Sandman Signature Newcastle Hotel — Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne

I don’t enjoy writing negative reviews (frankly they are hard work) but every so often it feels like a disservice to others to not let them know about a particularly abysmal experience, and the Sandman Signature in Newcastle absolutely deserves both that accolade and the effort of writing about it. I arrived and it seemed nice enough, albeit with a very hacked off looking guy getting bottles of water from reception. I’d been travelling since early evening and it was now 1030. I asked about getting food but apparently the room service stops at 945pm on a Tuesday. I thought I might get a beer instead but the bar closed at 10pm and there was no option for guests to get a drink (please remember that this place calls itself 4 star). I was on the first floor, which was a good thing as I saw the guy who had got the water wait….. and wait…. and wait for a lift but one didn’t come and he trudged off to the stairs (only one lift seemed to be working). I got to my room which was opposite the lift. After a little while it became clear this would be a problem as a) the lift announcement were loud and b) the room door appeared to have the noise blocking qualities of a sheet of 1970s school loo roll (if you know, you know). The room itself looked nice, though it was freezing cold. I like a cold room but this was something of a challenge. There is no way of heating it with just a small wall heater that seems to go on and off at its own behest. There is a panel on the wall that hints at a long-removed room heating control, possibly even air-con (for those balmy NE nights) but it had been covered over. I decided to have something to drink but there was only tea or coffee- I know it is a small thing but FFS, couldn’t they stretch to a hot chocolate? And (another small thing) there was a single 2 pack of biscuits. It simply confirmed my opinion that the place was all about the cheapest possible option- all fur coat and no knickers. So, on to the bed. I know this is odd, but the bottom sheet didn’t fit. When I pulled the duvet out it simply pulled off the sheet too. And FWIW, the duvet didn’t fit in the cover. And there were a bunch of hairs of dubious provenance on the bed runner. To add insult to injury breakfast isn’t till 7am, again something that isn’t a bother unless you need to be out early (and I often do need to), but remember there’s been no food since 945pm (Ok, I’m not going to starve but these guys are pretending this is a luxury hotel). On the positive side the steam iron was good and the receptionists were nice- they even told me about the 24hour Greggs in town. Also, breakfast was OK with really nice staff (again). Addendum- there was no hot water at night… what the actual F? I let the tap run for 15 minutes and it was lukewarm. Again, this morning at 0645 there was no hot water, only a slightly lukewarm version. I let the water run and run but no joy. As I left the shower it may have been beginning to get warmer- perhaps the water is only on at some times? I don’t know who the Sandman is, but they should be embarrassed to have their name...

Arrived at 3:10pm for an event at the arena after parking at the Stowell Street QPark (which you have to book for a discount - top tip, use the Premier Inn's discount on their page, as it's more generous!) |Waited 20 minutes to check in with only 2 people in front of me, only to be greeted by a silent receptionist who took over five minutes to process everything without saying a single word — just endless clicking around on the computer, even after handing over the key card.|Got to the room and it was extremely hot — 25°C outside, two large windows (as it was a family room), but only one could open about 5cm at the bottom. No air conditioning. One small ancient fan was provided, but it just circulated hot air. After a shower, the room felt and looked like a sauna.|The room itself was grotty and dated. While the reception, restaurant, and hallways had clearly been refurbished, the rooms hadn’t. Rusty metal fixtures, plate glass sliding doors that were scratched and didn't slide on the rails properly and made a racket, stained carpets and walls, and grimy windows and uPVC made it feel neglected.|The bed was large and mostly comfortable, but there was a huge ridge down the middle that made me roll toward the edge all night.|We didn’t get back to the hotel or to sleep until 1am, and despite checkout at 11am and breakfast until 10:30am (we had planned for a lie in), we were rudely awakened at 7am by a full-on fire alarm. It blared for a minute, stopped, then started again five minutes later for another minute. No explanation, no staff follow-up, and nothing mentioned at checkout. Needless to say, we — and the two small children we were travelling with — were tired for the rest of the day.|Breakfast was okay. We came down around 8:30am following the rude awakening and found the beans empty, not enough cutlery on the tables, and the coffee lukewarm and unpleasant.|Overall, it was just about acceptable for one night and the £120 we paid, but the early wake-up call and poor room quality really let it down. The rooms do not reflect the standard of the rest of the hotel, and with the amount of windows, air conditioning is desperately needed. Can see why the WWE superstars chose the Crowne Plaza over this...

The Sandman is a game of two halves really. On the plus side the location is great, right next door to St James Park, centrally located within a stroll of the station, and the best sights. Again on the plus side, the rooms are airy and light, the beds are comfortable, the facilities in the room are great with the unusual but welcome offering of a fridge and microwave as a minimum, with some rooms even offering a well equipped kitchenette area. The bathrooms are great, showers good, towels great etc etc so over all I can’t saw the rooms are not really good quality and value. I also like most unusually that you can actually open the windows (if you don’t mind the traffic noise!)||However as someone who has stayed several times for business some things are a little frustrating. Top of the list is one of the two lifts breaking down again and again, which means as the hotel has 10 floors (and who has the energy for stairs with a suitcase even to the 2nd floor?) you can get stuck waiting for a literal age for your turn in the one remaining and very slow lift. Ditto reception, where I have never experienced more than one receptionist on a a time, and the queues can be really tediously long. As a business traveller I would rather pop down for a quiet meal at the end of the day, but the Shark Bar is the only place to eat and is incredibly noisy, and the choice of food is so limited, if you don’t like spicy stuff, you have very little choice, so go out to eat is my advice, or pop to Tesco express next door and purchase something to heat in the microwave. The staff will always helpfully provide you with crockery and cutlery for this. ||Finally as I write this before sleeping tonight, I wish they would upgrade the pillows. They are incredibly lumpy and uncomfortable and I really struggled with then last night and I am not looking forward to them tonight. For such a comfortable bed, the pillows really really let it down. ||I will keep returning, but I am hopeful for two working lifts, better pillows and two receptionists...