The Royal Station Hotel Newcastle, Sandringham

Probably had the worst overall hotel experience I’ve ever had after staying here just for one night. I booked it because of the location, as I was meeting friends for a day out in Newcastle and thought I’d try the non-budget experience for once. I’ve stayed in quite a few hotels, all over the world and this place is the worst I think, pound for pound, because the awfulness was just constantly ongoing. I've stayed in more run-down ones with worse service but I think cumulatively this must be most unpleasant experience I’ve had. Basing that on the money spent and the reputation of the hotel plus the (former) grandeur of the building and location. It is shocking to see such an impressive building being allowed to fall into mismanagement. The rubbishness started from booking a room, with the rates very expensive, but they came with perks (none of which I used so be aware), like a free drink and discounted food in the restaurant. I chose to pay on arrival for flexibility, in case I was delayed or unable to travel and I (foolishly) assumed that was what would happen. Instead, payment was taken from my credit card five days before. I got a notification via my banking app and was confused so I contacted my bank and they confirmed that the payment had been taken. I contacted the hotel by email and got a response saying it was a ‘pending’ payment only. This has never happened before as I invariably choose to pay on arrival when staying somewhere. I responded back and told them that they had in fact taken payment early (the bank confirmed this and contradicted what the hotel respondent said and told me it was an attempt to take payment and not a holding payment or whatever) and got a passive aggressive argumentative response back saying basically don’t bother staying if I don’t like it and I can ask for a refund. I did consider this as I was pretty fed up by now but another staff member responded back and was much more friendly, so I decided to go ahead anyway as it was too short notice to book anywhere else. But be warned if you choose the 'pay on arrival' option- you'll actually pay nearly a week before. Arrived eventually, expecting to be able to check in around 3/4pm. One good point- the receptionist was lovely and allowed me to store my bag securely so I could join my friends. I knew I had to wait for my room to be ready, so that was useful and much appreciated. However, after leaving my friends to go check in, I went back at the arranged time and my room wasn’t ready. Not ideal but luckily I was able to get back to my group and arrange to come back later. In the end I went back three times, over the course of over three hours and my room still wasn’t ready. My experience was starting to get a bit surreal at this point, having spent nearly four hours trying to check in, multiple times. After the third attempt to access my room, I eventually got booked in. I had asked for a quiet room on the top floor- so they put me in one facing the main road, with constant traffic and noise from passers-by. The room had old, rickety windows that I couldn’t shut properly so was kept awake all night by the constant noise. The room was dated and in disrepair -the bath was dirty, stained with rust or something and the broken window was propped up with a remote control to keep it open when I came in. The whole place looked old (not in a good way), dated and crumbling. This place is absolutely not worth the money. You have got to remember they charge well over £100 a night for even the cheapest rooms. If you can’t find anywhere nearby just stay out of town somewhere decent and get a taxi- it’ll still be cheaper and you’ll regret booking here. The place probably deserves one star but because of some of the helpful and friendly staff, who are trying their best and the pretty decent breakfast offering, I’d give it two.