Motel One Newcastle — Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne

BEDBUGS BEDBUGS BEDBUGS

This was our 3rd stay here and it'll be our last!!! We arrived and we were lucky enough to get an early check in. So off we went for a few drinks and a bite to eat before attending a gig. I had a sore head coming on, so we went back to the room so I could try & get rid of it before heading back out. Got up to find BEDBUGS all over. Went straight to reception to inform them. I was very discreet, so as to not alert any other guests as there was a queue waiting to check in. We were moved rooms to the other side of the building. On arrival to this room, the toilet was filthy! We had to leave for the gig, so informed reception the next morning. Had we not had the gig and meeting our friend, I'd have been on the next train home. Charlotte was great, asked us to send an email with all the photos of both rooms. She later grabbed us before we headed out to meet our friend. Informed us we were to receive a full refund. ( I wouldn't expect anything less) She really seemed to care about our whole experience. Also said that the manager would be in touch on Monday. We were offered a generic apology and an offer of a free night in any Motel One. However this would mean that we'd need to spend even more in their hotel as normally you have to book 2 nights. So not much of a goodwill gesture. The bites started showing up on the monday and continued to do so, that I had over 100 bites!!! Unfortunately I take an allergic reaction to mozzie bites, and these went the same way. You can still see some of the marks 4 weeks later. Nit the best reminder of a horrendous weekend!!!"So after a few emails back & forward Sophie was then passing my complaint onto the Regional Manager. Well, over 3 weeks later I've still heard nothing. I was reassured that my complaint was being taken seriously! Well, clearly not as Sophie is ignoring my email. So much for the guest being their utmost priority. As the silence is deafening. I'd sure like to know how they'd have felt/feel if this ever happened to them!!! What was supposed to be a nice chilled out, relaxing weekend away turned into a big nightmare!!!!

I will spare you of the photos! It makes your skin crawl,...

We had a very disappointing stay at this hotel and found the customer service to be very poor. At 7.30am on a Saturday morning, we awoke to the Fire alarm being sounded, this was then intermittently sounding for approximately 1 hr which we then found out it was false alarms. We had been in Newcastle to watch the Women’s England football game, it was late night on the Friday and were looking forward to a goods night sleep and a lie in. We had two rooms booked and had my daughters with us. The constant sounding of the alarm was extremely stressful and unsettling for us and my daughters one of which has anxiety and found the whole situation very distressing. We ended up leaving the hotel as soon as possible to remove ourselves from the situation and it completely ruined our day. On check out there was no apology from the staff, they did not acknowledge the false alarms, there was no good will gesture e.g. here’s a complimentary breakfast etc. I do not believe it is fair that we booked the hotel for the sole purpose of getting a good nights sleep and relaxation when this stay was anything but relaxing and the way it was handled by staff was not good enough. We have paid the same tariff as others that have stayed on different nights yet our stay was less than satisfactory. I complained to customer service afterwards and wasn't satisfied with their resolution of we'll give you a free breakfast next time you come. That should have been offered on the day and we will not return to thst hotel or use the chain again. I was given the excuse that a guest had tampered with the alarm but it is their responsibility to ensure this does not happen and if it does the situation can be resolved promptly with minimum impact to other guests. This did not happen. We were not at fault for the fire alarm yet we suffered and paid good money to do so. I will stick with premier Inns as you can not fault there 'Good night sleep policy', they would have provided a refund in this situation as the customer service is...

Really friendly staff on reception. The public area is pretty cool. They were going with a staff group and told us that they keep groups together and away from other guests which was lovely to hear. Unfortunately the bedrooms are a disappointment. We were in 406, a historical queen room. We could see the cathedral spire but the key view was of the rooftops in between. Not sure what was historical about the room other than that. It was pretty poky. We had a decent sized queen bed which was really comfy. But they used a flat sheet instead of fitted, so it rumpled up during the night. Why? Room was excessively hot and even turning the temperature down to 16 left it feeling warm (at home my thermostat is set for 22, so there really was a mismatch). NB that day the top temp was 12°C. I couldn't hear that much noise in that room, until I had to open a window at 4am because of the heat. The ensuite was small but nice, clean and modern. Nice shower, modern fittings. Between the ensuite door and the bed was approx 7 feet of floor. My husband and I like doing yoga. No way we could have done a class together and even singly stretching out meant bashing hands off the bed.

Final issue, breakfast. Don't waste your money. £9.50 was a lot to ask for what we got (we had to make our choice during check in). We got the choice of small croissant, plus bread/roll. Cereal (porridge was the instant style) in packets. Ham, 'plastic' cheese, boiled egg as the savoury options. Whole fruit (not salad), yogurt. Felt like someone had run out to the local corner shop to buy it. All served individually pre-packed on a Macdonald's-style tray. An eco nightmare if that's important to you. Tea, coffee out of a machine (tea never tastes good from a machine as the water is rarely hot enough and filters need to be rigourously cleaned). For the same money and a nicer eating experience, I'd recommend going to a local restaurant for breakfast, some good ones within 1-2...