I have been pining to stay in this hotel for years, especially now that I have a child attending Duke. Usually, sold out or priced like a New York City hotel ($450 per night). Happened to have been dropping off my son at school and needed a last minute place to stay for one night by myself. On a quick fly through Expedia, up popped this hotel for $95 for that night (Saturday). Perfect. By the next day, I was glad I had not paid a penny more. This is a classic case of a hotel all gussied up on the outside, who appears to have forgotten that people might actually sleep in their rooms. The room was essentially a Ramada Inn. The lights were of such dim quality that I searched for a missing switch to turn on the hidden ones, especially in the bathroom where I could barely see enough to shave (Women and makeup? Forget it. Not happening). The ventilation system sounded like the engine of a jet airplane. But the best part was the TV......a 1970's era RCA (aren't they out of business?) with such poor picture quality as to be unwatchable. Please tell management that you can buy 22" Flat Screens at Costco for $175. Beyond decent quality sheets and comforter, there was absolutely nothing warm or charming about this room. In all fairness, the lobby area and adjoining reading rooms and bars are spectacular, as is the view of Duke Golf Course. I did have a decent breakfast at their main dining area off the hotel bar, which made the stay at least palatable. I have travelled all over the world, stayed in all types and quality of hotels, yet have never written a single review on Trip Advisor, simply because never before has the reality of a room been so incongruosly mismatched with the aura of a hotel lobby. To say I was surprised was an understatement.

When I decided to visit Durham, NC for a family Thanksgiving 'reunion' I thought it would be a good idea to stay at a hotel that had a golf course and an indoor swimming pool. Golf would insure that my husband enjoyed the stay and my grandchildren could enjoy swimming during the colder season. The rooms and the hotel were exquisitly decorated! Just walking through the lobbies, I couldn't help but notice the decor and how beautiful it was. I was getting ideas about decorating my home. I almost wanted to ask where the lovely carpets were purchased so I could get one. The coordination of the fabric of the window treatment, furniture and rugs was perfection! There were two gorgeous Christmas trees that were decorated while we were there and my grandchildren loved it. I used the computer room while I was there and there was no charge. We ate at both restaurants and everything was wonderful. The buffet breakfast had everything you could want and the Bar Restaurant provided terrific service and atmosphere. It is usually difficult to eat with two four year olds (twins) but the waitress was very pleasant and accommodating. The hotel is a bit expensive, but well worth the price. Also, the location for my purposes was perfect.

My son and I stayed here together as he was in a Juniors Golf Tournament for New Years! We had a very bad trip that day, had a few issues that I was thourghley exhausted from! We had no problem finding it at night from the airport once we sorted a lot of issues out! We had a problem that was going to interfere with us staying there that I had to get straightens out prior to us coming to the Hotel! I called the Hotel and they very professionally and kindly helped us get the situation taken care of! Upon arriving to the we where tired exhausted but certainly ad to be there! We where greated at the door and immediatley cared for. We checked in at the front desk and just wanted to go to our rooms put our luggage in the room and go eat! On our way up to our room the young gentleman helping us explained very pleasantly about the hotel and if we needed any addition assistance to contact the front desk at any time! We proceeded to then go to Bill Durhamn Resteraunt down stairs and my son and I couldn't have been more happier as hungry and tired And exhausted as we where with the great service, food and caring Staff! The food was A+ and my son wanted to eat there all weekend! We had a very enjoyable stay and the Rooms where awesome, the Hotel always clean, the staff was always ready to help, the food was outstanding every time, and my main concern even kid friendly! The guest that we ran in to where always pleasant and friendly! One young man visiting for a Duke Basketball game even asked me if I needed help caring anything as he saw me with my hands full! My son enjoyed playing golf on the beautiful golf course despite the unusually cold weather! We would also like the Thank the Hotel for letting the Junior Golf Tournament use a conference room over by the Area where the Duke Golf Team meets! That was very kind and a great place to gather! We defenitley look forward to coming back next year! Thanks for a pleasant visit! Natalie and Sean - Palm Harbor Florida!

I'm on the road for business about 5 months out of the year so I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to hotels. This was my first stay at the Duke as I was attending a two day conference there. While this property has an excellent reputation, I have to say I was a little disappointed. Let's start with the good:

The staff is excellent and very friendly. From the bellman at the door, to the check-in desk to the housekeeping staff, everyone was extremely friendly throughout the entire stay. Even as I was walking to my car as it was raining, the bellman offered me an umbrella which was a nice gesture you don't often find at hotels.

The self-parking is free and there's plenty of it. Nothing annoys me more than when a hotel charges you a fee to park your own car. There is plenty of room and the parking lot is well lit at night.

The internet is free and works pretty well. Oftentimes when something is free it's not up to standard, but I never once had a problem with the internet.

The grounds of the hotel are beautiful and well kept.

Now to the bad:

When I got to my room I went to use a glass (which I don't often do because I've seen the hidden camera videos) and there was brown crusty stuff all over the glass. I also found some hairs on the bathroom floor which makes you stop and think as to how well the room was actually cleaned.

The room itself was OK, but everything is so dated. It's one thing to have a historical look and feel to the property, but the decor definitely needs an update along with the TV. While many low-budget properties like Hampton are installing flat screen TVs in their rooms, the Duke only has the standard type TV which was kind of disappointing.

The carpet definitely needed a big time scrubbing. Stains throughout the room and then at the end of the night the bottom of my socks were absolutely black. GROSS!

The shower is so small and they haven't gotten with the times and installed the curved shower rods to allow for more room in the shower. I'm not a big guy, but I almost had to stand sideways in order to prevent the shower curtain from touching me.

Overall as you can see I have mixed feelings about the property. GREAT service, but the rooms leave a little to be desired. I probably won't stay here again because I really think other properties in the area offer nicer rooms.