Travelodge... now with a splash of style
CHIC isn’t a word that readily springs to mind when you think of Travelodge hotels. But the few-frills chain is promoting its new-format Travelodge Plus properties, with redesigned bedrooms and cafes, as offering ‘budget chic’ accommodation, aimed at the money-conscious traveller ‘who wants that little bit more style’.
Six Travelodge Plus hotels have just been introduced – two in London and others at Gatwick, Edinburgh, York and Brighton.
So do they live up to their semiglamorous billing? To find out, last weekend I stayed at the 395-room London City Travelodge Plus.
The upbeat Bar Cafe is a massive improvement on Travelodge’s normally drab eating and drinking spaces. There are brightly coloured chairs, a white-brick bar, arty photos, and USB sockets if you want to check your emails over a coffee.
In addition to standard rooms, the upper floors are taken up with SuperRooms. Pitched in airline parlance as ‘premium economy’, they were introduced by Travelodge last year, and are now an option at more than 40 sites.
My SuperRoom not only looked pretty smart but also had a host of extra facilities. There was a swivel desk chair and an armchair, a Lavazza coffee machine and complimentary KitKats on the tea tray, even a choice of harder and softer pillows. A hairdryer and iron/ironing board were also provided, while in the bathroom was a powerful shower.
My overall impression? SuperRooms are worth considering paying the £10-£20 extra for, whether travelling for work (they’ve been designed primarily with businesspeople in mind) or pleasure. The Travelodge London City doesn’t have family SuperRooms, but some others do.
Staying in a standard room, Travelodge Plus costs on average £10 more than in a normal Travelodge – again, probably worth paying for the more appealing surroundings. Rates at Travelodge London City start at £39 a night.
All that said, not everything ran smoothly during my stay. Room card keys weren’t working when I checked in and service at dinner was below par. Teething problems with a new opening? Probably. But also a reminder to the UK’s second-biggest hotel chain that spending on staff and training is just as important.
And it’s all very well adding USB sockets, but Travelodge really should ditch its wi-fi charge: only the first 30 minutes is free – an outdated arrangement.