The Garage

The site of The Garage Spa has a history dating back 2000 years when Roman chariots would stop and rest their horses. Race forward to the 1920s and the current building provided a place for the proud owners of ‘horseless carriages’ otherwise known as cars, to refuel and repair their vehicles

while they rested en route to Carlisle and Scotland. Today however, it is all about an entirely different kind of MOT in a thoroughly contemporary environment. There is a log-fired Shepherd’s hut sauna, as well as steam rooms, salt rooms and indoor and outdoor hot tubs.

Using locally sourced ingredients including honey and rose petals, treatments are just as unique as the premise of the venue and are suitably entitled as well; Classic MOT facials, Racing Green Tea Body Polishes, and Paintshop Pedicures are just are just a few things to get you revved up!

The Morritt is situated next door to the spa, a short walk down a path away from The Garage, and is presented to the guest combining period architecture close to Durham City and Barnard Castle, with a laid-back atmosphere. Rooms offer a choice of contemporary to historic design, such as the Josephine suite, which is decked out in red and gold furnishings with an ornate four poster bed as the focal point. Traditionally a fine dining venue, recent developments have re-branded the restaurant with a new design format that fuses the original oak panelling and wood block floor with modern soft furnishings. Diners can choose to eat in Gilroy’s Restaurant or Dickens Bistro (named so after Charles Dickens, who once visited for a drink), which features a set of murals to celebrate Charles Dickens’ links to the region and complete a set originally started in the 1930s.