Getting there by Car
These are directions for people coming from the north or south on the A1, if you are coming from any other direction, get the AA website or similar to give you directions to the A19 & pick up the directions from the Silverlink roundabout below. The directions below are exactly what the AA routefinder recommends, but having driven it a few thousand times, our description is... a little more personal :)
From the South on the A1
Just after the Washington Services on the A1(M), the road splits in two, get in the right hand lane & bear off on to A194 signposted for the Tyne Tunnel.
Follow this road for a bit, over a number of roundabouts. Beware, the second roundabout (with a little chef on the far left hand corner) has a signpost saying turn right for the Tyne Tunnel. IGNORE THIS, it just takes you round a big loop to avoid a residential area, the direct main route is straight on.
At the next roundabout, turn left, signposted A19 and the Tyne Tunnel & in a few hundred metres you will hit the entrance to the Tyne Tunnel. This is a toll tunnel, £1 for cars that you pay at the far end. Have the right change with you & you get to toss it into a little basket to open the barrier which always strikes me as much more fun than handing it to a guard.
If it is anywhere near rush hour, the tunnel can be very busy, but stick with it & queues do keep moving, even if slowly.
At the far side of the tunnel, take the first exit left at the roundabout. The next roundabout you hit is the SilverLink roundabout
Take the last exit signposted A1058 & Tynemouth.
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Follow the A1058 (the coast road) all the way to the roundabout (Billymill) at the end & take the second exit (i don't know what the signposts say here, probably tynemouth and the coast).
Keep going straight, over several roundabouts and stop when you hit the sea... that big white building on your left is the Park Hotel.
Coming from the north on the A1
About 8 miles south of Morpeth, take the left turn onto the A19.
Keep following the road (still signposted for the tyne tunnel) for another 8 or 9 miles until you reach the Silverlink roundabout with the A1058.
Turn left onto the A1058 & then follow the directions from the *** above.
NB: If you are coming from the south & have a morbid fear of tunnels under rivers or can't afford the £1 toll, you can stay on the A1 until the junction with the A184 & come across the tyne bridge. you will have to negotiate a nasty set of junctions though, & if it is anywhere near rush hour, this route is VERY busy.
By Plane
From the airport, there are a couple of ways of getting to the hotel.
First is the Metro.
The Metro has a stop at the airport, which is clearly signposted. You take the Metro (there's only one line out of the airport, so you can't get on the wrong one) going towards Newcastle city centre. The stop you get off at is South Gosforth. You swap over platforms from one to two and get on a second Metro. (Unfortunately, there is no direct Metro from the airport to the coast). Two lines run through South Gosforth. The Airport Metro will take you back the way you came. The second line is the St James / Coast line. This is the one you want.
Metro map if anyone wants to see the route.
The Park Hotel is between Cullercoats and Tynemouth. Cullercoats is the first stop, and if you stay on until Tynemouth you will actually see the hotel as the Metro passes it.
The Metro works on a zone system. For Central Station to Tynemouth, it is a three-zone ticket for £2.40. For the Airport to Tynemouth, it is a two-zone ticket for £1.80.
The hotel is pretty much in the middle between the two stops, and if you decided to walk it would take about 15-20 minutes to reach the hotel from either station.
You can get off at Cullercoats, come out of the station and walk straight to the bottom of the street (Station Road), where there is a bus stop across the road. One of the buses that stops here is the 301.
The timetable for the 301 is here:
http://www.tyneandweartimetables.co.uk/library/301-gne-03-09-05.pdf
It's a pdf file, mind.
Once on the 301, it's about 3 short bus stops to the hotel. The bus stops just past the hotel (on the other side of the road). If you ask the bus driver they'll be more than willing to give a yell when the Park comes up.
You can also get the 325. This goes around the houses a bit, but drops off at the same bus stop.
The 325 timetable is here: http://www.tyneandweartimetables.co.uk/library/325-326-gne-24-04-04.pdf
I'm not sure how much the bus ticket will be, but it should be less than £1.
Or, once you get to the station, you can get a taxi. It's less than 5 minutes drive and should only be less £3.
The second way of getting to the hotel from the airport is by taxi.
Two of the taxi fims around here do set fares from the airport. As long as it is one pick up and one drop off, so the airport directly to the Park Hotel, it will be a set fare of £13.50.
The two taxi firms are:
Briardene - 0191 251 0066
East Coast / Foxhunters - 0191 253 3770
Both of them have the set airport to Park Hotel fare as £13.50.
If a couple of people are coming in together, it may be worth sharing a taxi.
By Train
If you are coming in by train, you will be getting off at Newcastle Central Station. Central Station is connected to the Metro line, just the same as the airport - just follow the signs to the Metro station. The difference here is that you will not have to change Metros. Two lines run through Central Station. The Airport line (which you don't want) and the St James / Coast line (which you do!). The Metro will take you directly to Cullercoats, where you can either get a bus or a taxi (see above).
For those who would prefer to get a taxi from Central Station, there is also a set fare for Central Station to Park Hotel of around £15.00.
Note that if you are coming in on a Friday night these taxi firms get rather busy. If you come in by plane, then I would ring and book as soon as you get off the plane, and if you are coming in by train, I would ring when you get to Durham. Durham station is about 10-15 minutes outside of Newcastle, meaning you're waiting 10-15 minutes less. (It can take 30 minutes to get into Newcastle if the roads are busy.)
If you are going to get a taxi, it is worth getting Briardene or East Coast/Foxhunters. A black cab from either the Airport or Central Station may cost you upwards of £25-£30 to get to Tynemouth. The advantage of a set fare is that you don't worry about the driver taking the long route to get more money (because it's the same no matter how long he takes), and you don't have to keep watching the cost click up.