The Metropolitan
Bed & Breakfast
ABOUT
We would love to welcome you to our guest house in Whitley Bay
Our stylish guest house is close to everything you could need for a memorable break in Whitley Bay. Many charming and quirky original details remain, while meaningful modernisations have also been made, resulting in a comfortable and luxurious space to relax and recharge by the coast.
Enjoy our truly wonderful home from home
Our philosophy
The traditional concept of a guest house which has become tedious, clichéd and predictable needed to be revisited. In an era of constantly expanding large corporate brands, there is an increasing demand for individuality, originality and perhaps most important of all, intelligence. Here at the Metropolitan it is all about simplicity and relaxation. Our linens, bathrooms and food are of the best quality, while the property itself retains the elegant informality of a fine home, rather than a typical guest house. Public rooms are designed for use and enjoyment. We create thoughtful, original ideas by being aware of you the guest and above all question – who is this for and what do they want? We believe we are only as good as our last review.
A BIG GEORDIE WELCOME AWAITS YOU IN THE NORTH EAST
OUR ROOMS
Our rooms have been thoughtfully renovated to provide a modern décor and space that is great to relax for holidays or work
Each of our rooms has its own en-suite bathroom with shower facilities
We provide luxury toiletries, bed linen, and tea & coffee facilities
WiFi is provided throughout the building
We offer a varied breakfast menu and cater for any special dietary requirements
OUR SERVICES
Breakfast
We provide a full selection of breakfast options which you can choose from our menu. We cater for vegetarians and any special dietary requirements
Wifi
We have full WiFi throughout the building
Luxury Toiletries/ Linen
We provide luxury Cole & Lewis toiletries in our rooms and our bedding and towels are made of 100% cotton
GALLERY
THINGS TO DO
Shopping/Food
Whitley Bay is a bustling town centre with a diverse retail offer. There are many fine independent retailers selling everything you would expect on a high street. Park View Shopping Centre is a small indoor mall with high street names and smaller shops. There is convenient and affordable parking on the centre roof which is also ideal for shopping in the wider town. Park View is home to many smaller independent traders selling quality local produce, gifts, furniture and fashion. Whitley Road is the other main street and they merge together in the town centre. There is a fine choice of coffee shops and cafes to take a break from your retail therapy along the way. Whitley Bay Metro Station is a short walk away and a number of bus routes from across the region arrive and depart in the town centre.
Theatre - Whitley Bay Playhouse
This 630-seater theatre was given a complete overhaul in the early 2010s as part of a £64million regeneration of Whitley Bay. The venue had been around since the 1930s, and the crumbling building was turned into a state-of-the-art performing arts venue.
The theatre has a lively community programme if you’re interested in sampling local talent. But there’s also a busy schedule of touring theatre companies, musicals, tribute acts, comedians, special events for children and talks by politicians and cultural figures. Look out for the Whitley Bay Film Festival in August, which has a carefully curated line-up of classic movies.
Whitley Bay Beach
Two miles long, Whitley Bay beach is all golden sand speckled with little rocky crops.
There’s a raised promenade behind, which itself is backed by the open greenery of the Links on the foreshore.
Come for a walk here in any season, when you’ll have clear views over the bay to St Mary’s Lighthouse.
But when things warm up in summer there’s a great deal happening on the Blue Flag beach, like an annual sand castle competition at the end of July.
St Mary’s Lighthouse
After unwinding on the beach, you may be up for a bite at the Rendezvous Cafe, or a round of mini golf or even “footgolf” on the Links.
When the tide is out you can cross the causeway to St Mary’s Island for the Victorian lighthouse, which was deactivated in 1984. This emblem for Whitley Bay dates back to 1898 and is built with 750,000 bricks and 645 stone blocks.
The best, and most taxing, part of your visit will be heading up the 137 steps for the phenomenal vistas over Whitley Bay and Tyneside.
At the foot of the lighthouse is a small complex with a visitor centre where you can read up on the history of the lighthouse, see the original Fresnel lens and learn about the species that reside in the nature reserve that now makes up most of St Mary’s Island.
There’s also a live feed from the top of the lighthouse for anyone who can’t make the climb.
Spanish City
As essential to Whitley Bay as the lighthouse, this whitewashed Renaissance-style hall was built on the seafront in 1910. Hard to miss for its white dome and the Bacchanalian statues cresting its towers, Spanish City was Whitley Bay’s answer to Blackpool’s Pleasure Beach.
Initially there was a concert hall, restaurant, tearooms and roof garden inside, and this was later joined by a ballroom and funfair.
By the 1990s this icon was run down and had to be closed at the start of the 2000s.
But, following a seven-year restoration, Spanish City reopened in 2018 as an events and dining centre.
Inside there’s a fish and chip restaurant, a traditional tearoom, the upmarket eatery 1910, a waffle and pancake house, Gift shop and a champagne bar.
Tynemouth Priory & Castle
Two stops on the Metro will get you to a medieval site that was once one of the England’s largest fortified complexes.
Posted on a rugged headland and defended by a moat are the towers, keep and gatehouse of a castle, all beside a ruined Benedictine priory where the early-Medieval Kings of Northumbria were buried.
You have to come to gauge the amazing dimensions of this site, look over the ruins and survey the Tyne and North Sea from this elevated position.
After the priory was dissolved during the Reformation the church became a parish church for a time, and the main survivor is the 13th-century chapel below, which has a beautiful painted ceiling, rose window and an abundance of stained glass.
In the Second World War a gun battery was built into the cliff below the site, and these restored emplacements have been opened to the public.
There’s lots of room for families to make the most of the beach on summer days, playing on the sand and paddling in the pools and shallows when the tide goes out.
