Tynemouth Hotels

Friendly and Fuctional: Hadrian Lodge Hotel

It's in nearby Wallsend (rather than North Shields) but just as handy for the ferry and literally across the road from a Metro station.

Before I booked a room here I read a review which likened the place to a ‘workingmen’s club’ and there’s some truth in that. During the evening and into the early hours the large bar area (open to non-residents)was full of mainly local workingmen drinking pints and watching football on the big screen TV but hey, what’s wrong with that? The language might have been a little strong at times but it’s possibly the friendliest place I’ve stayed in months and if you don’t want to socialize you can always stay in your room and watch TV (or depending on which room you’re in you just might pick up the free wifi).

There’s nothing much outside (it’s an industrial area) so you may want to eat in the restaurant, the service was fast and friendly, the food was OK rather than good. I had a reasonable steak which was cooked exactly as I asked, the vegetables however were of the frozen variety but all perfectly edible and the whole thing was a little under 20 quid including a bottle of decent wine.

Cheaper than a Travel Inn and five minutes by car or taxi from the Ferry terminal (and not that far from Newcastle City Centre) it’s functional rather than frivolous and you wouldn’t bring someone here to impress but I like the place.

At the risk of being pretentious I think ‘unpretentious’ best describes the Hadrian Lodge, the rooms are basic but adequate and you probably need to enjoy male company to enjoy the bar (the only women in the place were the very friendly staff) but I tried it once and now it will be my first choice when I’m working in the area.

By the way (in case it isn’t obvious) it’s very handy for one end of Hadrian’s Wall.

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Road Trip, Singles, Business Travel
• Written September 18, 2008

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