Name: Budget Lodge
Address: Ogle Terrace, Alnwick, Alnwick, Alnwick, NE66 1SX, United Kingdom
Rating: 5

24-hour reception

Smoke-free property

Heating

Terrace

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

General

Room service

Family room

Hairdryer

Flat-screen TV

Shower/Bathtub

Shower

Linens

Rooms

Iron

Services and amenities

Kettle

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Free parking

Parking

Beach/pool towels

Pool and beach

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Location

At the guest house

Room amenities

Bailiffgate Museum

Lilidorei at The Alnwick Garden

Willowburn Sports and Leisure Centre

Newcastle International Airport

Budget Lodge

Alnwick

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

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22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

After seeing some of the reviews here, I was genuinely a bit concerned that we had booked a night at this lodge. For £59 a night you sort of expect things to be a little basic but at the same time expect it to be safe, clean, and reasonably comfortable. Some of the photos and reviews had me worried this wouldn’t be the case. I don’t normally do reviews but feel some of the comments left by other reviewers are a little unfair.

It is true that the lodge is unattended but we found Ruth most helpful and very friendly when we called her up. It is left unlocked but I didn’t at any point feel unsafe (access is through an archway and a sidegate into a back yard). The room (we were in room 1 on the ground floor) was a little tired and would perhaps benefit from a lick of paint but it was clean, comfortable, and everything worked. We stayed one night after a wedding at Alnwick Treehouse and returned home after. For a short stay it was absolutely fine. Just don’t expect the red carpet. The clue is in the name.



Ideal for an overnight stop

Reading the reviews, this place didn't sound great. But we are always open minded.
On arrival, we had no idea where to park, only deciphered by reading past reviews. There is no one to greet us. Although this was not really required for such a small place. We just let ourselves in.
The room we had was clean, warm and comfortable. We had access to a kettle, plenty teabags, coffee etc. The room has a tv, shower, clothes rail, everything you need for a short stay. 
A little noisy round this area and the guests upstairs were very noisy to. We were awoken at midnight. 
In the brochure we would liked to have seen some places we could visit for breakfast the next morning 😉.
We would come back to stay. 


One night stay

In an industry full of blatant misnomer, it is heartwarming to find a hotel that emphatically and undeniably delivers on its name. The Savoy is regrettably not a cabbage; the Ritz is not a small salted cracker upon which you place cheese; and Caesar's armies, despite triumphantly conquering Gaul with relative ease, did not advance as far as Las Vegas to establish any sort of Palace. The Budget Lodge is budget, and is lodgings.

The authors of the many 'terrible' reviews are labouring under a misapprehension that this establishment is some den of opulent luxury, only to find a small, plain, unstaffed lodge - the thing they explicitly advertise themselves as. 

There is no chocolate on the pillow when you arrive. Boo hoo.

Here are some facts
- The bed was comfortable and the linen was clean
- The hot water was hot
- The room was warm
- The plugs all worked
- There was free Wi-Fi
- There was loads of free tea. I could literally have had twenty cups of tea if I wanted

AND YES, I did not see a single member of staff (or another guest) during the entire time I was there, BUT I did receive an email explaining what to do on arrival, thus making a front desk obsolete. Hiring someone to sit at a desk will drive up the price anyway.

AND YES, there was a big coffee stain on the bottom bit of the divan bed, BUT have you tried getting coffee out of upholstered furniture? It's impossible. Did it affect my night's sleep. No.

AND YES, the radiator was dripping rusty water, BUT there was a tupperware collecting it and a nice little note apologising, and politely asking me if I would empty the water out before bed to ensure it doesn't overflow. Very thoughtful.

AND YES, Deep Blue would have struggled to work out the combination of taps to turn on, and in what order, to get the shower hot, BUT there was a helpful set of instructions provided and I succeeded in having a hot shower.

AND YES, the shower pole had come off the wall, causing the head to loom over me like the Sword of Damocles, but ultimately this improved the experience. The newly vertical streams had morphed it into a rainforest shower. I once went to the Savoy. It didn't have rainforest showers.

So, if like me you go on Booking.com and select the cheapest option every time, followed by a quick prayer for a clean bed, then this place is an absolute winner. Zero pretence and low prices. Don't expect the earth, just enjoy a perfectly adequate experience.

“If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed.”
Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Emphatic adequacy

We stayed here on Saturday 8th June.Room was clean. There was a strange ritual to get the shower to work, so maybe a bit of investment in pluming is needed. Also, as mentioned, the reception is just open, maybe a Videx entry system would be a good idea. Also, there is no parking.

Adequate

We were seeking inexpensive accommodation in Alnwick for 4 nights. £60 a night. Our needs were basic- and if basic is what you seek this fits the bill. 

Positives- Room was large with a private bathroom with shower. Room on arrival was clean. WiFi available and works well. Decent sized TV. Bed was comfortable enough. Tea/Coffee facilities available but we didn’t use them. The cleaner came in 3 of the 4 nights. 

Negatives. My main concern is health and safety. The front door is left unlocked at all times. There is no reception or staff on site. This leaves guests vulnerable- particularly at night. I kept our room  door locked at all times. 
The key to our room was left on the bed in an unlocked room on arrival. Made me wonder about security. It’s an ordinary key- easily copied. We never left valuables in the room. 
If you lose the key- which we didn’t- you’ve got a problem with no staff on site. If you lost it in the room, or the key got damaged in the lock internally, you are locked in with no help available. 
The electricity in the room is provided by two sockets overloaded with plugs. A concern. 

Additionally, I noticed my bank had been debited with the full amount 4 full days BEFORE we even arrived. This is not what they claim on Booking.com. They say they test your card with a small amount and return that money to you. This did not happen. If you book be prepared for them to debut your card beforehand. Fortunately, it didn’t matter to me, but it may do for others who expect to pay at the end. 
The cleaner did not attend on our last day. 
My instruction in the book is to leave the key on the bed. Seems a bit haphazard. 

Finally, the description on Booking.Com of the facilities does not match the reality. 

We are both young and rolled with the problems - but many guests may struggle here. I would not book us here again. 

It was a borderline 2 or 3 star rating. I gave 3 because the standard of the room was “just” acceptable. It did not though provide me with total piece of mind while I was here. 
Hope the review is useful. 



Average with a few warnings.

We booked this hotel 6 months before our visit. 18 hours before our visit they cancelled all three rooms we had booked with no explanation. Please do not book, Expedia also did not help us with alternative accommodation

Don't book

Had a weekend away in Alnwick with my wife and teenage daughter and booked the Budget Lodge online. Online pictures of the rooms looked fine but when we arrived it was so much different.
Rooms where really run down with loose flooring in the bathroom. Loose taps that you had to hold with one hand and turn on with the other. Bath with no plug. If someone else in the hotel used the hot water the noise in our room was really loud as the water tank was in our bathroom cupboard. Window frames where stuffed with tissue paper , blinds held together with paperclips , radiator had something growing out of it in the bedroom and radiator in.the bathroom had a plastic tub underneath to catch the leak. The walk also had a hole in it and the room we had was on a very noisy road.

Run down

Was expecting a budget hotel as thats what I booked but on getting there had to ring contact number as no one site based .
Was told my room number and asked to use carpark to be informed it was out of use, I could have been advised of this in advance as apparently this was the case for months.
Reception door left unlocked all night so any one could enter the building (security needs looking at ).
Room was in need of refreshing and maintenance completed as rusty leaking radiator, shower needed some work.
Plenty tea n coffee but not enough milk left.bed comfortable so that's one positive. 
There was a strange smell in room and in reception. 
I think if updated people wouldn't mind paying a little extra to stay. 

Unfortunately I won't recommend or stay again (sorry) 

Took a look at the outside and the area around and it didn't look good. No parking was my main issue and as it appeared to be in a rough area (apologies to Alnwick if this is wrong) i didn't want to leave my vehicle elsewhere.

Budget Lodge

Main amenities of the guest house

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the guest house

What other amenities are there?

General

Rooms

Services and amenities

Meals

Internet

Parking

Pool and beach

Kids

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Additional information

Payment