A couple who were looking for a romantic getaway at a Darlington hotel have said their trip was 'ruined' after they were kept awake by a 2.30am wedding party and claimed their room hadn't been cleaned.

But the group behind the hotel has hit back at the guests - countering their claims about some of the issues and claiming the couple were "aggressive and rude".

Nicholas Power, from Preston, and his partner Lee, had made the four-hour round trip to stay in the Croft Hotel in Croft on Tees, near Darlington on Saturday (March 23) to celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary. 

The Northern Echo: Nicholas Power, from Preston, and his partner LeeNicholas Power, from Preston, and his partner Lee (Image: SUBMIT)

However, the couple claimed that their stay started to "unravel" soon after they checked into the venue - and were told that a wedding would be taking place during their stay. 

To make matters worse, Mr Power was told that they had been assigned the bridal suite; effectively kicking the bride and groom out of their room on the morning of their own wedding. 

But, according to the couple, this was just the beginning of their "awful stay" after finding carrier bags, lumps of hair, children's toys and empty sweet wrappers in the room. 

Mr Power said: "It was clear from the start that things were going to be difficult - we'd travelled from Preston and wanted a relaxing stay. We like the area - but our stay was anything but relaxing and calm.

The Northern Echo: The couple claim there was litter strewn across the roomThe couple claim there was litter strewn across the room (Image: SUBMIT)

"After finding out about the wedding party - we wished the hotel would have contacted us and let us know so we could have rescheduled."

Alongside the other complaints, Mr Power also claims that drunken wedding guests continuously knocked on the door of their room throughout the night until the wedding party stopped at about 2.30am.

This saw the couple threatening to call the police over the "intimidating behaviour", which also saw them try and move hotels.

The Northern Echo: The couple allegedly found matted hair in the room tooThe couple allegedly found matted hair in the room too (Image: SUBMIT)

Mr Power added: "We went down for dinner and it was awkward because the wedding group were in the bar - we ate dinner and went back to our room because there was little else to do. 

"We spent the evening sieged in our hotel room with drunk wedding guests knocking on the door.

"To add insult to injury, the plug sockets didn't work and there was a seven-foot mirror that wasn't even attached to the wall - it could have crushed someone if it had fallen."

The Northern Echo: A crack in the walls that the couple took a picture ofA crack in the walls that the couple took a picture of (Image: SUBMIT)

Despite the claims made by Mr Power, the Apartment Group, who own Croft Hotel in Croft on Tees, has countered several of his complaints, saying that Mr Power requested the bridal suite - but did apologise if there was any litter left in the room.

The hotel group offered Mr Power a complimentary stay and also said that they had offered the couple free drinks, which were turned down at the time.

A spokesperson for the hotel said: "The gent in question was extremely rude and aggressive to all of my staff. He even tried to pull a mirror onto my general manager 

"The guest booked and requested this exact room, the booking notes he made when completing the online check-in 'wedding anniversary, garden room with large circle sofa please'.

"On the day, he was also offered housekeeping to go back into the room, offered to move rooms and offered complimentary drinks which were all declined."

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The spokesperson added: "We did have a wedding taking part in the venue as we do roughly three to four times per week, we have received no previous complaints from regular hotel customers being disturbed by wedding guests.

"If this indeed did happen we do have an on-duty night porter who would deal with any issues. This is the first time we've had a report of this. 

"The cleanliness issues are not acceptable, this was a complete one-off and we have investigated into how this room was missed, but to clarify, we do not tolerate any form of aggressive behaviour from any customers. 

"I’m more than satisfied my team did everything they could to rectify the issues, we have an amazing team at the Croft Hotel, they work incredibly hard and we always receive fantastic feedback."