ibis Newcastle

For the price, the hotel was good value, but the rooms need some TLC. The fridge seems to have leaked water into the cabinet several times, leaving it swollen, and the room was dusty and needed a deep clean. The bathroom felt more like an airplane toilet than a hotel bathroom. Housekeeping didn't run on weekends, which is what I'd normally expect when booking a hotel. I know ibis is cheap, but I've stayed in better rooms.

There was nowhere to pull in and check in, and reception wasn't available when I tried to park, so I ended up using a nearby business's spot. They clearly don't like hotel guests taking their parks. The guest laundry was a mess too: one machine was unplugged, the other marked out of order, with bottles of chemicals and junk scattered around. I didn't need to use it, luckily. The room and the route to it were filthy. The elevator was absolutely disgusting, the corridor just as bad, and the bathroom light in my room kept blinking. A strong air freshener smell in the hallway felt ominous, especially with several dirty rooms propped open with dirty towels and still uncleaned at 1845hrs. This is basically an Ibis Budget, just not sold or advertised as one. I wouldn't have booked if I'd known. I stayed at one once before and regretted it straight away, but at least that time I knew what I'd chosen. Not impressed. Maybe it'll get me out and about early tomorrow.

Breakfast was a lovely start to the day, especially the scrambled eggs and perfectly cooked bacon. The front desk staff were helpful and great to deal with, and the bed was really comfortable with lots of pillows, just how I like it. I stayed three nights and would definitely come back. My only disappointment was parking: I hadn't realised it cost extra, and the only other option was limited parking on the busy main road.

The bathroom was falling apart, with the toilet lid completely broken off and the seat half off. When I mentioned it at checkout, I barely got a response. The pillows were very thin, yellow stained and had no cases. We hoped the cases would be put on while we went to dinner, but when we returned, the fresh towels and pillowcases had just been dumped in a heap on the bed. At least there were pillowcases in the pile. The walls had random stains too, and the room layout made the cupboard almost impossible to get to. The parking charge was another shock. A sign said $25 for overnight parking, though it wasn't mentioned on the Booking.com listing. I thought it might be for non-guests, but reception charged me on top of the $220 room cost. I later saw the hotel reply to another comment saying guests could arrange their own parking. With luggage and people often travelling some distance, that doesn't seem realistic, particularly when the booking platform I used didn't disclose the charge. We were told towels would be brought up soon, which was fine. Still, for this price I expected better room quality and service. Simple budget accommodation is fine, and I was willing to pay a bit extra since we booked last minute, but what we got felt completely unreasonable.