Thistle Newcastle Hotel
Rooms: 115
Reviews - Thistle Newcastle Hotel
- Age Group: 3140
- From: United Kingdom
- Traveller type: Young Couple
Read 214 additional reviews of Thistle Newcastle Hotel at TripAdvisor.
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Historical Traveller Reviews of Thistle Newcastle Hotel
Adequate but nothing special
from sadandyWhat a nightmare!
from richcrossAfter returning back to the hotel at 10pm after a meal out we figured an early night was probably a good idea, only the hotel had seen fit to have a wedding party and obligatory DJ in the room directly below ours. I was patient and waited until midnight before informing reception that i was none to pleased and asked when it would end. I was told a quarter to one. One o'clock came and went and still the sound of "I've had the time of my life!". Eventually the torture ended just after 1:15.
I don't have an issue with a hotel having a wedding party, nor bear any grudge to the bride and groom. I just wish i was informed beforehand that we would be subjected to this level of noise and i would have booked elsewhere.
The icing on the cake came in the morning when we were billed £25 for 2 continental breakfasts. I politely declined to pay for them in lieu of the sleepless night!
All in all a bit of a disaster. Avoid if possible.
s Egg
from ClancolinFan in room useful during hot spell. Decor fine, especially in stairwells. Staff were friendly enough. Free newspapers.
Poor points: Pricey. Reception had miskeyed data (home address, room number, etc) for my colleague and me, so I had to phone his mobile to see where he was. Website mentioned use of swimming pool at nearby sports club - the sports club is there but the hotel has no pool arrangement. Car park is small and fills up by 5pm most days. Ugly addition (see carbuncle photos) at rear of hotel.
Good location and great stay
from BiunnaTotal dump!!!
from A TripAdvisor MemberBroom cupboard size room, very dissapointed !!
from LloydiesAlthough i had only a requirement for a bed for myself on this occassion i always wherever i book a hotel get allocated a double bedded or twin room & sometimes even get a family room.
You can imagine my surprise when i opened the door to my room to find what i would only describe as a shoebox size room.
The bathroom was the same size as the room.
A single (small bed which for my size made it very hard not to fall out of bed during the night) filled most of the room.
At the base of the bed there was a wardrobe (with broken hinge) a small writing table (with broken chair) & a bedside cabinet that contained tea making equipment with a tv on top (remote control was physically broken).
The room was incredibly hot without any heating turned on & the window wouldnt open more than half an inch.
I looked out onto scaffolding around my window & the whole room felt very claustrophobic.
I certainly wont participate in organising any more events in any Thistle hotel in the country.
I will revert to using all the other well known chains of hotels which i regularly use.
At least room sizes are standard in any other chain of hotels & they dont ever attempt to make use of what can only be described as a shoebox size room (which should have been kept as a cleaners lock up).
Good but not 4*
from AnonamFirstly the hotel is right opposite the train station so it is very convenient. From the outside the hotel is quite old - fashioned and there was some work going on (renovation) whilst we were there but this didnt affect our stay.
We checked into the hotel at 10am even though check-in wasnt until 2pm!! The reception staff were very friendly.
We went up to our room and I would again probably rate the room 3*. It was fairly big with twin beds and a seating area. The room had facilities such as iron/tea and coffee making facilities and a tv. There was a huge wardrobe and the bathroom was of a good size. The only problem I would probably say with the room was some of the wall paper was peeling off. The room overlooked the train station but was fairly quiet you were not kept awake by the noise.
We went to the bar for a drink on the evening. There wasnt a lounge as such which I thought was a shame, you sat in the breakfast room which was freezing. So this wasnt one of the hotels strong points.
The breakfast however was excellent. There was full English, continental, fruits and freshly squeezed orange. The service here was also very good.
Check out was also speedy and with a smile. This hotel is an excellent base for shopping trips as it is only a 10 minute walk from Eldon Square and all of the other shops. There is a StarBucks right next door too. I have stayed in a lot of Thistle Hotels and found that this isnt one of the best but it still is clean and very central.
Lots of other reviews mentioned the price of the hotel. To find a bargain try Highlife Breaks - there are bookable online and in most Travel Agents - they actually own Thistle Hotels and will do a cheaper deal that phoning the hotel direct. If you want to stay for more than one night they will sometimes do a special offer.
Really quite bad.
from FayeJIt does have a sauna and gym, 10 minutes walk away, how nice. The staff seemed nice but this didnt make up for the hotel.
Good View of the Central Rail Station
from A TripAdvisor MemberNewcastle is great - but The Thistle Hotel? No thank you!
from A TripAdvisor MemberThe Thistle Hotel is directly facing the train station, so very handy. A plush reception area fooled us into thinking our room would be the same. Unfortunately it was a very hot, small, shabby attic room. I feel this hotel was over-priced. I wish we had have stayed in a cheap B+B. The only good thing I will say about this hotel is that there is a great selection of food for breakfast.
So, we went out to The Rupali Indian Restaurant in the Bigg Market (as suggested in the guidebook) - famous for the hottest curry in the UK and also for delivering a curry 11,000 miles!
The fact that it was Thursday night was great because as it was student night (even through we are in our 30's) and all the drinks were on special offer. We spent the night in Bigg Market where all the bars were opened late and we danced all night.
On Friday we explored the city by walking for hours, even though it rained most of the day, it didn't matter as the city was very interesting. We headed across the bridge to the Gateshead Keys and over to the new Baltic Centre. We went inside and up to the top floor where the views over the Tyne were fantastic. We then crossed the Millennium Bridge over to the Quayside (known for it's trendy bars and restaurants). The walk back to the city was a steep climb but the architecture along the way was great. Stopped off for lunch (sorry can't remember the name) and then headed up to Lees Park and St James Football stadium. Lees Park was nice, there is a lake there with lots of ducks and swans. Couldn't get into St James' Park (you must have to book a tour). After this we were feeling hungry again after all the walking so we got some chips and explored China Town as we planned to eat there that night.
That evening, as planned, we dined in China Town in the Thai Siam or something. Sorry, but the food in here was not great. Therefore we decided to book somewhere from the Guide book for the Saturday night to to avoid another disappointing meal. We booked La Riviera on the Gateshead Quayside and they couldn't take us until 9.30, we decided to wait in the hope of getting nice food.
Saturday morning we visited the Tourist Information Centre to get information on visiting the Angel of the North. We caught a No. 21 bus, it was very cheap. The bus took us across the Tyne and into Gateshead and on out towards the Angel (it takes about 30 minutes). We sat on the top deck of the bus at the front so we could see the Angel appearing. And it didn't disappoint. You cannot visit Newcastle without seeing The Angel. It stands on the side of the dual carriageway. There were a few tourists, but there were no souvenir or refreshment shops. We walked to the bus stop and got the bus back (there's one every 10 minutes).
Following this the sun came out and we walked around the shops and got lost in the Eldon Square Shopping Centre (it's huge with so many entrances/exits you never know where you're going to come out). Stopped for lunch and then the streets were becoming really packed so we decided to go to the Tourist Centre and find out how to get to the costal areas, ie Whitley Bay, Cullercoats and Tynemouth.
We caught the Metro from Greys Monument and got off at Whitley Bay. Bleak is the only word I can think of to describe this place, although I heard it is great in summer with wild nightlife. We walked along the coast and came to Cullercoats, a nice wee seaside town. We stopped and had chips by the sea. Walked a bit further to Tynemouth - this was the nicest of the three coastal towns. There is an ancient Priory here overlooking the sea and there were even people out surfing the waves. We stopped in a little coffee shop here for something sweet. Then got the train back to Newcastle.
It was just as well we had booked a restaurant because on Saturday night the streets were very crowded and I think it would have been very difficult to get in anywhere. In fact I think Newcastle could be the party capital of Britain judging by the amount of people going clubbing, drinking, eating, etc,. I don't know how we did it, but we ended up crossing the Tyne on the High Rise Bridge and this was quite scary - everyone else was on the lower bridges, so I don't think we were supposed to be up there! It was really dark and seemed infinite and we didn't see any pedestrians or cars! We were glad to get off this one.
We then arrived at the Italian restaurant "La Riviera". The food here was great. I would definitely recommend this one. But you do need to book. When we came out at about midnight the streets were still crowded - especially the bridges, even more so probably than earlier and we were the only ones wearing coats (it was freezing !!)
On Sunday morning we walked to the Jesmond area and had Sunday lunch in Scalini's. The food here was alright - better than a poke in the eye - just!. We then walked back to the city centre, did some shopping (and got lost in Eldon Square again). Got a couple of coffees and waffles from Starbucks and relaxed with these in Eldon Square Garden. After this we chilled out in "The Lounge" - near Central Station - where the tables have their own personalised TV screens, so we ended up drinking white wine with Eastenders in the background.
I would visit Newcastle again and bring a lot more money for the great shops. I would try and find a nice Bed and Breakfast instead of the overpriced hotels.
Top Local Tips for Newcastle
Run for your life Find a hotel that isn't so close to where you need to get to, I can garuntee you will find a better place than the Thistle
Beer time Plenty of bars/clubs in the city, (e.g.) you can pay anything from £1.50p to £3.50p for a bottle of Budweiser, so trawl the bars to get value.
Newcastle, more than just beer... The night life in Newcastle is loads of fun, albeit a little young on the weekends with many Stag and Hen parties (translated in Americana to Bachelor and Bachelorette parties). There is also however quite a lot of beautiful architecture and history to be found in Newcastle outside of the pubs and bars. I thought the people in Newcastle were very friendly, but I was with a conference full of friendly wonderful people so my opinion could be skewed. If you are a runner, this is a great city to run in and be sure to get your hill workout in by running down to the Quayside and then back up it (be prepared, it's a long hill). All in all, Newcastle is a lovely place to be and it seemed to offer everything from pub crawls to fascinating history to gorgeous georgian architecture.
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Other names for Thistle Newcastle Hotel
- county hotel newcastle upon tyne
- county hotel by thistle newcastle
- Address: Neville Street - Newcastle - England - NE1 5DF - United Kingdom
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