Top 10: the best hotels in Newcastle city centre
An insider's guide to the best hotels in Newcastle city centre, featuring the top places to stay for cutting-edge design, chic bedrooms, excellent restaurants, contemporary spas and sweeping views of the Tyne, close to attractions such as the Gateshead Quayside, Grey Street and Eldon Square.
With locally brewed gin, a decent spa, funky design elements and gritty city views, this uncompromising four-star adds some pizzazz to Newcastle's still regenerating Stephenson Quarter. There’s a decent and suitably industrial-looking black-tiled pool, a steam room and hot tub, plus a gym, all set below ground in homage to the north-east’s coal industry. Rooms are calm and understated, with soft carpets, clean-lined wood-veneer furniture and floor-to-ceiling windows. They’re generously sized and feature an urban palette of greys and creams with splashes of purple and sea-blue.
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Next to the Castle Keep, you couldn’t be closer to the historic heart of Newcastle. The Vermont is set in an impressive neo-classical building (that used to house Northumberland County Council) and is popular for weddings because of its Art Deco ballroom and river views. The 101 uniformly designed rooms are large and comfortable, with wood-veneer furnishings, earthy colours and framed prints. Marbled bathrooms are traditional, spacious and well-lit with nice White Company goodies. Most have some views of the river or city rooftops; some look onto the railway line.
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A smart design hotel is on the edge of Grainger Town - eponymously named after 19th-century property developer, Richard Grainger and renowned for its neo-classical buildings. The hotel is just around the corner from Central Station and a five-minute walk from Earl Grey’s Monument, one of Newcastle’s central landmarks. Inside, it’s nightclub-cool with emerald-green and cherry-red chairs and sofas, primary-coloured accent walls and dizzying graphic wallpapers. Black-and-white architectural photographs of the city plus local artists’ original work give a sense of place. It’s youthful and fun but not achingly hip.
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The Sandman enjoys a handy location on the western edge of the city centre, between swanky office buildings, student apartments, Newcastle University's Business School and the city's developing Science Central quarter. It’s also a football kick from St James’ Park (home of Newcastle United). It used to be the headquarters of Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, but a convincing job has been done to lose the corporate feel with slick shades of black, grey and silver, funky lighting, shag-pile rugs and a black horse masquerading as a standard lamp.
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The riverside location is undoubtedly one of Malmaison Newcastle's most impressive attributes. Guests can enjoy views of some of Newcastle’s landmarks from their bedroom windows, including the neighbouring millennium bridge, Baltic museum, Sage concert hall and the River Tyne weaving away into the horizon. There is a selection of immediate bars and restaurants along the Quayside as well as a more expansive array of amenities in the city centre, a 10-minute walk away (including the train station). Interiors are smart: dim lighting, purple velvet coverings and glitzy chandeliers greet you in the hotel lobby, and the dusky colour scheme continues through to the brasserie, bar and bedrooms.
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Eye-level with the Tyne Bridge and with views across the river and its assorted crossings to Newcastle’s skyline – Cathedral, castle keep, football ground and Earl Grey monument – this hotel is in a cracking location. It's been designed to take full advantage of its position above the river: a hulking pale-brick-and-glass affair that curves around like a ship’s prow. The entrance is at the rear, leaving an uninterrupted wall of windows – with that stunning view – to greet guests as they walk in. Cheery concierges will valet-park your car, as well as book restaurants and city attractions. There’s a small Elemis spa, pool, steam room and sauna, plus a compact gym.
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A handsome building of glowing-red bricks and multi-paned windows, with interiors that have the atmosphere of a chilled-out gentleman’s club, thanks to well-worn Chesterfields, slate floors, exposed brickwork and bold modern lighting. Photographs of the north east’s industrial heritage give a sense of place. The clubby style continues in the bedrooms, which possess a dark, masculine feel: charcoal carpets, polished floorboards, battered leather seats and slubby colours of sage, coffee and chocolate. Wine and whisky tastings – there’s a dedicated, glass-walled tasting room – monthly wine dinners (with invited specialists) and cocktail masterclasses are on offer.
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The Copthorne has one of the better positions on Newcastle Quayside, enjoying river views but without the noise of the popular bars and eateries further downstream. Inside, it's bright and airy with a light-filled atrium, cream-and-coffee colours and plenty of space. The bar and restaurant are similarly spacious with a light, unfussy, contemporary style. All 156 rooms, spread over five floors, are spacious (club rooms and suites are slightly larger), identical in style and have river views. With a simple, contemporary look – neutral walls, clean-lined wood furniture, a few abstract prints – they're about comfort and practicality rather than cleverness.
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The Grey Street Hotel arguably has the prime spot for a city-centre hotel – on the corner of Grey Street, the city's finest, with its gentle curve of Georgian buildings. The hotel is also equidistant from the Quayside – with its bridges, bars, Sage concert hall and Baltic contemporary art centre – and the shopping heart of the city around Northumberland Street and Eldon Square. The interior look is cool and spare with a small reception-lounge of dark wood floor, sofas and vast windows through which to watch the constant buzz outside, while corridors are smart and crisp with grey walls and black doors.
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Opposite Newcastle Central Station, on the corner of one of the city’s principal streets, Grainger Street, this hotel has a prime central position with most of the city’s attractions within a five- to 10-minute walk, including the Castle, Cathedral, Quayside, Centre for Life, Eldon Square plus the shops, restaurants and Theatre Royal in Georgian Grey Street. The 160 rooms, spread over five floors, are identical in style but vary in views and size. It sounds dull but someone has worked hard on the design to create large-feeling rooms that work well: storage space under the bed, an ergonomic chair at the desk, sockets where you need them, and a sliding door to a bright bathroom with large walk-in shower.
