Hotel Balmoral Sure Hotel Collection by Best Western

We had a "Best Western" special sale offer of buy one night, get one free in December 2023 which was excellent value. The male member of staff on reception gave us an underwhelming welcome and didn't look very smart so we were a bit apprehensive as we made our way to our room. However we were pleasantly surprised as the room was clean and pleasant. The parking was free. It was a 10-15 minute walk downhill into the city centre or you could hop on the bus outside. We did both. Both nights we were there we got an Uber back which was £5-£10 and worth every penny as the hill back is steep. Breakfast was included but it was continental only and consisted of toast, drinks and some unappealing prepacked bakery items. The ones we tried we didn't enjoy. We opted for some toast and tea and ate quickly as we were the only ones in the restaurant and there wasn't any music. As a consequence we felt like we had to whisper and didn't feel very comfortable. For these reasons we didn't bother with breakfast the next morning. There was an onsite indian restaurant (also where you ate breakfast) and it did feel like the business was an independent restaurant with rooms rather than a chain hotel with a restaurant attached. We did experience some noise presumably from customers leaving the restaurant and waiting for a taxi and for quite some time there was loud laughter and talking and this stopped us sleeping as our window was just above the reception. At one point I looked out and they were almost leaning on our car which alarmed me at first as I thought someone was trying to break in it. All in all a pleasant experience and a great price but unsure if we would return without a special offer. I'd say a rating of 3.5 but doesn't make a 4.

The reception lady was very nice, polite and helpful. Check in was quick no issues. We had to stay somewhere during home renovations so we just wanted somewhere budget friendly and nearby, this was ideal. This is a basic hotel which for the price it is excellent, spotlessly clean and decorated/ maintained to a high standard. The room has everything you would want from a standard hotel room - hair dryer, kettle, tea and coffee, bath and shower gel, a safe, a dressing table, phone, alarm clock. The bathroom has a nice powerful shower and is all in working order, towels are clean and in good condition and plenty of toilet rolls. Although it is on a main road we had no complaints with noise from that or from other rooms and slept brilliantly. Wi-Fi is free and the TV has Netflix, YouTube. There is a large car park and there appears to be cctv, the staff take your vehicle registration. They give you a code for the front door on check in in case it is locked when you come and go. We had a ‘standard’ king room however the bed is massive and very comfortable. The window is nice and big and opens which is fantastic to let some air circulation as it is quite warm in the room. One thing to note is that there are only two sockets for the room at the desk so I would bring an extension if you need it. I didn’t get breakfast so can’t comment on it however I saw a review which said you can go for breakfast in the Indian restaurant Akbar’s next door but it smelled of Indian food which they don’t like, I mean come on how ******* can you be to go into an Indian restaurant and complain of the smell of curry? It’s like diving into the sea and complaining it’s too wet. I can say there is no smell at all in the hotel and there are multiple cafes/shops/takeaways on the same street, and the location is minutes away from town so you have no shortage of places to get something to eat. To summarise, I would definitely recommend this hotel, the location is ideal, you get a lot more than a premier inn or other similar priced no frills hotel, the rooms are lovely and it was actually cheaper for us to stay here!

Room was ideal for what I needed , short walk to the toon . I would definitely be using the balmoral again for future visits to Newcastle . Bed was comfortable, 24/7 reception . Spacious room . All in all a good weekend away . Friendly staff. Would recommend

The service from Reception was below the minimum standards. I had to ask for wifi password, breakfast time, if there was a lift… Breakfast was a disgrace, there were no bread/croissants but the only bakery items were long life packed muffins. The orange juice was of the cheapest quality and there were 2x yoghurts available. There were cereals but no milk. Coffee and tea were offered by the waiter. Breakfast is served in the curry restaurant next door and the smell is very strong which is very unpleasant if it’s not your choice of food. Upon checkout I was only asked for the room number and no farewell was given. I will not return and would not recommit this hotel either.

We arrived in the morning as we wanted to have a wonder into the town centre, we were able to park in the hotel car park, we just told them our car registration. Checked in at 3, and they had to check if the room was cleaned, which it was. The room was OK, although we weren't given a spare toilet roll, so the toilet roll was gone by morning as it wasn't even a full roll. The hotel is very noisy and you can hear everything, woken up numerous times by guests in the corridors and the bed sloped in the centre so quite uncomfortable. Our bathroom kept getting a really bad smell of cigarette smoke that I assumed was coming through the vent from another room, maybe smoking. The smell came through the whole room, which wasn't nice. When we arrived we added breakfast for £7.50 pp, when we went down in morning we were shown to the attached restaurant akbars and told to take a seat, there was a tray of individual cerials, milk, yoghurts, fruit juices, jams, and chocolate chip Muffins. We were then asked if we would like tea or coffee and white or brown toast. I was under the impression it was a cooked breakfast from pictures on here from other travellers but it wasn't, had I have known I wouldn't have paid for breakfast we would have gone out for breakfast. I probably wouldn't stay here again for the price we paid. I have stayed in much nicer hotels.

Room was too hot, only way to cool it down was to open the windows which my room overlooked main road with continuous traffic. Plus ensuite smelt like an open sewer. I arrived at 5pm and had to wait ten minutes for them to ready my room

Stayed 1 night in this hotel . We paid for a “Standard King Room” which was a great choice as we had a massive triple sized bed and really comfortable. Great nights sleep-Free Safe-ample tea/coffee -Quiet aswell . Free Parking in the car park.we caught a bus into the centre which is about a mile away and was raining heavily otherwise we would have walked. Would definitely stay there again.

The room was nice. I was in 102, so a corner with two nice sash windows, so plenty of light. Very tidy and clean, bathroom good and shower too. Quiet location and was peaceful. Car parking great so was access. Very handy for the town centre. I would say overall, a good place to stay.

Hotel rooms were fine but when we arrived just after 1 we just expected to leave our bags as didn't expect rooms to be ready but was told one room was ready so we thought great but to be told as it was earlier than check in time we had to pay 10pnds. I have never in any hotel we have ever stayed in been expected to pay extra for a room being ready so for this reason we will not be returning or recommend this hotel.