Hampton By Hilton Newcastle

Everything was within walking distance, and the hotel staff were easily the friendliest I’ve met at any of the Newcastle hotels I’ve tried. Everyone was so welcoming. Our room was clean, nicely decorated and had what we needed. Breakfast was great too, with lovely staff there as well. I can’t believe it’s only rated three stars. It should be four at least!

The points I earn as a Hilton Honors member towards free stays are a nice bonus, but it’s the people who keep bringing my daughter and me back. Megan and Joseph even recognize us from earlier visits, and all the staff are pleasant and helpful. We sleep well in the comfortable, cosy rooms, and breakfast is hearty with plenty of choice. The location works perfectly for us, right across from the train station and Metro, with shops and Wetherspoons nearby. This is always my number one place to stay. Thanks for the service that makes us return again and again.

The breakfast was disappointing: below-average sausages, no black pudding, and no fried or scrambled eggs. The bacon was good, at least. The bed was just about okay, though the springs creaked, and the heating didn’t work. At 11pm, with the hotel full, I didn’t report it because I doubted it would be fixed quickly, if at all. My room wasn’t ready at 3pm. They said they’d text when it was, but by 6pm I still hadn’t heard anything, so I came back and found it ready. Neither room we were allocated was the one we’d selected when checking in online. Meh, below average for a Hampton.

The room was cold because the heating wasn’t working, and breakfast was basic, with the food already cold by 8am. Other reception staff were polite, and the breakfast team were very nice, but the rest of the stay fell well short of what I expected. We paid a significant amount for one night, and the experience was far below zero. We’d originally booked the Hilton at the airport without knowing about the ongoing Metro problems. The staff there kindly moved us to the city centre Hampton, which we appreciated. Our booking was for a larger room with two twin beds. At reception we were instead given keys to a double room with a camp bed, leaving very little space to move around. I called reception straight away, thinking it was a mix-up, but was told no twin rooms were available and the camp bed had been added for that reason. The reception manager wasn’t helpful. The eye-rolling shocked me and felt completely unprofessional and unacceptable. After several minutes going back and forth and hearing the third-party booking blamed repeatedly, I gave up, already sure I wouldn’t return. I’d had high hopes after reading so many positive reviews.