When we were invited to stay overnight at Beadnell Towers as a treat for Bo’s 40th birthday we jumped at the chance. We’d been invited to the relaunch of this 18 room boutique hotel in the heart of Northumberland and couldn’t make it but after seeing the press pack we’d been desperate to visit. Set in Beadnell Bay, which was recently listed at number 16 in The Sunday Times Top 40 UK Beaches, Beadnell Towers has undergone a radical but sympathetic restoration and refurbishment which pays homage to the character of the original stone building.
On the day of our visit there was a storm of epic proportions which brought the A1 to a standstill and delayed our check-in massively. We aquaplaned our way there and instead of the 90 minute journey we expected, it took us a hideous 4 hours to get to our destination meaning we checked in right before our dinner reservation at 6pm, giving us just enough time to change.
Staff at Beadnell Towers are friendly and welcoming and offered to carry our soaking bags up to our room for us, after such a long and frustrating journey a warm friendly greeting hit all the right spots.
Walking through The Towers, you can’t help but be drawn in by the attention to detail, from the point of entry the tone is clear; Beadnell Towers is a home away from home. They’ve thought about the things you might have forgotten, rainboots by the door, umbrellas incase of bad weather, beautiful toiletries in each room and a pantry on each floor with fresh milk and bottled water for guests to use at their convenience. Management want you to use The Towers like it’s your home and it’s been renovated with that in mind; there’s a water cooler by the entrance laced with fresh fruit, a library tucked away at the back of the bar and pet bowls are provided. There’s even a cute secluded roof terrace which we were shown, however didn’t get to use given that the weather was absolute garbage.
After a short walk up a huge open staircase with the original stone wall and some beautiful feature lighting, we’re shown to Muckle Hoose. A suite like no other. This double room packs a punch and a pinch me moment as the door opens to reveal its twin copper bathtubs sitting atop a backlit plinth behind the bed. The room has everything you expect from a luxury boutique hotel – and more. There are tea and coffee making facilities in each room along with locally sourced shortbread biscuits (the hotel are happy to provide more if you ask), an iron and ironing board if you fancy taking a load up with you, and a wardrobe for stowing luggage.
There’s a handy writing desk in the room, a huge TV which you can temporarily sync up your Netflix and Prime accounts to to use whilst staying in the hotel (just remember to ‘forget this device’ before you leave), a small thought, but one which makes all the difference especially when the weather isn’t so great, or if you have small children to entertain whilst you’re getting ready.
The bathroom is lavishly appointed, considering there are two tubs in the room; the separate bathroom has still been a huge consideration in the design of the suite. There’s a huge double walk in shower with drencher heads, there’s easily enough room in there to move around too – these are meticulously planned and built bespoke for the space and it shows in the build quality and the amount of space in each room. Jack and Jill sinks mean that two adults can comfortably use the bathroom at the same time with no waiting around and there’s the added luxury of automated low level, low wattage lighting as any night wanderers or insomniacs like me will discover. These are all very thoughtful, very cool extras that will make you rethink your home spaces from the moment you check out.
Ok so what did we get up to? Well, we didn’t actually have a lot of time given our utter debacle of a journey so we landed, had a quick change and headed straight downstairs to our dinner reservation in the hotel’s restaurant. The restaurant itself wraps around from the hotel bar and constantly smells amazing. We had a brief chat with the chef who advised that where possible it’s the ethos of Beadnell Towers to use local ingredients and produce in a mission to support other local businesses and growers – something we really liked.
As we sat and pored over the menu I drank a local gin, with tonic – a total rarity for me as I’m usually alcohol free but it was super refreshing, reminded me of Menorcan Summers and I wasn’t hammered after one – bonus. The menu at Beadnell Towers is a treat just to read, there are some absolute culinary delights on there and it took us an absolute age to decide, but we finally settled on the most amazing Seafood Platter of locally sourced fish, mussels, crab and other weird and wonderful things. As with everything that leaves the kitchen, the presentation of the more exotic food on the menu at Beadnell Towers is what draws you in – we overheard three other tables ask their servers what it is that we were having just based on sight.
Over dinner we got chatting to Deputy Manager Joann about Cadwell Park – the next place we’re visiting and we discover that her mum set a land speed record some years ago at that very race track so we bond over all things motorsport and she’s genuinely interested to hear about what we’ll be getting up to on track the following day so spends some time chatting with us.
After dinner when we decided to call it a night, we swung by the pantry to pick up some water and found it empty. A quick visit to the bar proved fruitful, we were advised that if ever the pantry is empty, the same bottled water is kept in fridges behind the bar for guests too so it’s always nice and cold. Once back in our room, we decided to test out those copper slipper tubs. One of them is perfectly positioned for watching TV, the other not so much so you have to either turn off the TV in advance or attempt to force your partner to talk to you if, like me, you forgot and also drew the short straw.
We found two unexpectedly brilliant things about Beadnell Towers Hotel, they’re probably the two most important things when it comes to an overnight stay anywhere either in the UK or further afield, and quite possibly the most overlooked; these are the bed, and the breakfast. At this hotel I’m assuming all of the beds are pretty much the same but can only comment on the one that we slept in in the Muckle Hoose suite and we can honestly say (both of us) it’s the most comfortable bed we’ve ever slept in. We tried (very hard) to find out what type of mattress was on it and failed so have made a note to contact the hotel and ask because as a Fibromyalgia and Ehlers-Danlos sufferer, it was the most perfect mattress, period.
Secondly, the breakfast. Worth visiting for alone. The breakfast is fit for a king; for hotel residents there’s the obligatory continental set up – with a twist – as a lot of what you see in the buffet has been sourced locally. You’ll find grains, cereals, fruit and yoghurt. Then there’s a separate table set up with muffins, pastries and other deli type goods some of which we brought away with us for our journey – encouraged by hotel staff.
The real joy though is in the cooked to order breakfast menu. Once you’ve steeled yourself with something from the buffet and some of the best freshly ground black coffee I’ve had since Spain and Milan, you’ll find yourself at sixes and sevens trying to select something from the concise, but mouthwatering breakfast menu. From Craster Kippers to American style pancakes and the obvious choice of a Full English, each breakfast option is prepared fresh to order in the semi open kitchen. Being a stalwart, Bo opted for the Full English breakfast, and being a fence sitter I opted for both the American style pancakes (in tribute to Miami) and Eggs Benedict because it’s a breakfast favourite of mine and I consider myself to be an excellent critic.
In between ordering and actually eating, we decided to head over to the kitchen for a chat with the chefs and they told us that occasionally new and unique dishes are added to the menu if local fishermen come up with something weird and wonderful in their catch. As our food arrives at the table it’s clear to see that breakfast (in my opinion) is the dish that Beadnell Towers puts their passion into. Most guests have travelled to Beadnell from around the North East or further afield to visit the magnificent coastline we have up here, the likelihood is that they’ve been out walking, hiking, boating or driving onward and exploring during their stay and this hotel has quietly considered all of that. That’s why there are rainboots and umbrellas, drencher head showers to soothe aching muscles, sewing kits in the rooms to darn split socks and the most comfortable beds you could ever imagine to take a load off after a heavy day. The creature comforts like TV’s which allow you to sync up your own streaming services, free and easy access to water and milk – little things which go unnoticed but make a stay that little bit smoother.
And then there is the breakfast. Because after you have explored, or even before you have explored, you need to fuel up. The hotel serves up a breakfast of champions; the Eggs Benedict is as good as Phuc Yea (my favourite Eggs Benedict ever), it doesn’t have that harsh change in temperature or texture and the eggs are cooked to perfection. The Full English got the double thumbs up from Bo and I wasn’t offered any so I guess that means it was pretty awesome right? The hands down winner though was the pancakes. A small stack of light, fluffy buttermilk pancakes topped with fresh fruit and maple syrup.
After breakfast when we came to check out, we had to leave early as we had to pick up Plankton from his respite unit then get the bikes in the van ready to head to Cadwell Park for our track day (which you can read about here). Because the weather had changed and started to brighten up, you could get a sense of just how pretty the immediate surrounding area is. We’ll definitely make time to re-visit Beadnell Bay and explore the area, we’ve heard the fish and chips up there are amazing!
Pixie
