Innkeeper's Lodge, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

.../>
In the Innkeeper's Lodge hotel booklet this particular hotel come under the name of Newcastle Airport but although it was in the direction of the airport it wasn't exactly nearby. The location is a few minutes off of the dual carriageway. We could actually see a medium-sized roundabout from our bedroom window but actually it is in more of a village location and the area was relatively quiet and we didn't get disturbed at all by traffic ...
...an Innkeeper's Lodge before then the best way to describe it is that it's in the English country pub type style. Thats the only way I can describe it. It 's decorated with lots of wood and lots of nostalgic and amusing pictures and ornaments which makes the hotel and the restaurant within it very cosy.

The bedroom carries on with the same theme and is very much unlike the usual furnishings you have come to expect from Ibis and Travelodge. ... more

My husband and I stayed in this hotel after having problems catching the ferry to Amsterdam ( look out soon for my DFDS Seaways review) and so we needed a place to stay overnight until we could catch the ferry the next day.

In the Innkeeper's Lodge hotel booklet this particular hotel come under the name of Newcastle Airport but although it was in the direction of the airport it wasn't exactly nearby. The location is a few minutes off of the dual carriageway. We could actually see a medium-sized roundabout from our bedroom window but actually it is in more of a village location and the area was relatively quiet and we didn't get disturbed at all by traffic or pedestrians.

If anyone hasn't come across an Innkeeper's Lodge before then the best way to describe it is that it's in the English country pub type style. Thats the only way I can describe it. It 's decorated with lots of wood and lots of nostalgic and amusing pictures and ornaments which makes the hotel and the restaurant within it very cosy.

The bedroom carries on with the same theme and is very much unlike the usual furnishings you have come to expect from Ibis and Travelodge. The rooms are a lot larger than those in a Travelodge or Ibis and there is a lot of dark wood. We had a very comfy bed and a tv with about 12 channels on it and we were provided with tea and coffee making facilities. The bathroom was a substantial size and was decorated in white with wooden panels. This caused a problem as it left the room with a bit of a damp smell but nothing too major. We were also a bit disappointed with the lack of coathangers in the room, a problem which could be easily and cheaply rectified.

We felt that the room was quite good value at 59.95 a night including breakfast but this was because we had booked at the last minute whereas we heard that if you booked two weeks in advance you could have booked a room at just 29.95 a night including breakfast.

After arriving at the hotel quite late we were hungry and decided to try out the Toby Carvery restaurant within the hotel. I will write a separate review at a later date but I thought I should give it a quick mention here as it is still relevant to this review.
My husband and I wer shown to a table and we ordered two of the carvery meals which was 6.50 each and was a choice of glazed gammon, turkey, roast beef or a combination of the three plus an all-you-can-eat selection of vegetables, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing balls and gravy. We found the meat to be excellent and the Yorkshires and stuffing were very moreish and for 6.50 each you couldn't ask for any more. As we had come after 7 o'clock we didn't get the free option of either tomato soup or ice-cream with our meal but we were still very satisified.

A problem that we found that I should mention is that despite the fact that the car park was said to be monitored by a warden and by CCTV we still noticed some teenagers having a bit too-close of a look at our car but when we alerted the hotel staff to the problem they seemed to just shrug it off.

The next morning we had breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. I believe the times for breakfast are 7 am to 9.30 am Monday to Friday and 8am to 10am on weekends. We found the Continental breakfast selection to be very good with a large variety of cereals, rolls, pastries, teas, coffees and fruit juices and I found it to be very tasty. The only problem that we had is that when we sat down to eat we were rather abruptly and inconsiderately told that we weren't allowed to sit in the area of the restaurant that we had chosen and we had to move somewhere else, with no reason given. It wouldn't have cost anything to be a bit more civil.

Despite this, our impression of the rest of the staff was very high and this wouldn't put us off returning to an Innkeeper's Lodge or Toby Carvery again.

I would recommend this hotel chain if you are sick of the usual MDF interior of Travelodges and Iis as Innkeeper's Lodge makes a refreshing change.

 

...less