Staying in the UK

Grey Street Hotel

Hotel

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Newcastle is one of my favourite cities in England and perhaps because it so easily accessible. You can take the train but also fly to Newcastle and you're within half an hour in the centre. That is also where you encounter this hotel and it has a perfect location. The hotel is located in "Grey Street" and is within walking distance from the railway station and within walking distance of shops, bars and restaurants. For instance it’s at 10 minutes away of the Eldon Square Mall where you really can empty your wallet. The hotel is located on a busy street but you notice nothing in terms of noise. Given it’s right in the city centre there is no private parking and you need to use the parking garage furth...Read More

Newcastle is one of my favourite cities in England and perhaps because it so easily accessible. You can take the train but also fly to Newcastle and you're within half an hour in the centre. That is also where you encounter this hotel and it has a perfect location. The hotel is located in "Grey Street" and is within walking distance from the railway station and within walking distance of shops, bars and restaurants. For instance it’s at 10 minutes away of the Eldon Square Mall where you really can empty your wallet. The hotel is located on a busy street but you notice nothing in terms of noise. Given it’s right in the city centre there is no private parking and you need to use the parking garage further down the street.

My first impression of the hotel was very good. The hotel is situated in a beautiful old Victorian (I think or something similar) and while the building looks old, it is very modern and stylish. Especially when you go inside it is modern and especially small but cosy. Upon entering the reception you will see at your right a small lobby with a few comfortable chairs. Here you can have a cup of coffee and there are a few newspapers. Next to the reception you have a small room with the elevator and stairs. Although the hotel seems very small, yet it has 49 rooms and corridors. The entire building has the old style of the building, but also a modern design in terms of floor and furniture.

The reception is located directly at the entrance of the hotel. It has a 24 hours reception which is very nice. At night the door were locked and the staff can only open the door. Very useful and clever as it is located in an entertainment area with bars and restaurants do not want drunk people at the hotel. At the reception were two men and we were kindly helped. My details were known and they only needed my credit card. After everything was settled I got the room key and we got the explanation about where it was.

In a word great. We stayed in a standard room and I must say that this is not very large in feeling, but you have everything you could need and above the bed is pretty big. Luckily you have a high ceiling, which I think gives it a spacious feeling especially when you walk around. You do not feel that you for example have to duck the whole time. Upon entering you have on your right your bathroom with a bath with shower and toilet. There is a hairdryer, but also free soap and shampoo. Of course it was important that the bathroom was clean and looked very neat. Always nice to see that there were two robes which were very soft and comfortable.

On the right you're right on entering a box where you can store your gear and your clothes can hang. Here you have a kettle with the ability to make tea and coffee. A little further you have a nice plasma TV with DVD player. The bed itself is the best thing in the room and very comfortable. So it is a leather bed and have Egyptian sheets with huge pillows and mattress was just right. Not too soft nor too hard and when you lie down you sink a little way and you lie to lovely soft pillows. Perhaps the most comfortable bed ever! We wanted to leave almost no room!

On the window side is a desk with a chair, but you also had a safe in the room and there was air conditioning. Also very nice was that the window was still open, so you do not feel so trapped.

Now the hotel has no restaurant, but right next to the hotel there is the Living Room restaurant located and you can go without having to go outside, because there is a passage between two buildings. Here you can also have breakfast, but we have not done this. I do not remember exactly how expensive it was, but it was not cheap and the room itself was expensive enough we thought. In this space, you can also eat, but we have not done this so I can not say anything about the quality of the food. The restaurant was in the style of the hotel and felt luxurious and modern on.

From start to finish neat and tidy and always helped greeted with a smile. By entering the woman behind the desk was just a friendly chat with us about why we were in Newcastle and she did like a few tips in terms of going out and just eat what is nice. Also at check out was just asked if everything was like and she wished us a very nice trip back.

An expensive hotel but it is definitely worth the money. First, you're on a very good location relative to the central station, bars, restaurants and shops as well just get pure luxury and comfort. The whole hotel exudes class from the outside to the bathroom in the hotel room. Everything is well kept and feels just luxury. The bed is still often the most important and is very comfortable just like the rest of the room. A recommended hotel!
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Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 26, 2011

Grey Street Hotel
2 GREY STREET
Newcastle, England
44 870 4125100

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Alnwick Castle

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Attraction

Alnwick Castle outside Photo - Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, England

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Alnwick CastleDuring the summer we have visited England and the castle of Alnwick. The Alnwick Castle is actually the place where the first two movies of Harry Potter have been filmed and that’s something we officious wanted to see! The castle is close to the town of Alnwick and about one mile of the highway. There is parking spaces at the castle which are sufficient and free! The castle itself isn’t free and costs around 12 pounds to entry for adults. When you drive up to the castle you can already see it from far and it’s breathtaking. The castle is completely surrounding by a wall and has large gardens around it which gives it a more dramatic effect. The Duke and Duche...Read More

Alnwick Castle

During the summer we have visited England and the castle of Alnwick. The Alnwick Castle is actually the place where the first two movies of Harry Potter have been filmed and that’s something we officious wanted to see! The castle is close to the town of Alnwick and about one mile of the highway. There is parking spaces at the castle which are sufficient and free! The castle itself isn’t free and costs around 12 pounds to entry for adults.

When you drive up to the castle you can already see it from far and it’s breathtaking. The castle is completely surrounding by a wall and has large gardens around it which gives it a more dramatic effect. The Duke and Duchess of Nothhumberland are still living here so you can’t see the entire castle.

There is still plenty to see and you have access to the library which is filled with more than 16.000 books. Very impressive and beautifully decorated with ladders to climb up the bookcases. There is a large sitting area which is decorated in a dramatic Italian renaissance kind of way with beautiful furniture. You have the dinning area which has a breathtaking fireplace made of marble. There are lots of old painting and the tables is beautifully decorated with porcelain and chandeliers. You have the carriage house with a large collection of carriages from the nineteen century and lots more.

You can easily spend a good few hours here and it really depends of how much you like history because there’s a lot to be found and everything has a story behind it. It’s truly a interesting family.

There is a beautiful restaurant where you for 2.40 pounds can have a ham sandwich / salad and there are other more expensive sandwiches and hot dishes. There are also complete menus but we haven’t had them. There are several toilets and when I used them they looked clean and fresh.

I think the castle is really worth the trip if you are in the neighborhood. There is lots more to see than just a beautiful building. There are museums where they show the military history and also a part where they show Roman findings. The castle has become more famous because of the Harry Potter movie but it’s nice to see that they stayed true to themselves and the beautiful history.
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Member Rating 4 out of 5 on April 19, 2011

Alnwick Castle
Just off the A1 Road
Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 1NQ
+44 (1665) 510777

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Birmingham Central Backpackers

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Hotel

Birmingham Central Backpackers Photo - Birmingham Central Backpackers, Birmingham, England

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The hostel sits in an old industrial neighbourhood and the surrounding buildings are mainly large gray square buildings with hardly any character. I can say the exterior is the only downside of the hotel. The reception and the lounge area are in a separate building and the rooms are all within a few minutes walk from the receptions. When you walk inside you are greeted by almost an explosion of colours and it was for me the most colourful hostel I have ever seen. The reception is a spacious room where you immediately feel home. You have a lounge area and a few toilets. In the lounge were always people playing a board game or something and in the evening are always movies played. There is a...Read More

The hostel sits in an old industrial neighbourhood and the surrounding buildings are mainly large gray square buildings with hardly any character. I can say the exterior is the only downside of the hotel. The reception and the lounge area are in a separate building and the rooms are all within a few minutes walk from the receptions.

When you walk inside you are greeted by almost an explosion of colours and it was for me the most colourful hostel I have ever seen. The reception is a spacious room where you immediately feel home. You have a lounge area and a few toilets. In the lounge were always people playing a board game or something and in the evening are always movies played. There is also a bar which is especially fun at night. Coming back at night to this hostel was also fun and the bar was lively every night. If you want to meet lots of new interesting people I think this is really a good way. There are almost all internationals travellers with lots of stories.

I have stayed in a triple room with two friends but there are also double and dorm rooms available. The size of the bed was slightly bigger than regular and had an comfortable matras and bed linen. There was a coffee and tea maker but also a x box with a few games and two controllers! The bedroom was always clean and actually felt spacious.

I haven’t seen any private bathrooms and we had to use the building with a few showers and toilets. The toilets were just fine but of course the problem with many different people using the toilets is that it’s never completely clean. It’s cleaned twice a day which is a huge plus. The shower was poor in my opinion and you don’t have a lot of space hanging your clothes. The water was luckily warm and the shower itself was ok but could have been better.

The rooms are cleaned daily by very friendly people who are in for a chat. Not always fun when you're in bed with a hangover. All the buildings I've seen are clean and in very good condition. The building of the reception can be a bit messy, but that's more because there is so much furniture (which totally matches). It is clean, just very messy, which I totally do not mind. It just looks so homey.

The rooms are spacious and you have even an X-Box with sufficient choice of games and movies you can look at. The whole is very well maintained and clean. The sanitation is even cleaned twice a day, something you rarely see in hostels. The room, which is highly affordable for the average backpacker and there is also complimentary breakfast and in the shared space you have free WIFI. This shared space is a great and has a very good atmosphere. You will also find always another backpackers who’s in to play a board game or something. The hostel has won several awards and all the awards won by this hostel has been more than justified and it is also a very popular hostel. However, they haven’t enough rooms so you better make a reservation. In short: Clean, fantastic atmosphere, large movie screen, complimentary breakfast, award-winning and fits within your budget! Read Less

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on April 19, 2011

Birmingham Central Backpackers
58 Coventry Street
Birmingham, England 5 5

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Ibis Portland Street Mancheste

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Hotel | "Hotel Ibis Manchester City Centre"

Hotel Ibis Manchester Inside room Photo - Ibis Portland Street Mancheste, Manchester, England

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The Ibis Manchester City Centre Hotel is part of the Ibis chain. The Ibis is part of the French Accor. Worldwide there are 750 hotels. The Ibis hotel is characterized by cheap, simple but quality for money and offers more than just another cheap hotel. They have extensive breakfast and more personal service. I have now stayed a number of times and every time it was especially the location of the Ibis that did it for me. An Ibis is often in the center or near an airport.The Ibis ManchesterIbis Manchester City Centre is located on Portland Street in central Manchester. It is a fairly large hotel with 127 rooms. On the ground floor you have a 2 person reception desk. They speak En...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on November 16, 2010

Ibis Portland Street Mancheste
96 PORTLAND STREET
Manchester, England
44-44-2340600

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Ibis Hotel Carlisle

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Hotel | "Hotel Ibis Carlisle "

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Hotel Ibis Carlisle Nice cheap but good hotel at the centre of Carlisle.Ibis Hotel The Ibis hotel Carlisle is part of the Ibis Company. The Ibis is a European company and a subsidiary company of the French Accor. They have worldwide 750 hotels. Characteristic of the Ibis is that they are cheap, simple but you get good quality for your money. They have a nice breakfast and offer several services. I have stayed a few times in an Ibis, often because of the location of the hotel in a city. They are often next to an airport or in the middle of the centre.Ibis CarlisleThe Ibis Carlisle is located at the Botchergate in the centre of Carlisle. It's a...Read More

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on January 12, 2011

Ibis Hotel Carlisle
Portlands, Botchergate
Carlisle, England CA1 1RP
01228 518 000

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