Newcastle – Britannia Hotel

Since I arrived into Newcastle late at night and was leaving early in the morning, my initial intention was just to faff about at the 24-hour Greggs at the airport for a few hours. However, the airport hotel operated by Britannia was selling rooms for £22.50, value which was hard to turn down. So I didn’t.

Britannia have a reputation for, well, not being very good. Which Magazine continually rate them as the worst hotel group and some of their hotels, such as the Liverpool Adelphi, have some of the worst ratings in their locality. But, for £22.50, it wasn’t clear how much they could get wrong.

The room came with toiletries and tea/coffee making facilities, and was actually perfectly well presented. It didn’t have a feeling of having been deep cleaned, but it was adequate when taking into account how much they’re charging.

The bathroom was again moderately clean, it was clear that no-one had burdened themselves by spending too long cleaning the room, but it’s hard to be too critical with the price point where it is. And the service at the check-in desk was well above average, warm, friendly and efficient. They had my booking ready even though I had only placed it around an hour before, so there were no delays.

The internal soundproofing was though dreadful, and especially for an airport hotel, it isn’t ideal as they’re going to have guests arriving and departing at all manner of times. I only had a couple of hours sleep by want of when I was arriving and leaving the hotel, but fortunately I wasn’t woken by anyone else, but I could hear doors closing (and shaking the walls slightly) further down the corridor and from the floor above.

For £22.50 I thought this was much better than I had expected, although I’d be cautious of booking a longer stay here. I’m not sure I’ll ever be a fan of Britannia Hotels, but if they keep putting rooms out at this price, I might yet be tempted again.