Review – Dalton House, Paddock Lane, Dalton

We were in Newcastle for a wedding. Our original choice of a generic brand of hotel was further away from the reception than we wanted and so I looked again, trying to see if we could find something a little nearer.

I came across Dalton House and since it looked nice, the reviews were good and it was only about 4 miles from the reception venue, I changed our booking and I’m so glad I did.

I received a really helpful email on booking which gave directions to Dalton House. It’s set back from the road and if you aren’t sure where you are going, you could well miss the turning.

Our welcome when we arrived was really friendly and we were shown into the B&B. We passed through the sitting / breakfast room before being shown up to our rooms.

The rooms were nicely decorated, both having an ensuite bathroom (with really powerful showers and clean towels) and a view over the garden.

There are kettles in both rooms and we were also welcomed with a slice a lemon drizzle cake. Nothing better after a long drive. There is also internet access with the WiFi code printed in the welcome pack.

The beds are really comfy and with the location of the house being set back from the road and the rooms being at the back of the house, we all slept really soundly.

The breakfast was fantastic, with a choice of cereal, fresh fruit, brioche, bread and yoghurt as well as bacon and eggs.

It would have been lovely to have another night to be able to take advantage of the log burner in the lounge but we had to head off.

The owner, Diane, is so welcoming. Nothing was too much trouble and she made us feel so at home.

Without a shadow of a doubt, we hope to return here to take in some Northumbrian scenery and enjoy another stay.

Service (out of 10) 10. Can’t fault one single thing.

Offer (out of 10) 10. Perfect. Great location, great scenery, great offer.

Review – Bank Top Camping, Newton on Rawcliffe, North Yorkshire

I’ll admit that it was with a certain amount of trepidation that I headed here.

My only experience of camping in the last 20 years was a very washed out and miserable couple of nights in a tent that took far too long to pitch about 10 years ago.

However, here I was, arriving at Bank Top Camping as the sun began to set.

The campsite is located just to the north west of the small village of Newton on Rawcliffe which is about 4 miles north of Pickering on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. The location is very scenic, and there are some good walks nearby, including one or two of the longer challenge walks.

The tents were pitched quickly and we sat out, eating dinner, enjoying a drink and some conversation and watching the sun set and the stars (and full moon) come out. The site wasn’t full by any means. There was one or two other tents and a number of caravans and motor homes.

The campsite is very well maintained. There is electricity hookups for those that need them (we went old school). There is also a well maintained shower / toilet block, washing up facilities (washing up liquid and pan scrubs are provided).

As silence began to fall on the campsite, you could hear a variety of different types of owl in the nearby woods, and a little later on they were joined by foxes.

Although the site is in the heart of the country, Low Moor Road was a little busier than we expected, with traffic flying along there quite often. It doesn’t take away from the tranquil nature of the campsite.

You can arrive at the campsite from 1pm, and need to be off the site by 12pm.

That said, if you are walking nearby, you can pull your car down to the front while you walk.

We had a great stay here and it’s even convinced me to give camping another go. You never know, I might just be back here again.

Service (out of 10) – 10. Friendly and accommodating.

Offer (out of 10) – 10. Everything you need from a campsite. 

Review – Shoreditch Inn, Shoreditch, London

I travelled down to London for work, and needed to be in the Old Street area. London is never cheap, as we know, and I was booked to stay here. The reviews looked promising.

First things first. I arrived in London late in the evening and headed to the Old Street tube. Walking along Old Street was OK from a safety viewpoint. There are plenty of people around. However, as I got closer to the hotel, I began to feel slightly less safe. I’d suggest anyone who is a little concerned about there safety gets a taxi here.

Entry to the hotel is on a buzzer system. The reception area is small, but functional. There is a PC with a printer and internet access. The greeting was friendly. They checked my ID and asked for a credit card for a security deposit. This isn’t the norm in my experience in the UK, and wasn’t advertised on Booking.com, so be aware that you will need to have a credit or debit card even if you stay here for work.

I was checked in and headed to my room. I was staying on the first floor, facing Hoxton Street and I didn’t hear any noise from the road, either at night or the next morning.

The room was well furbished, with a comfortable bed, tea and coffee making facilities and a TV. The en-suite was well finished too.

As it was late, I didn’t make much use of the room apart from sleeping, but as I said, I had no complaints, although an alarm going off in the hotel woke me at 6am. I was then woken again about an hour later as the builders started work on the room opposite. Not exactly a restful nights sleep. To be honest, if it had been a Premier Inn, I would have been asking for money back at this point.

The stay included breakfast, so getting dressed, I headed down to the lower ground to eat. The breakfast offer, styled as Continental, consists of Babybel cheese, cold Danish pastries and croissant, cereal and cold hard boiled eggs. You can help yourself to coffee and tea and juice cartons.

Service wasn’t great in the breakfast room. The staff were busy having a conversation, and there wasn’t a cleared table to sit at, so I made some space for myself, at which point a member of staff pushed past me to clear the pots. However, perhaps the best bit is being able to listen to members of staff as they go to use the disabled toilet which is directly off the breakfast area.

I quickly ate my breakfast, headed back to the room, packed, and left.

All in all, it wasn’t the greatest stay. I get that alarms go off. However, getting builders to start work at 7am is entirely the choice of the hotel. The breakfast comfortably goes down in my list of worst hotel breakfasts.

Needless to say, I won’t be back.

Service (out of 10) – 6. The reception greeting was good. However, the service in the breakfast room really let it down.

Offer (out of 10) – 4. Rooms are nice enough, but having the builders start work at 7am isn’t good. The breakfast offer was poor to say the least.