Village Hotel and Leisure Club, Newcastle

Before you start reading this review I should make it clear that this review is predominately about the leisure club (of which I am a member). Living 10 minutes away from the hotel as I do I have never really felt the urge to stay there! I will try as far as possible though to give my thoughts on the bits of the hotel I have seen.

Hotel location
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The hotel is situated in the Cobalt Business Park, which is just ...
...from either the A1 coming from the south (leaving the A1 before the Tyne tunnel) or from the A1 coming from the North, leaving at the Cramlington turn off. The location of the hotel, in a business park means that a lot of the guests during the week are people travelling on business to the various companies in Cobalt and the surrounding areas. The weekend clientele seems to be more couples, stag nights, hen parties etc. One point I should make here ... more

Before you start reading this review I should make it clear that this review is predominately about the leisure club (of which I am a member). Living 10 minutes away from the hotel as I do I have never really felt the urge to stay there! I will try as far as possible though to give my thoughts on the bits of the hotel I have seen.

Hotel location
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The hotel is situated in the Cobalt Business Park, which is just off the A19 meaning it is easy to get to from either the A1 coming from the south (leaving the A1 before the Tyne tunnel) or from the A1 coming from the North, leaving at the Cramlington turn off. The location of the hotel, in a business park means that a lot of the guests during the week are people travelling on business to the various companies in Cobalt and the surrounding areas. The weekend clientele seems to be more couples, stag nights, hen parties etc. One point I should make here is that this hotel is NOT a City Centre hotel. If you are coming to Newcastle looking for a hotel that is in the immediate vicinity of the bars, clubs etc then you will be in for a shock. A fairly lengthy taxi ride will be required to get either to Newcastle or Whitley Bay, which are the two main drinking areas in easy reach. The business orientation of the hotel and the location mean that there is very little in the way of entertainment in the immediate vicinity of the hotel.

The hotel itself is a modern and smart looking building, with an absolutely massive car park. In all the time I have been going I have never even seen the car park close to full, even when there have been weddings or other functions being hosted there. Access to the hotel is via a short staircase, but there is an access ramp also provided for disabled people.

The entrance foyer and reception are located in a large open space, with comfortable seating around the edges. The staff all seem smartly dressed and from my limited experience of them they are all very friendly. To the left of the reception is a pub “The Victory”, which also does bar meals and to the right the main restaurant, which is where breakfast is served each morning.

Downstairs, towards the gym is a “Café Copra”, which serves hot and cold drinks and healthy snacks.

Leisure Facilities
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This review was meant to be about the leisure facilities, but I seem to have written quite a bit about the hotel (one thing I have learnt since I joined Ciao is that I can waffle for England!).

Access to the leisure area is via turnstiles through which you have to swipe your membership card. I am presuming that guests of the hotel will be given a temporary card, allowing them to use the facilities.

The changing facilities have recently been refurbished and offer (in the male rooms anyway) a huge amount of lockers (£1 refundable deposit required each time), showers with free shower gel and also a sun shower. Access to the pool area is via the changing rooms.

The gym area is a large space, packed full of every type of equipment you could possibly imagine, from running machines and bikes to exercise machines and free weights there is nothing I can think of that I would like that is not there. One gripe I do have about the gym is that the hotel chain has recently been taken over by ‘’De Veres’ and standards have slipped slightly – machines not being fixed for ages etc, but it is not too much of a problem. The gym can also be exceedingly busy, especially in the peak times after work. This is due in part to the constant campaigns the hotel run to recruit members – they would probably be better trying to retain the members they have.

The pool area, as mentioned previously is accessible from both changing rooms. The pool is a rectangular pool, 25m in length and approximately 10-15m in width. Some of the classes, such as the aqua aerobics class are held in the pool, so generally lanes are in operation, allowing people to swim when the classes are on. At weekends the pool can be full of screaming children, but there are set times each day (between 12 and 2 is one of them) where children are not allowed and you can swim in peace.

In addition to the pool there is also a sauna and a steam room, plus 3 Jacuzzi’s and an area for relaxation. The pool area seems to be considerably less busy than the gym area and you can usually have a good swim.

Aside from the pool and the gym there are several rooms used for the classes, such as spinning, cardio combat and that sort of thing. The hotel has a wide range of classes, which run every evening and most days as well. There is also a room containing toning tables (never used them) and also (I think and I might be wrong on this) a women only gym area (which I have not been too for obvious reasons!)

Cost
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Standard membership of the gym in peak periods costs £47 per month, but there are often special offers, which reduce this considerably. I took advantage of one of these offers and saved quite considerably. Off peak membership packages are also available, which allow the gym, to be used between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and all weekends. These are considerably cheaper than the normal packages. Depending on when you join there may also be a joining fee to pay, but this is often waived in the special offer periods.

Opening
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The gym is open between 6.30 a.m. and 10.00 p.m and also seems to have a good policy on opening during holidays – it was open on New Years Day this year, like I was going to go then. The hotel itself I presume offers 24 hour facilities.

Conclusion
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The hotel, based on my limited experience seems nice but the gym is pretty good – it has some flaws, but then so do other gyms. If you live within easy distance of the hotel then it comes highly recommended, especially if you can get a special offer.

If you are travelling here on pleasure then please remember the distance between the hotel and the attractions of Newcastle and the coast - for business I think it would be an ideal hotel. 

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