Gearing up for its anniversary with heritage tours, nature walks and an artist-in-residence programme, the hotel is still a top-end property – although, like all the Castles of the North, there are packages to attract mid-range and special occasion travellers.
The TripAdvisor GreenLeaders programme allows hotels to self-report their work on sustainability.
Matt and I got into ninjas while we were there, watching old black-and-white TV programmes in hotel rooms, sound turned down.
I went to Cairo to interview writers for Talking Books, a BBC programme At one hotel we were told we could film whatever we wanted, as long as none of the material was political.
GreenLeaders, TripAdvisor's new sustainable hotel programme, aims to "gives consumers around the world a simple way to make greener travel choices, right at the point at which they are making that decision".
There is no single best hotel programme.
The newspapers both claimed that the BBC had accommodated the 65-person crew of its TV programme Lambing Live in hotel rooms costing £279 per night.
The best tip was to join every hotel loyalty programme going, as even the most basic membership might be enough to earn "room upgrades, late checkout times, access to lounges with snacks and drinks, free Wi-Fi, free breakfast and even complimentary laundry service".
When booking through Rocketmiles and PointsHound, travellers are also sometimes able to "double dip", meaning they earn frequent flyer miles and hotel loyalty programme points for the same reservation.
One of these, by Paul Brown, a principal in McKinsey's London office, examines how hotel loyalty programmes work.
By launching a programme to highlight green hotels however, TripAdvisor has launched itself into the spotlight and critics claim the programme lacks integrity.
