I needed to book a hotel as I was in Gateshead for a fencing competition. The other half agreed to come if I booked a nice hotel so that is what I did! Initially we had planned to get the train so I booked this hotel, attracted by the fact that it's walking distance from the metro centre-this is like a hub of local trains so easy to get to.
In the end we deided to drive as trains are so expensive.

ANyway, I digress. I booked the hotel through Quidco and thus expedia. It was easy to book and cost £138. This is quite pricy but I wanted to stay somewhere nice and clean and generally feel like a hotel guest.

We arrived at the hotel at about 2230, which is quite late but this wasn't a problem at all. We were greeted by a very helpful and friendly member of staff and check in took about 2min. Always a good start.

I was concerned as there was a wedding party going on and previous experience has indicated that this can make for a noisy night...more on this later.

We were absolutely starving, having decided to do the trip without a break in order to get a reasonably early night so once we dropped our bags in the room, we checked out the restaurant. Unfortunately this closed at 2230 so we had missed the service. The menu looked pretty good though and reasonably priced for a hotel. We asked about restaurants nearby but because it's out of town, there was nothing that would be open. Room service however, didn't finish until 2300 and we could even order after that albeit from a reduced menu.

We decided on 2x burger with one pint of close arrest (Stella) and a diet coke, no ice. This (including the room service charge) came to £26 which I think is fairly reasonable (more than I would like to pay but better than going hungry!). This was delivered within 15min and all was well.

The room that we were allocated was on the 4th floor, it was very spacious with an en suite bathroom. Everything was extremely clean and tidy. The bed was enormous (to the point that I actually felt like I'd been reunited with OH when we got up the following morning!!) and the decor was tasteful. There was a TV, kettle and the standard complimentary biccies and tea/coffee etc.

Despite my previous concerns about the noise, the room was almost silent and the curtains were so thick I didn't even know it was the morning when I woke up! A brilliant night's sleep had by us both

Breakfast was included in our booking and there was an absolute spread laid on. Comprising cereals, pastries, cooked breakfast, continental cheeses and meats, fruits, juices etc etc. The service was quick and friendly and not intrusive.

We checked out in a matter of seconds and were off to some sword fighting (via the gate controlled free parking).

It's not cheap but you get what you pay for.