Do not stay at Travelodge!

Pee

I agree. Don't ever stay at a Travelodge... then there will be plenty of cheap offers for me!!!

lodds

My wife and i have stayed in about 10 different travelodges over the last couple of years, normally on the £9 a night deals. We've never had any real problems with them but it's true that the standard does vary greatly between them.
For the record the worst one i've stayed in was Birmingham central, an ugly high rise with small not very clean rooms and unfreindly staff. we probably wouldn't choose to go back there even for £9 a night.

The best, by some distance was the new one in Torquay, it's very clean, the rooms were much better than normal, the bar and evening food were good and not too expensive (didn't try the breakfast as it was pretty expensive) and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

barafear799

I too have stayed in many travelodges across the country - Harlow, Covent Garden, Luton (for airport), Gatwick (airport) and also Bristol Central as someone else mentioned. I've never had many complaints in the past - not noticed any problems with cleaniness or other issues. However, I have just come back from a two night stay in Birmingham Yardley TL - and this was the worst yet....

It has to be remembered that the price one pays for TL tends to be far lower than other hotels - but even taking that into account, one has to believe that there are certain levels of expectation -

the first issue that struck me about Yardley when I arrived was the relatively small doorway and "porch area" that led into the reception area - I literally had to fight my way through the (disgusting) smokers huddled in this small area - ok I am anti-smoking - but surely smokers can be encouraged to smoke somewhere else other than the main and only entrance.

Onto the hotel and room - the general decor of the hotel looked pretty dated, the stairwell didn't look sparkingly clean - the room wasn't too bad - crack in the toilet bowl - and the bath looked less than sparkly - but nothing too disgusting - and for the price, I was prepared to accept.

Then one night as I was leaving my room and walking along the corridor I noticed just how thin the walls are - and it wasn't snoring I heard. This experience was also repeated another night from a different room.


So it goes back to what a previous poster discussed: what sort of clientele does TL attract - and are you prepared to accept that?? I'm not all high and mighty - but I like to think I have a certain level of respect for fellow customers.

I might still book TL in the future - as people have said, and I have found, there are some good ones out there - some of their locations are pretty good - some are not so good!!! - we'll see

flea72

lodds wrote: »

The best, by some distance was the new one in Torquay, it's very clean, the rooms were much better than normal, the bar and evening food were good and not too expensive (didn't try the breakfast as it was pretty expensive) and the staff were very friendly and helpful.

Agree with you on the Torquay one, best one we have stayed at in a long while (but then again, its only been open a few months)

at £7.50 (or £5.99 in booked in advance) the TL breakfast is expensive for one person, but if you have children they eat for free, so i suppose on the other hand, for a family, £7.50 could be viewed as cheap

There arent many places where you can have an unlimited buffet breakfast for under £7.50. Even the supermarkets charge £4+ for a '6 item' breakfast, whereas at the TL you get fry-up, cereal, fruit, yogurts, croissants, toast, muffins, tea, coffe & juice included in the price, so even at full price, it isnt astronomical for what you get - however i was amazed to see some people come into the restaurant and only have a slice of toast and jam

Flea

jockettuk

woman booking the £9 rooms to make some extra money ... I should be so bloody lucky.. I book them because im a tightwad and its one way of seeing family scattered around the country without paying a fortune..

colmil

I am a self employed businessman who looks to stay away at the best possible cost, but after this week, I'm off to the Travelinn, I simply can't stand the appalling design of the new style Travelodges, the grey walls, no curtains, dark blue carpet and stupid flexible lights have finished me, the rooms are totally depressing and I need to relax after work in nice surroundings.

Travelodge have recently converted at least two ex telephone exchanges to lodges(Carlisle and Chester Central) but they havent bothered to lower the ceilings so its like talking in an echo chamber.

Travelodge are the Ryanair of the hotel business, the prices are right, but they don't know how to treat their customers properly!

shaggy

There will be three of us visiting Edinburgh next month (Oct) and Travelodge is by far the cheapest at £32 for the room. Because its an odd number most other hotels want us to book two rooms coming at well over £100.

Has anyone stayed at the Edinburgh one before? I am basically looking for a cheap no frills, just somewher to sleep in and wake up , probably have breakfast at a nearby McDonalds.

Mibbly_Pibblies

urbankoala wrote: »

They don't even clean or flush their toilets between stays, because of 'environmental awareness'! :eek:

I have this in writing from a hotel manager :rolleyes:

Travelodge Customer Service (HQ) don't give a damn about customer satisfaction so from now on I shall pay a little bit more and stay at Premier Travel Inn or a different chain with adequate levels of cleanliness.

Bye Bye Travelodge, good luck facing down the rest of the recession with your levels of customer service :T

Ive been to some crappy hotels and I know what you mean!

coxy07

We have stayed in several Travelodges in London,Chester, Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester and others. All have been clean and comfortable. Their £9 rooms combined with £1 fares on Megabus have given us many excellent cheap weekends away!

alared

shaggy wrote: »

There will be three of us visiting Edinburgh next month (Oct) and Travelodge is by far the cheapest at £32 for the room. Because its an odd number most other hotels want us to book two rooms coming at well over £100.

Has anyone stayed at the Edinburgh one before? I am basically looking for a cheap no frills, just somewher to sleep in and wake up , probably have breakfast at a nearby McDonalds.

Stayed at Ed west end last week for three nights,10 minutes walk to Princes street and they have FREE parking.
I`ve also stayed at Ed central but they charge £10 per 24 hours parking and there`s only 40 places for 190 rooms.
Musselburgh is free parking but about 5 miles out.