The Sea Hotel, Sure Hotel Collection by Best Western

We were there for two nights while working near the GNR finish area ahead of the Great North Run. The twin room was comfortable and had a nice view of the beach and theme park. Staff were friendly and accommodating, and they even tidied and cleaned our room during the stay, which other hotels don't usually do for a two night visit. There were tea and biscuits, plus little shower gels and shampoos. It isn't a luxury hotel, but it was comfortable, suited what we needed, and felt like good value.

We'd stayed in the main building before and had a good visit, but this time we were put in the annex and it was poor. The whole floor was dusty and gritty. After my shower, the towel was dirty from the dust on my feet. Neither the radiators nor the aircon heater worked, so there was only a small plug-in fan heater. There was no vanity mirror for my wife to do her hair or makeup, and just one bedside light and cabinet. The bath seal was badly fitted and black underneath. I saw no fire escapes in the annex. Its only entrance door caught on the floor, resisted opening, then stuck open while leaves blew inside. At 09-00am on Monday the fire alarm sounded, so we went out, but nobody was there. I reported it at main reception; they hadn't seen anything on their panel, and the receptionist came over and switched off the sounder.

The restaurant was good quality and reasonably priced, and the hotel bar was very well priced too. We were lucky to get a sea view, and the rooms were lovely. Everything here ticks the right boxes.

The location is great, right by the beach, and there's easy on-site parking. Just bear in mind there's no lift if mobility is an issue. My first room in the "annex" was disgusting, smelly, and had windows that wouldn't open. They moved me, but the next room was like a sauna, with paper-thin walls and people in the next room audible all night. On day two I found the radiators were on, which seemed odd in summer. I switched them off, but the pipes stayed warm. Maybe the previous guest or someone else had turned them on. The carpet on the stairs is absolutely rotten and could do with a hoover. Bar food was average: I ordered a medium ribeye and got it well done. The breakfast area was clean, and service was good on day one, but they forgot my order on day two, which wrapped up my stay nicely.