• County Hotel by Thistle. This is a 3 star hotel right in the city centre and my favourite thing about it is the character as its a 19th century listed building which really adds something different from your average hotel in the city. Still even though its quite an old building you can expect many mod cons such as wifi a fitness centre and even underground car parking! Prices are around £100 a night but it can be hard to get a room as they are often fully booked which i suppose is always a good sign.
• Dene Hotel. Another 3 star hotel here however this one is much cheaper coming in at around £50 per night. I suppose your thinking why is this hotel so much cheaper if its still 3 star visit Britain attested? This reason is simple on one level and it’s because it’s on the outskirts of the city, about 4.5 miles to be exact. Still its a favourite for people just visiting Newcastle short term (especially for the football) as its pretty cheap but still offers a good standard.
• Royal Station Hotel. Who can resist a hotel with “Royal” in the title! I think we could all do with a touch of class now and again and this 3 star hotel in Newcastle city centre could just fit the bill. Rooms are around £100 a night for a double. They have quite a few facilities including a leisure club with good size pool. Still remember not to prioritise things link this unless its a facility you plan on using as you can bet it is factored into the price.

Ok so that was a quick roundup of a few hotels and hopefully there is something there to fit everyone’s tastes. All of the Hotels mentioned are visit Britain attested which i always try to be sure of when booking, its just some extra reassurance i find when booking. Be sure to check out their sites above if you are interested.

I suppose the great thing about this hotel is that its in an area that has the best of both worlds. You have the picturesque quays with the river Tyne snaking down thought the many tourist destinations such as the millennium bridge. At the same time you also have great access to the many bars and restaurants that are right in the centre of town such as The Gate and Club Mushroom. Since the quays area is quite quiet at night is great to know you are going to be able to do all your partying in town and be assured of a good night’s sleep when you get back to the hotel. This really isn’t the case with many of the cheapest hotels that are dotted around the biggest nightspots.

Another good factor for this discount hotel is that its Visit Britain attested which is always a good thing in my opinion as so many hotels in the cheaper range are going self certified now, im still as sceptical as ever about how this works. Anyway if you want to check this hotel out you can visit them at www.watersidehotel.com

The main advantage with booking the parts of your holiday separately is that you can see what everything is costing on an individual basis and so try to get the price down for those parts individually. This has become so common these days that i have seen alot of high street travel agents go bust as they just cant compete with the online dealers. In a way it makes sense because the costs of owning a high street travel agent are so high with staff and rental overheads that i cant believe more of them haven’t went out of business. Thing is this whole situation isnt location specific as i have seen it with cheap hotels in London too which is new.

One thing that i do still find quite surprising though when looking at some cheap hotels in Newcastle is how few of the hotels have their own booking online booking service. Was looking at the Hadrian hotels site today and they too are sending people to a third party at eviivo. Ive never heard of them before but they sound quite similar to a company called Avvio who do alot of business in Ireland. I understand that it does cost to setup an online booking service but these actual hotel sites have to realise they are essentially advertising a third party product on their own site. It really makes we wonder how much your average small hotel is losing in commissions every year due to bookings on their own site.

• Gibside Hotel is situated about 3 miles from the city centre and you can expect to get a taxi right to the heart of town for under a tenner. The hotel is 3 star and you can expect to pay between £50 and £60 for a double during the week and maybe £70 at the weekend.

• New Northumbria Hotel is actually quite close to the city centre and has been awarded a 3 star status by visit Britain. It is a bit more expensive that the last hotel but at around £70 for a double per weeknight but it does have more facilities. It also has a Mediterranean restaurant on site which has been recommended in a number of guide books. The main plus point though is its only about a mile and a half from the city centre.

• Express By Holiday Inn isn’t my favourite hotel chain but it does represent good value coming in at around £60 for a double on a weeknight. I think this is good value for this type of accommodation. Its mainly seen as a business hotel as it is very close to some of the main business parks. There is also free Wifi and free continental breakfast in the mornings.

As you may be seeing now there is alot to choose from when it comes to deciding on cheap accommodation not just in Newcastle but all over the north of England. The most important factor has to be location think carefully what things you need to be close to and how much it will cost or how long it will take to get you to them.

Prices start from around £40 for a double room per night. This is great value for a hotel of this type within a reasonable distance to the city centre. All of the rooms are finished well and feature colour TV,trouser press and hair dryer. The bathrooms are also finished to a high standard and are quite spacious for a 3 star this side of Newcastle. This hotel would ideally suit stag or hen parties in my opinion as it is pretty cheap and just a short taxi ride in the main nightlife area of the city.

It also makes sense to book early for other reasons as it allows you to plan what you are going to do much better. I know many people still like the idea of just turning up somewhere and seeing what happens but i still think there is something to be said for a little bit of planning. This is especially true for the peak seasons when the city sees a major influx of tourists and visitors and many of the top events and attractions become overbooked.

Newcastle is probably most famous for its football team but don’t expect to turn up the weekend that they are playing and get a cheap pair of tickets! With such as large fan base in the city tickets for home games are very hard to come by especially if you leave it too late. Expect to pay between 3 and 4 times the face value for average seats at st James park for a home game.

As mentioned all of these problems can be solved if you book ahead of time. Not only will you have a more stress free holiday but also probably a cheaper one.

People also always say to me how important the essentials are to them such as breakfast in the morning but i think to a large number of people visiting the town its not actually that relevant. For example if you are going for a heavy night out in the clubs and bars such as Tiger Tiger at the Gate or the Mushroom bar in the centre of town you are never going to be up in time. When you think about it, it makes sense if you are out till 3 at night that you will never be up before breakfast service finishes at 11. As such this often represents wasted money as you are paying for a service you are not taking advantage of. Its worth thinking about all of these expenses when you are booking a hotel and what things you can cut back on in an effort to save money.

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The first thing to keep in mind when you are searching on one of the websites is to make sure you are comparing exactly the same deals. For example its not uncommon to find the price comparison sites hiding some taxes and other charges that you will eventually have to pay, so always read the small print. You also need to look at the different date ranges that it is possible to book on. You could find massive savings if you are prepared to stay at off-peak times or even on a strange date like checking in on a Sunday night. Hotels are always keen to offload empty rooms when they are running at low capacity so its worth putting a few different dates into your search and see what you find.

You also need to think about what extra facilities you are paying for in a potential hotel and if you are going to make full use of them on your visit. There is no point in paying for an expensive hotel that comes with gym and swimming pool if you have no intention of using it. Also things like full and half board have to be weighed into any potential hotel booking as paying for food that you are not around to appreciate can quickly eat up your holiday budget. Many people visit Newcastle to see its famous football team in action so a cheap hotel for the weekend is a must, if you follow some of the simple advice on this site you are sure to find it!