The whole experience was a complere nightmare from start to finish. When I arrived at the hotel - you have to check in at the Health Club
across the carpark, I was told that there had been a problem with my booking, apparently they had tried to make contact but I never recieved an email or telephone call. They wanted to charge me an extra £20 which I disputed as I had been given a booking reference and as far as I was aware the booking was successful.

When I eventually got to check in, the hotel is across the carpark and you need a swipe card to get in. There is no-one on reception until 10.00pm (cost cutting exercise). I entered room 26 and to my dismay found that it was already occupied. Who knows what kind of a situation I could have been entering. I had to walk back to the Health Club to get another room. At this stage they were unsure how reliable the computer system was so one of the receptionists came with me to the second room to make sure it was available. I was told it was a brand new room (The hotel has only been open 2 months) Unfortuantely it stank of smoke, considering Mr Bannatyne is famous for his Health Clubs this seemed to contradict his healthy image. I could not believe that they were unable to find me a suitable room as
the hotel appeared to be empty, eerily resembling a scene out of
'The Shining'.

At this stage I decided to call it a day, fortunately I was able to stay with family nearby, so had to beg for my money back only to get an earful from the central reservations in Darlington who seemed quick to accuse me of not providing the correct account details, telephone number and email address - co-incidence?

I would not recommend this hotel to anyone, certainly not lone females as it is a security risk. Would you want someone entering your room at night?