I stayed at Newcastle's most luxurious hotel Dakota and climbed St James Park landmark to see Scotland

The distant sight of the Cheviot Hills is a reminder of the proximity of this amazing city, just 90 minutes away by train from Edinburgh.

I’d been whisked by Lumo’s popular service down the most dramatic, coastal section of the east coast main line to sample the luxury of Newcastle’s newest grand hotel, Dakota.

Before checking in, there was no better way of getting my bearings than by drinking in the all-round views from the home of Newcastle United, dramatically perched on a hill in the city centre.

I’m not a football fan, but immediately sensed the immense local pride in the club, from seeing its black and white strips as soon as I stepped off the train, and murals on buildings, to hearing there’s as many people on the waiting list as there are season ticket holders.

Donning hard hats and hi-vis jackets, we took a series of lifts before the final heart-in-your-mouth ascent via an outside staircase where you started to get a sense of the sheer distance from the ground.

Walkways lead round the edge of the stadium, then, unnervingly, onto a section right above the pitch, but it was still a breathtaking experience.

I have no head for heights, so keeping my eyes on the back of the person ahead of me while descending proved a very handy focus.

Looking south, I got my bearings by seeing the Tyne Bridge nestled among a jumble of riverside buildings, not far from my hotel.

The Dakota, just downstream from the classic city landmark, is impressive even on the approach along a European-style, tree-lined riverside boulevard, perhaps in immaculate condition as it's a private road.

The imposing, U-shaped six-storey building looks brand new but is actually former law firm offices.

An air of sophistication was immediately apparent as soon as I entered, being greeted by not one but two suited doormen beside the hotel's “rope dog sculpture” Howie, named after local greeting “howay”.

The subdued browns and greys of the hotel's lobby are supplemented by a classic racing car theme, with models on displays along with framed prints.

I stayed in a stunning "signature suite" on the fourth floor of one of the hotel's wings, the room partially divided by a floor-to-ceiling unit containing large screen TVs on either side.

Offering streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+, it means you can view from either the bed and the sitting area, with the screens neatly transforming into mirrors when switched off. Two remote controls is a clever touch.

The room was also well kitted out with nibbles for guests arriving famished from pounding the streets. Packets of biscuits are supplemented by a box of Dakota-branded chocolates, while there were regular or decaffeinated coffee pods for the Nespresso machine in addition to a kettle for tea.

However, the most impressive feature of the suite was the easiest-to-operate shower I’ve ever come across, requiring the press of a single button.

The view up the river from the six sets of windows across two walls of the room was amazing, the Gateshead Millennium footbridge in the foreground with the Tyne Bridge and others behind. Right opposite are the giant quayside flour mills which have been transformed into the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

Heading down to the Grill restaurant for dinner, passing attractively lit and furnished bar areas, I noticed the dinner menu included a variety of steaks starting at £36 but topped by an eye-watering £150 for Japanese wagyu rib eye.

I opted for what I thought would be a lighter item - wild mushroom, balsamic and Parmesan gnocchi (£18) - which turned to be as rich as it was delicious, and, very unusually, almost defeated me.

While I was at dinner, the staff transformed my room for sleeping, turning down the bed, closing the curtains and adjusting the lighting, including fetching low level illumination in the bathroom, complete with mats laid out beside the bath and shower.

The only minor problem I encountered in such a luxurious environment was adjusting the air conditioning to make the room cool enough, since the windows don't open.

Subscribe today to the Scotsman’s Transport newsletter

Concluding my stay with a perfect eggs benedict for breakfast, I was keen to explore more of the hotel’s quayside environs.

It got me thinking that aspects of that area are reminiscent - in entirely different ways - of both Glasgow and Edinburgh.

For me, the cluster of bridges over the Tyne echo those crossing the Clyde, while the lanes or “chares” and long flights of stairs which indent the steep descent from the city centre to the river have parallels with the narrow closes of Edinburgh's Old Town.

As well as exploring on foot, I gained an entirely different perspective - and covered a far greater distance - with a two-hour excursion offered by Newcastle City Tours.

It proved a very pleasant amble on mostly traffic-free routes or segregated cycle lanes, my knowledgeable guide Anna leading me through up-and-coming areas such as the Ouseburn , where former workshops have been turned into artists' studios, and green spaces such as Jesmond Dene and the huge Town Moor, where cattle graze.

Dakota hotel, 112 Quayside, Newcastle, NE1 3DX, 0191-406 8777, dakotahotels.co.uk/newcastle

St James Park Stadium Tours, Strawberry Place, Newcastle, NE1 4ST, newcastleunited.com/en/st-james-park/stadium-tours, 0344 372 1892

Newcastle Cycle Tours, The Cycle Hub, Quayside, NE6 1BU, newcastlecycletours.co.uk, 07754 058577

Lumo operates up to five trains a day between Edinburgh and London trains via Newcastle. lumo.co.uk, 0345 528 0409