Accommodating desk staff, great room which was comfortable and very clean.
Bathroom with fantastic shower also very clean.
Included breakfast was plentiful in both choice and quantity.
I needed an iron and board and they were delivered to the room almost immediately.

Just back from an overnight stay at this hotel. The room was lovely (pillows a bit flat) and clean, with a very large en-suite. The reception staff were very helpful.
Breakfast was a different matter, though - choice of cereals etc. was fine but the hot breakfast was not what we expected and clearly wasn't freshly-cooked. The beans looked as if they had congealed on the (cold) plate, some mushroomswere cooked less than others, sausage and bacon were cold and the scrambled egg bore no resemblance to any other we've had. When the pretty-much untouched plates were cleared away, we were asked straight away if it "wasn't very nice" which gave us the impression it wasn't the first time guests hadn't finished their breakfasts. Would go back if this improved.

I wish I'd gone on trip advisor before booking the Dene - their own reviews were glowing.This hotel seems to have had some cosmetic improvement (everywhere smelled of paint), but don't be fooled, the place is truly vile! I was given the key to 4 rooms before (at 10.30. pm) tired and desperate I was able to sleep the night there - and even then the bathroom was filthy. Room number 3 was infested with bed bugs (I killed 6 of them!). I left at 8.00. next morning without risking breakfast. I wrote three weeks ago requesting a refund of my £42.00. 'bargain' rate but heard nothing. They should have paid me to stay there, but clearly customer care is not a priority at the Dene. I wrote a review on their website , but interestingly it hasn't appeared. Avoid this place at all costs. Moral: You (usually) get what you pay for and if the price looks to good to be true it is.

My friends and I go down to the Great North Run every year. We've started tom stay at the Dene Hotel. We find Paul and his staff/family are very friendly and go out of their way to make you welcome.
The rooms are clean and compact and the showers are perfect. I noticed the last review, a bad one, was from 2006. Well, things have changed since then definitely for the better! We're all looking forward to our next visit - some of us have already booked for next September!