The North-East’s only five red star rated hotel, Rockliffe Hall has big ambitions of being regarded as one of the best in the UK and Ireland – not to mention attracting a Michelin star. Sarah Foster finds out if it is likely to succeed

Rockcliffe scales the heights

THE words: “Golf is the hardest game in the world,” were probably not what I needed to hear as I stood poised with a club for the first time. My husband Paul and I were having a lesson at Rockliffe Hall – being internationally recognised for the sport, it seemed a shame not to – and pro Martyn Stubbings was charged with our instruction. It was not an easy task.

While Paul had played before, having gone through a phase, pre-children, of teeing off every weekend, I was a complete novice. Sympathetic to this – and in a way that made me feel entirely at ease – Martyn supplied me with a seven iron and talked me through the basics, from how to hold the club to where to place my feet.

It worked wonders. Within an hour, I was feeling, if not quite like Rory McIlroy, as though I could at least hit the ball. The whole experience was a lot of fun and really added to our stay at Rockliffe.

Not yet six years old, the hall was built by the horticulturalist Backhouse family in 1863, and there are plant references throughout, including in the names of rooms. It was transformed as a luxury hotel after being taken over by Middlesbrough Football Club in 1996, and the club’s training academy stands adjacent to the main building.

Unprepossessing from the outside, with an extensive new wing adding to the hall’s redbrick façade, it is only as you enter that you start to appreciate what makes Rockliffe five-star. The reception is warm and bright, with light flooding in from a glass wall overlooking the golf course; and a classic, pale colour scheme and carefully chosen furnishings achieve the perfect blend of modern and traditional.

Our room, in the new section, continued in this vein, with remote-controlled lighting above the bed and a balcony with a golf course view. Having twice hosted the English Senior Open, Rockliffe is becoming a mecca for the game, and, while not the most scenic, its course is considered among the best.

As it is also among the most challenging our lesson was mainly at the driving range, and it was after being buffeted by the wind and with slightly sore arms that we retreated gratefully to the spa.

If golf is a major draw to Rockliffe then leisure shares equal status. The spa is vast – the biggest we had ever experienced – with a 20m swimming pool, an 11m hydro pool and multiple treatment rooms. I tried them all – even the igloo, which encourages you to rub ice into hot skin to close the pores – and, overall, was impressed.

The Tepidarium, with heated beds and twinkling lights, was an unusual feature that lived up to its promise of relaxation, and a nice touch was the poolside bar with chilled water and strawberry and mango iced tea available on tap. Work is currently underway to extend the spa outdoors, and no doubt this will further establish it as one of the best in the UK.

Having worked up an appetite, we were ready for dinner at Rockliffe’s fine dining Orangery restaurant, but we were wholly unprepared for what awaited us. There is a choice of five-course tasting menus comprising meat, fish and vegetarian dishes, plus a seven-course “surprise” menu, and the first difference is there is no a la carte alternative. As we worked our way through the courses, however, this made perfect sense. This was food created by executive chef Richard Allen his way, showcasing his abundant talents, and it was, quite simply, stunning.

Both Paul and I chose the Pescatarian menu, including lobster, scallops and sea trout, and each exquisitely presented dish had the most intense, yet delicately balanced flavours we had ever tasted. If we had eaten a better meal, neither of us could remember it.

Having held a Michelin star at his previous restaurant, at the Grand Jersey Hotel, and having only recently come to Rockliffe, it is hoped that Richard will soon have his star restored. Chief executive Eamonn Elliott, who brought Richard and his whole team from Jersey, including front of house manager, Shaun Corrigan, believes the hotel is ideally placed to become one of the five best in the UK and Ireland.

“I came to Rockliffe to work with Steve Gibson, the owner, and Warwick Brindle, the chairman,” he says. “For me, they’re just brilliant business people, brilliant entrepreneurs. I knew nothing about Rockliffe when I came here and then I saw the product and the vision that Teesside could have one of the best hotels in the UK and Ireland. I’m an adopted North-Eastener and it’s my new goal in life to make this iconic in the North-East.”

We left Rockliffe Hall feeling that we had indeed stayed somewhere special and with Eamonn’s invitation to return. Our response? When can you book us in?

l Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa, Hurworth on Tees, Darlington. T: 01325-729999; rockliffehall.com