Tune Hotel Arrives in Toon

I've always loved going on adventures and there aren't many cities in the UK I haven't visited.  When I was in my 20s, my friends and I loved picking places we hadn't been before and heading to a strange city to experience the shopping, restaurants and nightlife of somewhere new.  Therefore I know how hard it can be to find reasonably priced hotels in a city centre.

So I am very excited to be able to share with you the brand new, purse friendly Tune Hotel that opened in Newcastle last week.   I've been watching the hotel being fitted out with great interest over the months so when I received an invitation to try it out for a night I was very eager to give it a go.

Tune are a chain with 7 hotels in the UK, with Newcastle being the latest to open.  Situated just off the Quayside, the 104 bed hotel is in the newly renovated Proctor House.  

One of my favourite things about the hotel is that it is built in a beautiful Edwardian building and has kept the original mosaic tiles in the stairways and original fire places in the corridors.

The hotel is modern and clean but its "no frills" concept means that all the added extras you don't really need during your city break aren't there, keeping costs down.  You are in control of what you want out of the hotel and how much you want to spend.  You book a basic room and then have the option to add on extras like TV and wifi for an extra cost.  I love the idea of being able to pay for exactly what you want to use.

Cheapest rates can be found by booking in advance with double rooms for as cheap as £15.00 during promotional periods and £25.00 at other times.

Simon and I stayed in a Double Room with Windows as part of a "Comfort Package".   The Comfort Package is perfect for anyone who wants all of the added extras and gave us use of our TV, Wireless Internet Access, Towel Rental, Toiletries, Hair Dryer and Safe.

Check in was very fast and simple with friendly faces waiting to greet us.  I really loved the Reception  area, especially the huge Newcastle feature wall behind the desk that I really wanted to take home with me.

There are also computers, lovely comfortable sofas to chill out in and a good selection of magazines as well as leaflets and maps to help you explore the area and chocolate to purchase if you have the munchies.

First impressions when I reached our room was that it was pretty small compared to hotel rooms that I'm used to - consisting of a double bed and desk with a TV fixed to the wall and some hangers on the wall to hang clothes.  The room made great use of the little space.

It may have been small but it looked comfortable, cosy and clean and once I'd dumped my bags and sat on the bed to watch a bit of TV, it wasn't long before I felt at home. 

The night we stayed we were getting ourselves ready for the North East Blog Awards, this meant getting changed into a nice dress and doing my hair and makeup.  I was really happy with the full length mirror, perfect for putting together my outfit and the level of lighting in the room was just right for doing my makeup.

When we returned to the room after the Awards later in the evening I was exhausted and ready to crash into bed.  I found the bed really comfortable and it was hard to believe that I was spending the night in such a cheap hotel - the mattress and bedding didn't feel budget at all and I had a really comfortable night's sleep.  I really appreciated the black out curtains and the temperature of the room was controlled with easy to work air conditioning. 

Unfortunately Simon didn't have quite such a restful night as me as the double bed was pushed up against the wall and he spent the night bashing into it.  This probably has more to do with him disco dancing in his sleep though, I'm not sure a normal person would have this problem!

The next morning I was looking forward to using our little ensuite bathroom and I was really impressed with the shower which was hot and powerful.

Being a budget hotel there isn't a restaurant for breakfast, however as Tune is in an ideal location close to the Quayside there is an amazing choice of fantastic places to eat, many of which  I've featured on my blog before.   A stone's throw away is the Quay Ingredient, which is constantly voted as having one of the best breakfasts in Newcastle.  Just round the corner is the Great British Cupcakery which offers up huge slabs of cake and a couple of doors down you'll find Burger Stop for a perfect weekend dinner.

I've spent a lot of time on my blog saying how wonderful the North East is and I've lost count of the amount of lovely comments I've had from people saying that I've persuaded them to visit Newcastle.   Well now I've found the perfect budget hotel for you to stay in, so no more excuses! 


Tune invited us to stay in their lovely new hotel in Newcastle free of charge.  However our experience is real and my review is the truth!