Newcastle Hotel, Restaurant and Sports Bar Celebrate 15 Years at the Heart of City’s Hospitality Scene
A Newcastle city centre hotel, bar and restaurant opposite St James’ Park are celebrating 15 years as part of the city’s bustling hospitality scene.
The 170-bedroom Sandman Signature Newcastle Hotel and its onsite bar and restaurant, Shark Club Newcastle, opened in September 2011. The site is also home to the head office for owners Northland Properties, which operates additional hotels and dining venues in Glasgow, Sheffield, Aberdeen, Dublin and London Gatwick. A hotel in Edinburgh is the next venture for the group, with a 240-bedroom hotel currently in the planning stages.
The anniversary brings together the hotel’s role in welcoming visitors to the city with Shark Club’s central place in Newcastle’s match-day and sports-bar scene.
Over the past 15 years the hotel has welcomed over one million guests, filling more than 610,000 rooms. It currently employs 120 people, six of whom have worked there since the doors first opened. Celebrities who have checked in include Stephen Graham, Jimmy Carr, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Gascoigne, Chris Gascoyne from Coronation Street and Larry Lamb.
Three hundred and twenty people have been employed at Shark Club since it opened, with four original members of staff still working there. Employees have progressed from bussers, hosts, servers and chefs to general managers, assistant general managers, regional directors and executive chefs.
The venue was the first place to bring chicken wings as a dining concept to Newcastle and has served more than 20 million wings, along with more than 1.5 million pints pulled. It has also seen two marriage proposals and welcomed celebrity visitors including Romeo Beckham, The Saturdays, Love Island’s Adam Collard and the cast from Geordie Shore. Basketball team the Newcastle Eagles and rugby union’s Newcastle Red Bulls are regular weekly visitors.
Kelly Murray, Regional Director for the UK and Ireland, started working for the Sandman Hotel Group in 2012. She commented: “Fifteen years at Sandman Hotel Group has flown by, and I feel incredibly lucky to have been part of the journey. We’ve picked up some brilliant awards along the way, but what I’m proudest of is the team we’ve built – so many of us have been together for years, and that longevity says everything about the culture here. We’ve grown up together. I’ve watched colleagues develop their careers just as I’ve developed mine, and the company has grown alongside us. I’ve even watched some get married to each other and start families!
“Some moments will stay with me forever. Our work with Teenage Cancer Trust has been one of the most rewarding parts of the job, and seeing our 100ft flag drop for Eddie Howe on Carabao Cup parade day is something I’ll never forget. Of course, it hasn’t all been easy. Getting through the pandemic together tested all of us, but it showed just how much our team pulls together when it matters. What means the most, though, is our guests. I’ve had the pleasure of looking after so many wonderful people over the years. Here’s to the next fifteen – I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Zoe Young started work as a server at Shark Club in 2011 and is now Regional Restaurant Manager for the UK and Ireland. She said: “There have been many highlights over the last 15 years, but none more so than the fact we still have loyal staff and regulars who have been with us through it all, from day one. There have been some hugely memorable nights, including our annual Super Bowl events, which always sell out, and the night Newcastle United FC was taken over in 2021 – I’ve never seen a buzz like it. Winning the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award in 2020 was a real highlight too. Personally, I’ll definitely never forget the day I abseiled off the roof to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust!”