The Caledonian Hotel — Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne

Great location in Osborne Road, nice drinking area out front. Member of staff who checked us in was nice. Room was fine to look at, but nothing special and very small. Free parking was a plus but we arrived well before check-in time and we got the last space, so not sure what you'd do if you were a late check-in.

As we arrived early we got a drink from the bar. I waited over 15 minutes despite being the first person in the queue, as they seemed to have some hybrid table service/bar service going on and were delivering 20 pints to a table outside. There were 3 people on the bar and it wasn't particular busy and I was ignored. The man who looked like the manager did not ask who was next when he eventually came over and went straight to the two girls at the far end of the bar. After a few drinks in the sun, at 3:10 we went to check in. Despite check in being at 3, we were told our room wasn't ready. We were told 20ish minutes, so we got another drink. Half an hour later we went back over, and were again told it wasn't ready. The room didn't end up being ready until nearly 4. Wouldn't have minded if everything was great, but it wasn't and when you've paid £98 to stay here and have to check out before 11 the next day, it's a good chunk of your stay taken up.

We stayed on a warm day, and the room was uncomfortably hot. There's no aircon, just a small desk fan, so even with the window open the room did not cool. The lack of plug sockets also meant the desk fan was at the other side of the room to us and rendered useless. The bed was not particularly comfy. There is no sound insulation whatever, and there was a wedding on downstairs so all night drunk people stumbled and spoke in the hallways, and we could hear every word. The shower had an issue with maintaining a consistent heat, constantly fluctuating between scalding and lukewarm.

Both my girlfriend and I slept for less than 2 hours due to the above. I went to go and cheer myself up with the one saving grace which was the included breakfast. Instead I walked into chaos, with no real direction, most of the hungover wedding party taking up most the room, and ended up sitting in the back room which although set up for breakfast, had stacked chairs and cleaning equipment in it and I got the sense was not usually used for breakfast. The food was fine, standard hotel breakfast, although I'm pretty sure the apple juice was either watered down or the cheapest money can by.

All in all we may as well have spent the night in Haymarket Bus Station, which would have been cooler, probably as comfy, and the whole point of staying in a hotel is for a good night's sleep and I couldn't have had a...

Cleanliness left a lot to be desired. Biscuit wrapper under the bedside table (forgot to photograph that), unknown thing and lots of dust behind the chair that we pulled out to watch TV. A long ginger/brunette hair on the shower mat and shower door, not to mention a rust(?) stain on the tiles in the shower. No soap or conditioner in the bathroom (thankfully we had our own). Chain was missing from the door and bathroom door didn’t shut. Bedside light at one side wasn’t plugged in as there was no socket!! So don’t stay in room 204 is my advice. Our daughter was in room 206 and was much better despite being billed as a single - it was clean and had everything it should have. The inside of the door needed a second coat of paint though - very odd. Car parking spaces described as ‘ample’ and have a lift, phoned and checked both by phoning the hotel as my hubby has Parkinsons and on a bad day/hour can’t walk very far. When we got there, there was no parking spaces left, receptionist couldn’t care less and offered no alternative parking. Thankfully guests coming in behind us told us about the Royal British Legion car park which is a 10/15 min walk away and cost us an additional £4. So we ended up having to park there. Lift was out of order and our room was on the second floor so hubby had to negotiate the stairs. Booking for our room included breakfast which the receptionist was going to charge us again for until I insisted it had already been booked and paid for, then she finally found it. She asked what time we wanted breakfast and we said 9.30am please, only to be told that they only had 8.45am left - so what was the point of asking? Hubby has to take drugs at a certain time so this was not ideal which we did say, but again, no leeway from the receptionist. Please don’t book here if you need any disabled facilities, they don’t seem to care/can’t accommodate you. The breakfast however was lovely and the restaurant staff were very attentive. I did make my comments known to the hotel on their comments sheet and my phone number and we did mention everything to the receptionist but to no avail. I will wait to see if anyone from the hotel contacts me regarding...

I attending a wedding at the Caledonian this past weekend.. 10/10 Fantastic !

We arrived to ample car parking on the doorstep of the hotel in a fantastic area of newcastle !

Upon arival we were met at the front desk by a chap I believed was named Peter, an impressive gentelman and a new recruit, we spent some time chatting he's of German decent a very intresting chap, he could not do enough for us. It was the warmest welcome I've ever recieved on arrival at a hotel. The lady on shift with him on 20/10/23 was also an absolute delight ! (Sadly I did not catch her name we were rather well oiled.. and fed thanks to the bar staff and some names may have became hard to recall thanks to over indulgence in the bar)

The rooms and indeed the whole hotel was immaculate!

Lastly but certainly not least I feel it is essential to mention Christina (deputy manager I believe) she organised the wedding, and was meticulous in doing so every detail had great thought put into it, it was clear to see the weekend was in capable hands. Christina put everyone at ease and nothing was too much to ask. Throughout the weekend conducting herself with a great sence of humor and professionalism a balance that is not often found. Above all you could tell she really cared for the customer experience and the passion was clear to see. I believe by the Caledonian getting this right at the management level it has run down through the whole staff, this was apparent in all the hotel that weekend that I met.

Another lady that stood out (I didn't get the name ) was a petite blonde lady again she looked to be management if she wasn't she certainly has the right instincts for it again she could not do enough for the wedding party making particular arrangements for the baby that was with us ensuring there was a quiet area for him it did not...