Are you people all paid to moan?
by A TripAdvisor Member
I stayed at the malmaison for two nights in november and found it a great place to stay. All you people who come on here and write bad reviews must just stay in hotels and stay in the room the whole time just trying to pick faults with the smallest things.
First of all, the malmaison is located on Newcastle's quayside which is an area for revellers. However it is at the quiet end and there are no lively pubs or clubs anywhere near this hotel so noise is not a problem.
When my partner and myself stayed at this hotel we were told on check in that there had been a problem with the plumbing in our bathroom so we were allocated a suite (an upgrade from what we had booked) at no extra charge and of minimum fuss. All staff were extremely helpful and polite.
I would not hasitate to stay in this hotel again and would recommend it to anyone thinking of staying in Newcastle
Overpriced
by TripAdvisor Member ElleGolightly
Just spent the weekend Fri/Sat at Malmaison in Newcastle and while my boyfriend and I had a very pleasant break I can't honestly say it was a memorable stay. The hotel is in a great location right beside the Millenium Bridge at the Quayside and parking is available in a multi storey carpark opposite the hotel (you are given a pass for free parking on checking out). On a positive note, I don't agree with previous reviewers' comments regarding unhelpful staff and generally poor service. Throughout our stay the staff were friendly, attentive and very helpful. We had booked a suite on the top floor of the building which was very spacious although let down by the mould in the shower cubicle and the generally tatty state of the bathroom - this is not what I expected in a hotel which charges £195 a night (not including breakfast). A minor point but one that really annoyed me was the lack of free mineral water in the room - water was available in the minibar but at an extortionate price of £1.75 per small bottle. Because we were late in arriving on the Fri night we had pre-booked a table in the restaurant - the food was competent (although our starters both arrived at the table unpleasantly tepid in temperature) but at £103 for 2 courses plus a cheese board and a bottle of wine it was vastly overpriced. All in all a bit of a disappointment.
Service needs to live up to image
by TripAdvisor Member Catwat
Stayed here for just one night on business. Hotel looked fab - modern with dark groovy bar. Room was fine - clean and nicely designed, and reception staff were good. Breakfast was a disappointment - no problems with the food itself but after some wait we had to ask if they would take our order, cooked breakfast took some time to arrive and no one checked whether we had the cutlery we needed or if we wanted any more tea / coffee or sauces. Also none of the breakfast tables around us were cleared fully when people had finished which made the whole restaurant look messy. All it would have taken was someone to come around and check everything was okay a couple of times and then service would indeed have lived up to the decor and everything else about this hotel. If this hotel pitches its prices at this higher level then it needs to deliver.
Fantastic hotel, cannot fault it
by TripAdvisor Member LyndaCambridge
My boyfriend and I stayed here last week.
The bedroom was like a suite with a fantastic king size bed. The decor was lovely and really modern with a great view of the Tyne from our 5th floor window.
We didn't sample breakfast but the bar area was really lovely and the mood was really romantic in the evening.
We would definitely come here to stay again. Everything was just perfect.
Overpriced and out of the way
by TripAdvisor Member beckysharpe
I stayed overnight on a business trip. The hotel is in a lovely riverside location but it's a long way from the city centre and the train station. On arrival I was allocated a small, dark and strangely-shaped room on the second floor. I had dinner in the restaurant (and was seated next to a wall, rather than overlooking the river, so had nothing to look at) then tried to have an early night. This is when I discovered that my room was directly above the restaurant kitchens, and it was impossible to sleep because of the noise of the swinging doors into the kitchen constantly opening & shutting as staff walked through, and the general noise of a busy kitchen. I phoned and asked to be moved to another room, so late at night and in my pyjamas ended up moving to a larger room on a higher floor. Avoided the rip-off breakfast and attempted to make an early getaway in the morning. At checkout the hotel tried to charge me for the larger room I'd been moved to (!) which I thought the height of cheek. A hotel with more class would have waived the room fee entirely in view of the disrupted night I'd had. I then had to wait over 20 mins for a cab to arrive, consequently I was late for my first appointment. I would definitely NOT recommend this hotel to travellers who have business in the city centre. I thnk it's overpriced for what it is and I resent being allocated a crappy room because I'm travelling on my own.
Not a 'W' - Awful beds and just ok food
by TripAdvisor Member thefrozennorth
Malmaison promotes its hotels as offering some sort of lifestyle advantage. Perhaps, but at the end of the day (and through the night), from modest to luxurious, it is the bed that counts most during a hotel stay. For the hype and supposed luxury on offer, not to mention the price (though thankfully my bed & breakfast were paid for), the bed in my room was among the worst I've ever slept on at any price -- lumpy, firm in painful way and, worst of all, the springs were right at the top of the mattress, making a comfortable night's sleep impossible. When I asked reception if all the beds in the hotel were the same, I was told they are. The only hope for a better night's sleep was to improvise a comfort layer for the bed with an additional duvet folded over under the sheets. By the way, neither the duvets nor the pillows are down/feather filled, somewhat strange for a hotel at this price.
The food is ok, only it seems when the head chef is on (not so when s/he is off). Service is typical of the UK -- inattentive, things requested never show and so on. And the quayside; ha, what an overhyped location.
On the bright side, the Baltic Centre for Art and Baltic Square (across the river) are wonderful (but eat elsewhere).
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