Beadnell Towers — Hotel in Great Britain

Sharing this review in a constructive spirit and hope it's taken as such. Visited on 22/05 and have to say that I felt the all round experience was pretty poor for the following reasons;

staff on the door did not ask us/encourage us to sign into NHS Track and Trace. Pretty much everywhere else I have visited recently make this a condition of entry so this lax approach was a bit shocking.

we were shown through to a dirty table which still had food/crumbs etc on it from previous guests and were invited to be seated despite it not being cleaned. We then sat for over 5 minutes waiting for someone to return to clean it. Once the staff member had cleaned the table they left the dirty cloth on a window sill next to the table. Not really sure how 'covid secure' this is if I'm being honest...

The room we were sat in was small and very busy (it's a room off the main bar next to the reception). At least 12 people sat in there at one point with little/no ventilation and I'm not convinced that the spacing to occupant ratio was genuinely compliant with best practice re. Social distancing and being covid secure.

the service was so-so. Staff evidently trying hard (too hard!) but at times it felt a little pushy (I don't need to be constantly asked whether I need another drink). Service really over attentive at the beginning and then waiting staff seemingly going AWOL when we wanted desert and the bill. There was some delay on the mains arriving which was put down to a "system glitch" but this seemingly didn't affect other items such as starters and drinks that were ordered at the same time. Just felt that the service lacked "finishing touches".

the food was distinctly average considering the price. OK but nothing special. The chocolate creme brulé we ordered was inedible on account of the topping being entirely burnt and tasting acrid as a consequence. This was taken off the bill but without the offer of replacing it with a different desert which suggested this had been an issue previously. Also question whether something that is a chocolate mousse with some grilled sugar on top counts as a crème brulé but that's for another time.

I really resent it when places add a 'discretionary' service charge on to your bill. It's not discretionary if you are putting customers in a position where they have to ask to remove this from the bill. The service we experienced on the evening didn't warrant a 10% service charge as it simply wasn't up to scratch. On this occasion I just couldn't be bothered to have an argument with someone about removing it.

This is my third visit to Beadnell Towers but unfortunately I wont be visiting again and would caution anyone concerned about covid-19 compliance against visiting at busy times as they really didn't seem to have a grip on this...

This is an email I sent in response to their request for feedback following a meal out on 22 March 2025. Despite requesting a response 3 times and been promised one from the manager , we’ve yet to receive one. So am leaving it here!

We booked the table weeks ago, and specified it was for my partners birthday and our dog’s gotcha day. We requested some sausages for our dog who would be coming with us.

We arrived early for our table, thinking we’d enjoy a drink in the bar first. We were surprised that we’d been booked into the restaurant and staff were not aware of our dog being booked in as well.

After struggling to find us a table in the bar, we were told we’d need to leave at 7.45pm. Considering our confirmed booking was for 6.30pm, this was not the leisurely birthday meal we were looking forward to. We were now dining at 6pm instead, and had a vacate time which was disappointing. Good job we arrived early!!!

After ordering and receiving our food, we were asked if we were ready for our mains, before we’d even finished our starters. Feeling very rushed, we explained no, we were not ready yet.

As soon as the starter plates were removed, we were asked again if we were ready for our mains. They arrived instantly.

Our drinks were lager, and we had a couple of rounds, mine being gluten free Peroni.

The waitress brought two glasses of Prosecco to say happy birthday. A nice gesture, but given the fiasco, it would have been better to just have our regular drink on the house, as neither of us likes Prosecco very much.

We requested another round of drinks (lager and Peroni) , and were told there was no more gluten free Peroni. I was invited to try wine, but I didn’t want that. My partner was then brought his pint, so I was without a drink. I asked for another free Prosecco, given the evening was not going well. I was told they could not authorise it and I’d need to speak to the manager.

After some time, we still did not see the manager, but another two glasses of Prosecco arrived.

We heard the staff telling other tables ‘they were sorry about their complaint’ etc etc, so it seems everyone was having a bad experience.

So in summary, we booked weeks in advance and received a confirmation but this was not available when we arrived. We were accommodated but rushed. Our drinks of choice were not available. We were invited to speak to the manager but no manager arrived.

The food was good, but everything else was chaos. We did not pay a service charge.

Definitely need...

Stayed here for 2 nights recently, first night just with my wife, the second night my parents joined us with our two children. First night we were in Hyem room. Beautifully decorated with a very large and comfortable bed. No particular view as fronts onto the car parking. I suspect rooms on the next floor have sea views. Nice and quiet. Second night stayed in Shiel as there is a sofa bed which we were able to put the children in (ours are 5 and 7, too much older than that and it would be a bit small for two kids). The sofa bed is cleverly in a separate part of the room so that after putting the kids to bed you can still watch TV/read, etc. Lovely decor, very quiet room. Only gripe about Shiel is that it looks over a terrace that people working at the hotel walk across to get into a room opposite. Despite this there are no blinds on the window (New England style shutters on the bottom half of the window would be perfect). This means you either have to have the curtains shut the whole time or accept they’re going to see you in all your glory!

The hotel overall is beautifully decorated and the team are very friendly and helpful. Breakfast was delicious (Craster kippers highly recommended) and we had dinner twice, which was also lovely (really recommend the sea food platter). The restaurant is really relaxing and has a lovely vibe. Child friendly.

There was unfortunately one particular issue that could easily be fixed. Throughout the public areas of the hotel they have installed very tasteful and atmospheric lighting, that if allowed to do its job would provide a lovely ambience in keeping with a hotel of this style. However, as is often the case, they have installed masses of intense spot lighting as well, and every single one was on. This meant that the more subtle light fittings were simply irrelevant as everywhere is absolutely flooded with bright spotlight. This is a particular shame in the lounge and bar area, which as a result feel like a pub at closing time after they have turned all the lights on to clear the customers. It really is a shame because otherwise the ambience would be perfect.

Despite this I’ve given the hotel 5 stars, because it’s something they could change really easily and we had such a lovely time, the staff and the food were fantastic, and the proximity to the beautiful Beadnell Bay beach was perfect. Just please, turn the...