Hilton Newcastle Airport vs Novotel – Is Staying onsite worth it?
We are big fans of starting a holiday the night before we fly. It takes some of the pressure out of travel day, particularly when we have an early flight, and means the holiday feels as though it has started before we have even reached the airport.
However, there is a decision to make at Newcastle Airport. Do you pay more for the convenience of staying almost directly outside the terminal, or save some money by staying a short drive away?
We have now done both. We stayed at the Novotel Newcastle Airport before a short-haul trip to Paris and, more recently, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Newcastle International Airport ahead of the start of our journey to Miami. That trip involved flying from Newcastle to London before continuing to Florida, so reducing the amount of effort involved at the beginning of a long journey was particularly important to us. If you are planning a similar trip, our Florida Planning Guide brings together our wider advice for planning a Florida holiday from the UK.
They are quite different propositions, and having experienced both, we don’t think there is one hotel we would automatically choose every time. For us, the decision comes down to where we are flying, what time we need to be at the airport and just how valuable that extra bit of convenience is going to be the following morning.
Why Stay at a Newcastle Airport Hotel?
An airport hotel isn’t always essential, particularly if you live within reasonable travelling distance of Newcastle Airport. However, an early flight can quickly change the calculation.
Rather than getting up in the middle of the night, loading luggage into the car and worrying about traffic or delays, staying nearby allows you to move most of that journey to the previous evening. You can have dinner, get some sleep and start travel day already at the airport.
For a short-haul flight, though, we don’t necessarily need to be physically beside the terminal to get that benefit. A hotel five or ten minutes away can do the job perfectly well and potentially cost considerably less.
Long-haul is where our priorities change. There is usually more luggage, the travel day is much longer and, particularly when travelling as a family, removing another transfer from the morning becomes much more valuable. That is exactly why these two stays gave us such a useful comparison.
DoubleTree by Hilton Newcastle Airport – Paying for Convenience
We stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Newcastle International Airport on our pre-travel day before flying from Newcastle to London. We were staying in London the following night before continuing to Miami, so although our first flight was technically domestic, we were already carrying everything we needed for the long-haul trip. That meant a lot of luggage.
The Hilton’s biggest selling point became obvious the following morning. It is immediately beside Newcastle Airport and the walk to the terminal is exceptionally short. Even with all of our cases, there was no need to load everything back into a car, arrange a taxi or wait for a transfer. We simply left the hotel and walked across to the airport.
Newcastle Airport describes the hotel as around a two-minute walk from the terminal, and that is entirely consistent with our experience. The location is difficult to appreciate until you actually see it, so we filmed our full stay at the DoubleTree, including our family room, runway view and what the journey from the hotel to Newcastle Airport actually looks like with all of our luggage.
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Our Family Room at the Hilton
We had a family room for four with two king beds, and the first thing that struck us was the amount of space. It was huge. We had been allocated an accessible room despite not requesting one, which also meant the bathroom was particularly large.
We wouldn’t attempt to judge how well the room would work for somebody with specific accessibility requirements, as that isn’t something we’re qualified to assess from our experience. We do show the room and its layout properly in the video above, including some of the accessible features, which will give you a much better idea of the space than photographs alone.
As a family room, though, it gave us an enormous amount of space for four people and all the luggage that comes with a long-haul holiday.
The room wasn’t flawless. There were some scuffs and areas of cosmetic damage which we felt should have been addressed in a hotel at this level. Nothing was bad enough to spoil the stay and the room itself was very clean, but it took a little of the shine off what was otherwise the nicer of the two rooms in this comparison. We’ve shown more of that in the video rather than turning this into a detailed room review.
There were some particularly good features too. We had a fantastic view across the runway, the blackout curtains worked extremely well and the windows did an impressive job of keeping aircraft noise outside. We could occasionally hear planes when we were awake, which is hardly surprising when sleeping beside an airport, but the noise didn’t disturb us once we were asleep.
Eating at the DoubleTree
We ate at Fratello’s in the hotel that evening and the food was very good. Gluten-free options were available and we had no complaints about either the quality of the food or the service.
It wasn’t cheap. Dinner and drinks for four came to around £200, although that included wine, which obviously increased the bill. We were also eating in a full-service restaurant inside an airport hotel, so we weren’t expecting bargain prices.
It is something we would factor into the overall cost of staying there, though. The room isn’t necessarily the only premium you’re paying when you choose the most convenient airport option.
We skipped breakfast at the hotel because we preferred to get into the terminal and eat there before our flight.
Parking at the Hilton Newcastle Airport
Parking is another cost worth considering before booking. The Hilton currently lists overnight self-parking for hotel guests at around £20 per day, but we already had Newcastle Airport Meet & Greet parking booked for our trip.
For us, it worked out better to add an extra day to our existing airport parking booking rather than pay separately to park at the hotel overnight. We could then leave the car where it needed to be for the holiday and walk across to the Hilton.
That won’t necessarily be the cheapest solution for everybody, particularly as airport and hotel parking prices change, but it is worth comparing the total cost of the stay rather than looking at the room rate in isolation.
Novotel Newcastle Airport – Do You Actually Need to Be at the Terminal?
Our Novotel Newcastle Airport stay was for a very different trip. This time it was just two of us travelling to Paris, so we had considerably less luggage and were preparing for a short-haul journey rather than the beginning of a long-haul holiday. That difference matters.
The Novotel isn’t within walking distance of the terminal in the same way as the Hilton. In our experience, the drive between the hotel and Newcastle Airport took around five to seven minutes. That means you still have to get yourself and your luggage back into the car the following morning, but it is hardly a major journey.
For a short-haul trip, we didn’t find that particularly inconvenient. We filmed our full stay at the Novotel as well, including the room and some of the noise issues we experienced. If you’re considering it as the cheaper alternative to staying directly at the airport, the video gives you a much better look at what you’re getting.
What Was the Novotel Room Like?
We stayed in a Superior Room with a queen bed and sofa bed. It was considerably smaller than the Hilton family room and more basic in its design, although it was clean and actually showed fewer obvious signs of wear than our Hilton room.
We’ve stayed in quite a few Novotels over the years and this was what we tend to describe as one of the “middle Novotels”. By that we mean it wasn’t one of the newer or particularly impressive Novotel properties we’ve experienced, but equally there was nothing fundamentally wrong with it. It was a functional, comfortable airport hotel that did what we needed it to do.
The Hilton was unquestionably the nicer room overall, particularly in terms of space, but the Novotel wasn’t trying to offer quite the same experience.
Noise was more noticeable. Our room was near the beginning of the corridor close to the lift, and the window seal wasn’t particularly effective, both of which contributed to more noise than we experienced at the Hilton. We show that in more detail in the Novotel video rather than trying to demonstrate a noise issue in writing.
Food and Parking at the Novotel
We ate at the Novotel during our stay and found the food perfectly good for what we needed. Service was good, prices were reasonable and we had no complaints.
That is probably the best way to describe much of the Novotel experience: it was straightforward. It did the job we needed it to do before a short-haul flight without us paying for convenience that wasn’t particularly important on that trip.
Parking was also inexpensive compared with the Hilton. As an ALL – Accor Live Limitless member, parking was included for us; otherwise the charge at the time of our stay was £6. Parking policies and prices can change, so we would always check the current charge when booking rather than choosing between the hotels based on an old parking price.
Hilton vs Novotel Newcastle Airport – Which Has the Better Rooms?
For us, the Hilton wins this fairly comfortably (subject to the wear and tear).
Our family room was significantly larger, the bathroom was enormous, the soundproofing was better and the runway view gave the stay a bit more of an occasion. When you’re starting a big holiday, there is something rather nice about looking out at the aircraft you’re going to be joining the following morning.
The Novotel room was smaller and more basic, although it was clean and had less cosmetic wear than the Hilton. If all we needed was somewhere comfortable to sleep before a flight, there was nothing about it that would stop us booking it again.
This is where the purpose of the stay starts to matter more than which room is objectively better.
Is the Hilton’s Location Worth Paying More For?
This is the question that ultimately decides it for us. If we were taking another long-haul trip from Newcastle, we would choose the Hilton if the price was sensible.
The room is better, but that isn’t really what swings it. The biggest advantage is what happens the following morning. Being able to leave the room with a large amount of luggage and walk almost immediately into Newcastle Airport made the start of a long journey noticeably easier.
There was no taxi to arrange, no hotel shuttle to wait for and no need to load four people’s long-haul luggage back into a car for a journey of only a few minutes. For us, that convenience has genuine value.
Airport choice can have just as much impact on the beginning and end of a Florida holiday. We’ve now used different Florida arrival airports, so we’ll also be comparing the practical advantages and disadvantages in our MCO vs Melbourne vs Miami – Which Florida Airport Should You Fly Into? guide which is coming soon. However, we wouldn’t automatically pay for the Hilton before every flight.
What About a Short-Haul Flight?
This is where we would probably choose the Novotel again. If we were flying somewhere such as Paris for a few days, had relatively little luggage and weren’t facing a long travel day, a five-to-ten-minute journey to Newcastle Airport wouldn’t bother us enough to justify a substantial price difference. We would rather put the saving towards the trip itself.
There is an exception. If we had an extremely early departure and found the Hilton at a good price, its location could still persuade us even for short haul. Walking straight out of the hotel and into the airport has an appeal at any time of day, but particularly when the alarm is going off at an hour when nobody really wants to be awake. That is why we don’t think this comparison has a simple winner.
DoubleTree by Hilton or Novotel Newcastle Airport – Which Would We Book Again?
We would happily stay at both, but for different trips.
For a long-haul holiday, particularly when travelling as a family with several large cases, we would choose the DoubleTree by Hilton Newcastle International Airport. The extra convenience at the beginning of what is already going to be a very long journey is worth paying something for, and our experience of walking to the terminal with all of our luggage reinforced that.
For a short-haul trip, we would be much more price-conscious. The Novotel is close enough that the short drive to Newcastle Airport isn’t particularly burdensome, and if there were a meaningful saving, we would choose it and keep the difference for the holiday.
The deciding factor isn’t really whether the Hilton is a better hotel. For us, it was. The question is whether you need the thing it does best.
If you have an early start, lots of luggage or a long-haul journey ahead, being almost outside the terminal can make the beginning of your holiday noticeably easier. If you’re travelling light for a short European break, being five or ten minutes away may be perfectly adequate.
We’ve tested the same idea at Heathrow too, where being directly connected to the terminal potentially has even more value before a long-haul journey. You can read our Sofitel Heathrow Terminal 5 – Is the Convenience Worth the Price?
Our choice at Newcastle going forward will therefore be fairly simple: long haul, we’d look at the Hilton first; short haul, we’d compare the prices and would be very happy to return to the Novotel.
Quick FAQ
Which hotel is closest to Newcastle Airport?
The DoubleTree by Hilton Newcastle International Airport is immediately beside the terminal and is officially described as approximately a two-minute walk away. The Novotel requires a short drive; our journey took around five to seven minutes.
Which Newcastle Airport hotel would we choose before a long-haul flight?
The Hilton. Travelling as a family with long-haul luggage made the ability to walk straight to the terminal particularly valuable. It removed another transfer from the start of an already long journey.
Which would we choose for a short-haul flight?
Probably the Novotel if it offered a worthwhile saving. For a shorter trip with less luggage, we don’t think a brief drive to the airport is a major inconvenience.
Which had the better room?
The Hilton overall. Our family room was exceptionally spacious and had excellent blackout curtains, strong soundproofing and a great runway view. The Novotel was smaller and more basic, but clean and perfectly adequate for an overnight airport stay. We have since learned the Hilton is in the middle of a refurbishment program which should make it al the better.
Is staying at Newcastle Airport worth it?
For us, yes before long-haul travel, provided the price difference isn’t excessive. Before short-haul travel, we’d compare the cost of the Hilton with nearby alternatives before deciding. The convenience of being able to walk straight into the terminal is fantastic, but you need to decide how much that convenience is worth for the particular trip you’re taking.
Planning a Florida Holiday?
Our Hilton stay was the beginning of our journey to Miami and another Florida family adventure. If you’re planning your own trip from the UK, our Florida Planning Guide is the best place to start. From there you can find our Disney and Universal planning guides, hotel experiences and practical advice based on our own Florida trips.
As our latest Florida series is published, we’ll also be adding our more of our experiences away from the theme parks.
Prices and parking charges mentioned reflect our stay/current information when this article was prepared and can change. Always check the hotel and airport directly for current rates before booking.