Not sure I like Travel Lodges any more even at £9 night

helpmenow_2

Just wondwered how often dothey change sheets
Do they do everyday if youe staying for several days.
thanks

Tim_Deegan

chickmug wrote: »

A few months ago I got carried away booking loads of the £9 per night deals and am now going away every few weeks for two nights somewhere new. But in between have been on Hilton and Holiday Inn breaks which have been dearer but a world of difference.

Some of the Travel Lodges have been OK such as Bath and Cheltenham (both newly refurbised rooms) even though the same old room size and colours just a better vibe. But I have stayed at Glastonbury which I thought had a really bad vibe and just back from Ringwood and again felt it had a really bad vibe.

Do Travel Lodges have the poorer rooms for those who stay on these sale prices. When I think some of the rooms go for £60/£70 per night I shudder to think how I would feel having paid that?:eek:

So wondering if it is better, with the money I want to spend, within a set period, to have less breaks but at nicer places?

The rooms are all pretty much standard whatever price you pay. We book hotels on a regular basis for our drivers, and they have all asked me to avoid Travelodge in big towns and cities, because they are often dirty and grotty with things broken in the rooms. However if I was booking far enough ahead to get the rooms for £9, then I would have to tell them to stop complaining.

We use Premier Inn most of the time, and occasionally Inn Keepers Lodge, who are both on a par with each other. However it seems that Holiday Inn Express are the best of the group, but their on line booking is a nightmare.

bundly

I am 100% bewildered at the negative things I read on forums and Tripadvisor, etc about Travelodges.

I've stayed at those in Euston, Emsworth, Sheffield, Euston, Portsmouth, Aldgate, Liverpool Street, Shrewsbury, Alton, New Forest, Kew, Glasgow, Croydon, and loads more that I cannot remember. I've also during that time stayed (owing to business) at three, four and five-star hotels and in homely bed-and-breakfasts.

People moan that Travelodge rooms are characterless, all look the same, and are minimalistic, but I ask this: who goes on holiday to sit in their room and look at the furnishings? Do you really prefer your room to be cluttered up with someone else's choice of nick-nacks and ornaments, taking up space you need for your things? All I want is a long, empty worktop to drop all my stuff onto when I come back from a hard day's sightseeing/shopping. And that is what TL gives me.

Why is it I never seem to have the problems other people moan about? If we don't have enough towels or pillows or tea or sugar or soap or bedding we just ask for them and the staff cannot do enough for us.

We've never come across anything broken or not working --- oh sorry, we had a remote once where the batteries were dead. But all the showers, kettles, air-con, etc always work perfectly and are immaculate. We've never been double booked or turned away.

We are always amazed at how spotlessly clean everything is; we just love leaving the bed and room a huge mess, wet towels in the bath, tea-stained cups everywhere and bins overflowing ... then coming "home" to find everything tidied up and spotlessly clean.

We love the way the room is always the same no matter which TL you are in because it feels like home. We like not having to check out what is what, we can just get on with our stay.

In over 50 nights in the TL we've only once had cause for complaint. On that occasion I asked the receptionist to get the manager to call me on my mobile which he did about 4 hours later. He followed this up with an email so we also have his email address. My complaint was dealt with efficiently, the matter was fully investigated and a generous monetary compensation was given without my asking.

Once, in Glasgow, we as a couple had booked a family room (purely because the room is bigger and you get a sofa) but on arrival they had only a double. Though we told him it made no difference to us, The clerk was profusely apologetic and gave us two free breakfast vouchers as compensation. Now, get this: we'd only paid £15 for the room, and the breakfast was £7.50 each. So, in fact, we got the room free.

But what most of these moaners do not seem to appreciate is the money savings they are making. We pay £19, £29 or £32 a night for two persons, though once or twice have had to go as high as £39 (ooooh that hurt us!) while seeing nearby hotels charging £100 plus. I've seen hostels with twenty people in bunks in a dorm and communal showers charging more than we pay for a TL room.

What on earth do these moaning people expect when they are paying £19 instead of £219? Apparently they expect all the luxury and facilities of a £219 room for £19 and then when they don't get it they rush to Tripadvisor etc and whine.

Because of TL my pal and I are able to have many more holidays than we would otherwise. We've had three four-night breaks in London which, if the hotel bill alone was £400-£500, my pal would not have agreed to. Besides which, I think spending £100+ on a room you spend less than 12 hours a day in is a shocking waste of money.

I stayed alone at the Jury's in Manchester at a cost of over £100 (the BBC paid!) and it was not one whit in any way superior to any Travelodge I have stayed in. My dual-aspect room even overlooked a murky brown canal on one side and looked straight into someone's office on the other (so I had to keep myself covered up!) What is more, there was a tube of shower gel fixed to the wall but you could not reach it when lying in the bath! How stupid is that?

I saw on Tripadvisor reviews of a hotel in London which costs £450 a night. The reviewers were so pig-ignorant that they repeatedly gave profuse praise for the "free" things that were included, like bath oil and chocolates and a bit of fruit. Free? DUH! All those things, bought wholesale, cost the hotel about £2 per person - in respect of which they bump £100 onto the room price. Well, if those suckers want to pay it, and then act all grateful for the "freebies" - more fool them.

chickmug

Hi bundly

Yes well put and it all boils down to freedom of choice and 'one mans meat is another mans poison'. I moan because I am a man and men always moan?

Seriously I agree with a lot of what you say but like the rest of life the opinions are varied and not just black and white but all shades of grey. In my case because of poor health I do tend to be in the room more than most and quite like a comfy armchair or sofa to sit and read, watch TV and generally relax. I also tend to like the pool type of facilities in some of the other hotels.

One real issue with me is the location of the TL's which I check out before booking and call the TL a few days before and ask them to alocate a room away from the traffic. (so far it has worked). I also ask them to put me on the top floor and apart from last time that has been OK. TL's walls are thin and the door closers don't really work too well. The Hiltons and Holiday Inns seem better built -- so far.

So in my case I will keep booking a mix including TL's but have yet to pay more than £9 per night + parking. But in between will be other offers and a few enjoyed recently were HI and Hilton with half price deals inc cooked breakfast.

bundly

Hello Chick!

If I was going to spend a lot of time in the room and want comfy armchairs and gorgeous surroundings then I wouldn't book a Travelodge. I'm not saying anyone should.

What I *am* saying is people shouldn't expect all the luxury and facilities of a £219 room for £19 and then whine when they don't get it.

I'm not saying that YOU ever do this.

£9? Never seen those yet! Woo woo.

chickmug

bundly wrote: »

Hello Chick!

If I was going to spend a lot of time in the room and want comfy armchairs and gorgeous surroundings then I wouldn't book a Travelodge. I'm not saying anyone should.

What I *am* saying is people shouldn't expect all the luxury and facilities of a £219 room for £19 and then whine when they don't get it.

I'm not saying that YOU ever do this.

£9? Never seen those yet! Woo woo.

Found the £9 rooms through MSE but when the sale starts the TL web site freezes so someone put on another link that worked. One used for mobile phones I think.

I have been on six TL breaks this year and have another six booked. But also been on a similar number of other breaks. Since I retired - early - from running a business we are scooting around like 'headless chickens' but with a ulteriar motive of wanting to move somewhere else so are checking places out.

I have tried to find good prices for Guest Houses but they are nowhere near as good value even the Hilton and HI offers. I am also not keen on the B&B owners making small talk when you are eating your beakfast. I don't do small talk at this time of day:D

andyrules

chickmug wrote: »

A few months ago I got carried away booking loads of the £9 per night deals and am now going away every few weeks for two nights somewhere new. But in between have been on Hilton and Holiday Inn breaks which have been dearer but a world of difference.

Some of the Travel Lodges have been OK such as Bath and Cheltenham (both newly refurbised rooms) even though the same old room size and colours just a better vibe. But I have stayed at Glastonbury which I thought had a really bad vibe and just back from Ringwood and again felt it had a really bad vibe.

Do Travel Lodges have the poorer rooms for those who stay on these sale prices. When I think some of the rooms go for £60/£70 per night I shudder to think how I would feel having paid that?:eek:

So wondering if it is better, with the money I want to spend, within a set period, to have less breaks but at nicer places?

No, I've stayed in super rooms at the cheap rate and also recently stayed in a shabby Manchester room for £70.

I think the new Lodges represent excellent value, but the older ones need work on them. If I was paying the flexible rate I would choose a different chain.

bundly

Chickmug --- I dislike B&Bs these days, for the reason you give. I find the intimate family atmosphere too intrusive and that makes me uncomfortable. While making their small talk they want to know all your little personal details. I feel there is too little privacy already. Nowadays I prefer a huge, anonymous hotel where you are just another ant among a sea of anonymous ants, and nobody asks your business.

When there is no TL available and we are forced to use a B & B we also feel fleeced. Stayed in a few places in Scotland last year. So cramped! One was a private bungalow on the Isle of Skye with just one guest bedroom, and there was only a 6 inch space to get past the dressing table to the bed. There was only 12 inches from the bed to the wall one side, and 24 inches the other. It was an L shaped room and in the L bit that went to the ensuite the owner had placed a small table with the tea and coffee making facilities, leaving a mere 12 inches for people to get past into the bathroom. The only way to plug in the kettle was to put it down on the carpet and plug it in to a socket on the other side of the bathroom door, so we could not get into the bathroom while the kettle was heating up. The cost --- £60! We could not wait to get to Glasgow and check in to the TL!

A B & B in the Cotswolds, also £60 a night, was so bad we checked out after one night and drove home. The bed was in the eaves = bash your head when you sat up and the owners had gone away (I kid you not) and left us there without access to the kitchen so we could not even get a glass of water and the weather was humid. They sent some local woman round in the morning to make breakfast.

geri1965_2

pinkcandyflossprincess wrote: »

my cousin lives in glastonbury btw! must admit i prefer street and clarks shoe village and eating at the weatherspoons for breakie and tea, tis a bargain i tell ya:rotfl:

Lord, really? The Wetherspoons in Street is one of the worst I've been to.

bundly

Yes Andy if I was paying £60 or more I would look at the other chains too. Luckily we can choose our dates so we always get the cheap rooms.

Re new lodges We are staying at Uxbridge 4 nights next Bank Holiday and we cannot wait to be sleeping in a Chinese tin box.