that dogs are allowed to stay the night at St Mary’s Inn in certain rooms. Although there are no specific family rooms are advertised this can be arranged with the hotel.

As we had some time to kill before our evening meal we decided to grab a drink at the bar. A pint and a glass of house red came to less than £10, which we really enjoyed. I’d like to say we had a deep and meaningful chat but I was right in the middle of a good thriller which I read and Alan attempted to complete a puzzle book he has been walking around with since he bought it at Christmas. I must have said ten times….. we should do this more often!

We honestly have spent some much time over the last year on a Saturday ferrying kids to parties, visiting relatives & shopping on a Saturday afternoon that it was bliss to just chill out.

Evening Meal at St Mary’s Inn Stannington

After a lush soak in the bath, we got ready for our evening meal which was served in the restaurant. There was just ourselves and another couple in the restaurant, possibly due to the heavy snow, but it meant it was very quiet and the staff were very attentive. We didn’t wait long at all between each course!

First up was for me was Chicken Liver Parfait, Apple Cider Chutney & Sourdough (£6.50). The parfait was lovely and smooth and was a massive portion. Alan went for the Crispy King Prawns, Mango Salsa, Sriracha Sweet Chilli Sauce (£8.50) which he raved over. The item is described as hot on the menu and it certainly did have a good kick!

For mains I went for bavette steak (£16.00) served with Fries, Baked Herb Crusted Field Mushrooms, Semi- Dried Tomato & Crispy Onions. I had to ask what the bavette was as I hadn’t heard of this cut of meat but it’s the flank, a cut which isn’t that popular in uk apparently but big in South America! Alan went for the pigeon special which he loved!

For deserts I had the chocolate brownie and Alan the Syrup Sponge. We were absolutely stuffed at this point and declined the coffee. This is where the beauty of a room in the place you are eating in comes into play. Overnight stay for the win!

Romantic Deals at St Mary’s Inn

With Valentine’s Day coming up their special 5 course Valentines meal (£50 pp) sounds amazing with oysters & lobster ravioli for that special occaison.

https://www.stmarysinn.co.uk/food-menu/

Or book one of the Romatic Retreat deals at St. Mary’s Inn. How lush does this sound? “Check-in and there’ll be Chocolates and a bottle of Prosecco on ice in your room for arrival! Head down for a Romantic meal – with £25 per person towards Dinner. Stay in one of our luxurious, tranquil bedrooms. And, don’t forget Breakfast before you head back to reality! From £199 per room, based on 2 adults sharing”