Tune Hotels, Newcastle Review

 Last week I received and exciting email inviting me to review a hotel. Now we all know how much I love travelling, so clearly I was going to accept, even if this hotel was only 40 minutes down the road. Having just opened last Wednesday, the Newcastle branch of Tune Hotels now stands in the Grade II Listed Proctor House near the Quayside. Tune Hotels are a fairly new concept to this country. Newcastle is one of only 7 in the UK, and one of only 2 outside London, Tune Hotels believe in “a great night’s sleep, at a great price” (found here). So yesterday afternoon Little Miss and I headed down to Newcastle to see what all the fuss was about.

We first went to Primark as I had promised Little Miss a pair of new pjs as a thank you for coming with mummy on this work thing and I also bought myself a pair as well as a few other bits and bobs. Then we walked down to the hotel, which is practically on the Quayside (my favourite place in central Newcastle) to check in.

The hotel is very easy to find if you are arriving from the train station, which is also the nearest metro stop. There is a Quayside bus stop right around the corner too making it an incredibly easy hotel to find if you aren’t familiar with the area. The hotel is also surrounded with great restaurants and bars as well as a little shop a few doors away. From the outside the hotel looks very new and trendy despite being in a listed building. It almost looked too trendy to be a budget hotel!  

Once I got inside the staff were very professional and accommodating. I explained I wasn’t sure what name I would be listed under and after swiftly finding my reservation they explained I had the “comfort package” added to my booking (I’ll explain in a moment) before handing over the card key and paperwork. We took the lift up to the third floor and followed the maze to our room. The whole building is very compact and because the lights are energy saving they only go on when someone has passed the sensor, this made it a little difficult to find my room with a small child. We got there eventually though. The key itself was swipe rather than one you slide into a lock which made it so easy open on a first go. It then had a slot inside which activated the electricity. 

My first impressions were that it was very simple and modern, also incredibly small. It reminded me of the hotel rooms in New York, especially the Hudson. It had such a metropolitan feel and I loved the fact that the feature fireplace still remained. As the room was very small I did end up banging my arm off the TV mount as it was so close to the bed. 

After dropping our bags we headed out for dinner to the Slug & Lettuce I used to work in around the corner because it was Monday and they offer 50% off food. If that doesn’t take your fancy as I mentioned above there around loads of other fab restaurants within walking distance as the hotel itself only offers snacks, teas and coffees. In the lobby they also have computers with wifi access, but as part of my package I had that in my room. 

We returned to the hotel just before bedtime and while Little Miss was settling down and watching In The Night Garden on the large TV at the end of the bed (she was a BIG fan of this!) I took a shower. One of the other things to note about Tune hotels is that they pride themselves on a brilliant shower, and I can assure you, it was powerful. One of those amazing power showers that feel like a back massage and I LOVE having them when staying in a hotel. In fact I’d go as far as saying they’re one of the top priorities when it comes to choosing a hotel especially if I’m on a city break and cramming a lot into my day. The bathroom was very clean and light which made applying make up easy in the morning. 

Little Miss fell asleep and I read for a while before having an early night myself. One of the main reasons I brought Little Miss along as I wanted to see how she slept in a hotel with just me due to the fact she has 12 nights of it come April. The bed was so comfortable and the bedding was so soft that I didn’t hear much from her until 4am when we had the usual potty run. It was sleeping on a cloud wrapped in more clouds. It also helped that there was a black out curtain up at the window blocking out the excess city light. I didn’t hear much noise either which surprised me as it is an old building. 

Check out was 10am and we left just before. It was a simple key drop job meaning no fuss and no queues. As Tune Hotels don’t offer breakfast we made our way to Starbucks instead. 

Over all, I did have a wonderful stay in the new Tune Hotel in Newcastle and I will be recommending it. I’ll also in future be checking out the rates and rooms available for other Tune Hotels when I travel. My only negative point is the lack of plug sockets in the room. I slept on the side that had no bedside table and there was no socket for me to charge my phone. For someone who relies on their phone of the time this was frustrating. But perhaps this was the building and not all Tune Hotel rooms will be the same.

This room was complimentary for review purposes with the additional comfort package, but I have researched some rates to share with you;

Double Bed, no windows £35
Double Bed £40

Twin Bed £45

Like with the Easy Hotel you have the option of windows or non, the price difference being only £5 in a double room. This is the room only rate and does not include towels, toiletries, wifi or TV. These are additional prices as Tune pride themselves as being an energy saving company. Their priorities as mentioned above are good shower and bed which they deliver in my opinion. The comfort package costs £10 and includes all of the above or you can purchase each item separately while you book or from their 24 hour reception. 

My experience at Tune Hotels Newcastle has been a very positive experience for both myself and Little Miss.