We stayed at The Grand last weekend and had a great time. We were warned before we booked that our superior room was over a disco but as we were going out it wasn't a problem. The room (219) was lovely - it looked out over the sea and had one of the best bathrooms I have been in. The wallpaper was a bit grubby in places but overall it was great.
The staff on the whole are very pleasant and helpful but there are a couple who are a bit abrupt and not very customer friendly.
The breakfast is fine with lots of choice.
The only problem we had was with a bar meal we had in the bar. My partners was fine but I ordered a greek salad which was suppposed to come with goats cheese instead of feta. It got worse when they didn't have any goats cheese and tried to substitute mozzarella!?. Instead I ordered a chicken ceasar salad which had mountains of red cabbage in it, this made it very bitter and spoilt what would have been a reasonably good salad. Overall I would recommend this hotel but try and get a superior or deluxe room with a sea view.

We recently had our wedding reception in the Grand and thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of our stay. The location and views from the hotel are fantastic as is the entrance hall and staircase.

The reception went very smoothly and from our perspective, the service was excellent, particularly from Leonard, the Master of Ceremonies. The meal was great - couldn't manage any of the buffet though!

Admittedly, we stayed in one of the fancy rooms with a jacuzzi and sea view, which was lovely, so can't comment on any of the other rooms, but didn't hear any grumblings from any of the guests.

Some previous review seem to have found breakfast a problem and I can see how on a very busy day things could become hectic. Nevertheless this wasn't a problem for us and the cooked breakfast was great.

Only slight complaint was that prior to the wedding we arrived to discuss arangements and were told off at receptionfor being half an hour late, despite arriving at the time we were told. However, the wedding co-ordinator herself was extremely helpful and not involved in this "scolding". Thankfully none of this was repeated on the day.

Overall, a big thankyou to all the staff and we had an excellent day. We would recommend it.

This hotel was booked for my parents so that they could enjoy a quiet night in this hotel with its beautiful. However when they arrived they were told the hotel was fully booked and they were sent to The Windsor Hotel in Whitely Bay. The Windsor Hotel is in the middle of the stag and hen night area of Whitley Bay. They had no sleep. We asked the management of The Grand to phone us but they could be bothered.

If yoy do decide to book check that it isnt already full and get assurances that you will not be sent to The Winsdor.

Of course we would come back, since the views over the sea are stunning. It's just a shame that the crabby things aren't restricted to the beach, they are also behind the reception desk and in the restaurant.
Here are some tips to help you get the most of a stay here.
1. If it's at a weekend, avoid the best ('Executive') rooms since they can be directly above the function rooms that might be hosting a wedding disco. We had a superior room on the top (4th) floor and it was as good as you'll need, including jacuzzi bath, although do take care to specify sea view when booking.
2. If stairs are a problem to you, bear in mind that the lift only goes as far as the 3rd floor!
3. Don't ask the staff for help. We rang a week in advance to see if they could help book a table in a particular local restaurant only to be assured that out of season there was no need to book. You've guessed it, not a table all night.
4. Breakfast is not so bad - although it finishes at 9:45am on a Sunday which is indicative of the contempt in which guests are held. You don't get a lot of fresh fruit in places like this but the cooked food was fine and I had some delicious local kippers.
5. The negative contribution of the staff was evident in many ways - you have to go to reception to collect the morning newspaper you ordered, and we were actually told off for checking out late - less than half an hour late, at 11:20.
Still, as I said at the start, the location and the building are wonderful - the grandeur of the staircase and windows will raise your spirits. Or at least they will when you are going up, and therefore away from reception.