Newcastle Herald Topics: Tripadvisor reviews show love for Kingsley, but not for Newcastle's iconic clocktower next door

But, judging by some reviews on Tripadvisor, the historic timepiece's proximity to the new five-star Kingsley hotel has on occasion been at odds with a good night's sleep.

"Certainly didn't make the most of the lovely room and comfy bed given we were woken with the loud clock bells every hour on the hour during our stay," one reviewer wrote on August 14. "The 12 chimes at midnight felt like they went forever. 1 chime at 1am, 2 chimes at 2am, 3 chimes at 3am, 4 chimes at 4am etc was certainly not ideal on a Sunday morning."

Another guest wrote on August 26: "The Newcastle clock tower goes off on the hour overnight. Probably best to ask for a room on the other side of the building."

The hotel has been generally well received since opening just over a year ago, earning an average rating of 4/5 on Tripadvisor, and its top-floor bar and restaurant have been hugely popular with visitors and locals.

Topics has been told a few hotel guests have raised the issue of the late-night bell with hotel management, who in turn have brought it up informally with the council.

The council, which sold the "roundhouse" building to the Crystalbrook hotel group for about $16.5 million in 2018, checked its records and found no formal complaints made by the hotel or its guests.

The council told Topics it had no plans to change the chime, which has been ringing on the hour since 1929, apart from an 18-month spell for renovations in 2015-16.

"The clock tower is a well loved grand old dame and her chiming adds to the city's background urban flow and hum, in symphony with the horns that echo from Newcastle's 24-hour working harbour port," a spokesperson said. "The clock tower's everyday operations meet noise acoustic requirements."

In 2017, with the help of a keen-eared community, Topics reported clock's sound had changed following renovations.

"Council hasn't deliberately changed the sound of the bell chimes. When we repaired the clock tower, we found a broken spring in the bell hammer," council CEO Jeremy Bath said at the time. "By replacing it, the sound has changed ever so slightly. But of course the new sound is really the old sound."

Topics can't help but wonder if the "old sound" would have been any less abrasive to the ears of Kingsley guests.

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