Hotel Du Vin Newcastle

I stayed for 8 days in a standard double room and 3 days in a superior double room. Both rooms were clean, tidy, quiet and comfortable. The superior room was outstanding. Staff were polite, helpful and prompt. The food in the bistro is excellent and also reasonably good value for money. The fish (cod, sole and kippers) were first-rate. The baths are enormous (reclaimed Victorian, I imagine) and wonderfully comfortable.

I'm a clean freak, so limescale and the odd spot of mould around bathroom and shower taps rankled with me. This could easily be fixed with limescale remover and a little brush every now and then. Pillows and mattresses were acceptable, but could have been better. One young, pushy waiter had a habit of engaging people in conversation about their choices of wine when they, and I, quite obviously would have preferred to have been left alone. Sometimes less is more.