The Man and I had felt a bit like [human versions of] The Littlest Hobo, always on the move; so it was nice to check into the 4-star INNside by Melia Hotel for a whole three nights. This particular ‘lifestyle’ hotel has limited parking on a first-come-first-served basis, and we actually managed to grab one of the adjacent spots. If you don’t manage this, don’t panic; there are plenty of other parking options nearby.
As it was, parking the jalopy up was all we had time for, as we had to scamper over to Ouseburn and visit The Biscuit Factory. Once we’d done that, and done the walking ‘Taste of Newcastle’ tour with Triple-A food Tours, it was finally time to acquaint ourselves with what this Quayside Hotel had to offer.
We got a lovely greeting from the young receptionist, who swiftly sorted us out with a room key, information, and directions to our room. Opening the door, we got our first glimpse of the swanky pad that was our ‘Riverside Room’. The layout is very modern, very open-plan, very flowy, and lots of natural light was flooding in from the floor-to-ceiling windows at the far end, overlooking the River Tyne and the High-Level Bridge. The concept is that cool design blends with supreme comfort, whilst pairing business and pleasure needs seamlessly, too; first impressions would say that the mission was well and truly accomplished. The lavatory is self-contained, and then the double shower cubicle (toiletries provided) and vanity back onto the sleeping/working/lounging area; please don’t think that space is cramped, though, it really isn’t.
The in-room fridge was stocked with waters and San Pellegrino flavoured sodas, and the hostess tray housed teas, coffees, milk and sugar/sweetener. Open-fronted hanging space for clothes had hangers provided as well as deep drawers underneath. There is an iron and ironing board but, if you can’t be faffed D.I.Y’ing, find the laundry form, fill it in and pop it to reception and the laundry fairies [for a charge] will do it for you.
Those who are working will appreciate the table with built-in lamp and USB ports, and the free Wi-Fi. Each side of the King-sized bed has more plug points and USB charging availability, so no shortage of places to plug your devices in! If you work (or tourist) hard, a solid night’s kip is absolutely essential; I’m pleased to report that the ZZZs were coming in hot...except that they were cooled down by some brilliantly effective Air-Con!
Our evening meal was booked in at the Hotel’s restaurant: Gino D’Acampo, and Breakfast is served in this same area in the morning, self-service, buffet-style.
Due to being out for lunch and dinner, both of us opted to have a lighter breakfast on this initial morning, like we’d done on our second morning at The Maldron. I headed off to grab the Orange Juices, as well as some Pastries, whilst The Man grabbed us bowls of Natural yoghurt topped with Grapes, Melon and Pineapple, scattered with some Sunflower Seeds. Fuelled up, it was time to head out to our first stop, Warkworth Castle.
The second morning saw us pretty much follow the same breakfast routine, other than switching up the types of pastries, but on our final morning we went all-in! As well as ‘standard’ bread, there were fancy types of loaves laid out and lots of choice was available in terms of meats, cheeses and salad items. For a moment, we were tempted, but the lure of the hot counter was simply too much to resist and we helped ourselves to a warmed plate each and moved along the variety of bain-maries to see what the dishes on them held.
Thick rashers of back bacon soon got popped on our plates, and His Nibs grabbed a Sausage, too. Whilst he went for the banger, I went for the Chestnut Mushrooms, and we both reunited over the grilled halves of fresh tomatoes garnished with black pepper; right pair of romantics, aren’t we?!
Golden Hash Browns and Baked Beans were dished up, too; I didn’t bother with Beans, as ‘in the wild, feral’ ones give me the ick – no bean juice on my plate, please. The final piece of the brekkie puzzle was Eggs, and both of us opted for Scrambled.
All the hot items were good quality, and you could go up and help yourself to more of the items that really caught your attention. Nothing compares to a cooked-fresh-to-order breakfast, and no-one is pretending otherwise, but the team at INNside by Melia at Newcastle’s Quayside do a more-than-adequate offering. Put it this way, our fully loaded plates were soon squeaky clean.
Hot Wings happily given to INNside by Melia, Newcastle Quayside; we’d certainly stay here again. Room rates depend on several factors (demand, weekday/weekend, booked direct or via booking platform), though they tend to be £106-£117 per night. Breakfast is not included in these prices, but typically costs an additional £10–£15 per person. If you’re really bougie, breakfast can be delivered to your room for the cost of the meal plus a ‘tray charge’ of £5.
INNSiDE by Meliá Newcastle is located at River View, Bridge Court, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3BE. To book, call 0191 338 7710 or visit the hotel’s website.
We were invited to dine here as part of our press trip organised by Experience North East England, supported by NewcastleGateshead, Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham.
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