Wetherspoon to open first-ever 'super pub' with 26-room hotel and Britain's biggest beer garden

A Wetherspoon 'super pub' is on the way - as budget pub chain, JD Wetherspoons, has begun work on launching its biggest branch yet, with 26 hotel rooms and Britain's 'biggest beer garden'.

Work began this week on the £5 million project, which has been in the pipeline since 2018, but was halted by Covid. The ambitious venture will see existing Wetherspoons pub, the Mile Castle, in Newcastle, double in size, as it incorporates the city's first Wetherspoons hotel, as well as a 3,000-square-foot open-air space.

A complete interior refurbishment will be carried out at the site on the corner of Grainger Street and Westgate Road, with new carpets fitted, upgraded lighting, and an expansion of the third-floor bar. A brand-new cellar is also due to be built to align with the multi-level designs in the beer garden, designed to house a terrace and patio area, according to the Express.

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Wetherspoon bosses have revealed that all the rooms within the hotel will boast their own en-suite, with two specifically tailored for guests with disabilities. A spokesman for the chain shared that the hotel will be constructed in a neighbouring building, which previously housed Samuel Phillips law firm, along with being the past residence of Dr. C J Gibb, famously known through The Blaydon Races.

Wetherspoon founder and chairman, Tim Martin, added: "The investment highlights our commitment to the pub, its customers and staff, as well as the city of Newcastle."

The Mile Castle, a popular pub in Newcastle, is set to become the location of Wetherspoon's first hotel in the city. Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: "The Mile Castle is an extremely popular pub, and we are confident that our customers will welcome the work being undertaken in the pub, as well as the creation of our first hotel in the city."

The new hotel, which will be situated above the pub, is expected to open in November, and will be run by an army of 200 staff - the 130 that already work on the site, plus new jobs for an extra 70 people.

But the bad news is that the pub itself will be closed for the summer months while the hotel is being built. The Mile Castle will lock its doors from June 24, until its re-opening day on September 3.

The nearest Wetherspoon hotel to Newcastle locals during this time will be The Angel Hotel in Whitby. It's one of just 55 hotels owned by the famous pub chain across "Britain and Ireland's coastal, countryside, and city locations".

Each of the hotels, which are situated above or near a Wetherspoon pub serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, has its unique character, with many in restored historic buildings.