I like Premier Inn and always try to stay in them when I'm travelling for work.
It does depend where you stay, a few weeks ago I stayed in the Cardiff, Glasgow, and Belfast Premier Inns, the Cardiff one is an old rebranded Travel Inn and is looking a bit tired. The Glasgow one is also an old building but was a tower block had been refurbished was a bit nicer. The Belfast one is only 12 months old and was really nice, very impressed.
I like the fact you know what to expect, plus I'm a fussy eater and the restaurants always serve what I like.
Never stay in a Formula1 in Europe then - never know so many parties going on in a hotel
OMG, now they ARE basic - there are a few over here and there was one next door to somewhere I was staying last year and even though it looked OK someone was saying about the rooms and what they were like - it sounded dire - it was full of lorry driver, workman types bunking about 5 to a room !!!
Not where anyone actually wants to stay. Anyway, I would rather pay a bit more unless I literally am arriving late, crashing out for the night and leaving first thing.
They tend to be full of drunken stag and hen parties at the weekend too.
I was once kept up until 3am by a bunch of drunken girls on a hen night in a Travelodge. Several people had obviously complained about their f-ing and blinding in the corridor outside their room (seemed to be about 6 of them in one room!), because the night-porter kept on asking them to STFU. Eventually, they were made to leave.
Never stay in a Formula1 in Europe then - never know so many parties going on in a hotel
Formule1, Relais and Ibis are all pretty dire on the continent.
When I'm in France (and the company's paying!), I tend to use Mercure, who are cheap, but decent quality.
Or, if you'd stayed in Travel Inn, most have Wifi in the rooms.
Travel Inn gets my vote (and not just for the WiFi. Travelodge is cheaper and it shows. I've never had a clean one whereas I've rarely had a dirty Travel inn.
TL gives you only one towel because apparently "that's what the customer wants" No, this customer needs two. And also a hairdrier. Is that really too much to ask.
The only upside to TL is they are usually next to Little Chef who do a good breakfast. But frankly, I'd rather pay the extra 15 quid for a Travel Inn room any day.
My and my 4 mates are going to pay for a room because we are going up to cardiff on a night out.
But if we get 1 room will they let us all stay or are they strict ?
The agreement is two people per double/twin room and one person per single. So you could get 2 doubles.
The reason they asked the girls to leave the Travelodge I was staying at was that a) they were being loud (which is incredibly rude in a hotel where people are paying to be able to get sleep!), and b) they discovered they were sleeping more than 2 to a room (I could hear the whole conversation at 3am :rolleyes: )
Only if you're lucky and manage to get one of their special offers, mostly they're very similarly priced to Premier Inns.
I've NEVER found a Travelodge the same price as a Premier Inn. That's why I love Traveldoge so. Every single time I've ever been on a trip (several times a month) all over the country I've paid £20-30 (sometimes more) less for travelodge than Premier Inn. that's a lot of money to me, which is why I avoid Premier Inn like the plague.
And you can get £19 or £29 rooms anywhere, it's just a matter of booking really early for popular places. I booked two family rooms for £9 in a large central London travelodge for this June and July.
A family room is for up to three people, so I'd just make sure one of you is out of sight on checkin, gavin.
I've NEVER found a Travelodge the same price as a Premier Inn. That's why I love Traveldoge so. Every single time I've ever been on a trip (several times a month) all over the country I've paid £20-30 (sometimes more) less for travelodge than Premier Inn. that's a lot of money to me, which is why I avoid Premier Inn like the plague.
And you can get £19 or £29 rooms anywhere, it's just a matter of booking really early for popular places. I booked two family rooms for £9 in a large central London travelodge for this June and July.
A family room is for up to three people, so I'd just make sure one of you is out of sight on checkin, gavin.
I usually find I agree with you on most things Psychosis, fellow Browncoat and all that, but I really really disagree with you very strongly about this, and as I'm in my 4th hotel of the week and my second Premier Inn I think I have a fair amount of experience in staying in them. The other two were one Travelodge (which cost £5 less than the Premier Inn I'm in tonight and exactly the same price as the one I was in on Monday) and one Best Western which was £30 more expensive than the Premier Inn tonight and not as nice.
I agree you can get cheap rooms at Travelodges anywhere if you book early enough but an awful lot of travellers, including myself, don't have this luxury - I rarely know where I'm going to be much more than about a week in advance, though tbh, I'd choose a Premier Inn everytime anyway - I really really HATE Travelodges - I only stayed in the one I did this week as it was literally next door to my clients so it seemed silly not too, but after about an hour of being there I wished I had stayed in the Premier Inn 20 mins away!!
I really honestly can't comprehend how you think they're similar these days - back in the days when Premier Inns used to be Travel Inns and Travelodges hadn't cut everything other than the barest basics then I'd have agreed with you, but they're a different world now and have been for about 3 years at least.
I really honestly can't comprehend how you think they're similar these days - back in the days when Premier Inns used to be Travel Inns and Travelodges hadn't cut everything other than the barest basics then I'd have agreed with you, but they're a different world now and have been for about 3 years at least.
I agree. Once upon a time they were like for like. Now, they are chalk and cheese.
I would say even at the last minute, TL is still mostly a cheaper option.
Or, if you'd stayed in Travel Inn, most have Wifi in the rooms.
Travel Inns don't exist any more, they are now Premier Inns and have been since Travel Inn and Premier Lodge merged a few years ago.
Both Premier Inns and Travleodges have Wifi in the rooms as well, but why should I pay the extortionate hourly rate they charge when I can get online anyway. My monthly bill for TMobile is equivalent to roughly 4 hours online at either a Travelodge or a Premier Inn!!
I know this is quite an old thread, but was at a Travelodge last night and didn't think it was anything special at all.
Extremely basic, the bed sheet was stained (an old stain, but still stained none the less), couldn't find the tv remote, no bedding provided for the pull out bed, a tiny crappy bar of soap in the bathroom and nothing else.
The shower was horrible. Well not the shower itself, but the water/boiler system. It took ages to get warm, and when i mean warm i mean just a bit warmer than luke warm. Then it kept going cold on me, only just managed to wash my hair.
Choice of tv channels was extremely poor, BBC1,2 ITV1, C4, Five, Film 4, 4Music and Sky News. No sort of on screen tv guide.
Now i understand Travelodge are keeping costs down, and they say all this on their website, but is it too much to ask for hot constant running water, clean sheets and the tv remove on the desk instead of under the pull out bed (which we only found later when we actually pulled the bed out)
I have stayed in a Premier Inn before and now i have stayed in both, i can easily say Premier Inn was much much better.
Comments
It does depend where you stay, a few weeks ago I stayed in the Cardiff, Glasgow, and Belfast Premier Inns, the Cardiff one is an old rebranded Travel Inn and is looking a bit tired. The Glasgow one is also an old building but was a tower block had been refurbished was a bit nicer. The Belfast one is only 12 months old and was really nice, very impressed.
I like the fact you know what to expect, plus I'm a fussy eater and the restaurants always serve what I like.
Travelodge wins for us as we have 2 dogs and we pay £10 per dog per stay (only an extra £20 for a weeks stay) WiFi is £20 per week.
I was once kept up until 3am by a bunch of drunken girls on a hen night in a Travelodge. Several people had obviously complained about their f-ing and blinding in the corridor outside their room (seemed to be about 6 of them in one room!), because the night-porter kept on asking them to STFU. Eventually, they were made to leave.
Formule1, Relais and Ibis are all pretty dire on the continent.
When I'm in France (and the company's paying!), I tend to use Mercure, who are cheap, but decent quality.
I have a question to ask ;
My and my 4 mates are going to pay for a room because we are going up to cardiff on a night out.
But if we get 1 room will they let us all stay or are they strict ?
I especially like the purple colours.
Or, if you'd stayed in Travel Inn, most have Wifi in the rooms.
Travel Inn gets my vote (and not just for the WiFi. Travelodge is cheaper and it shows. I've never had a clean one whereas I've rarely had a dirty Travel inn.
TL gives you only one towel because apparently "that's what the customer wants" No, this customer needs two. And also a hairdrier. Is that really too much to ask.
The only upside to TL is they are usually next to Little Chef who do a good breakfast. But frankly, I'd rather pay the extra 15 quid for a Travel Inn room any day.
The agreement is two people per double/twin room and one person per single. So you could get 2 doubles.
The reason they asked the girls to leave the Travelodge I was staying at was that a) they were being loud (which is incredibly rude in a hotel where people are paying to be able to get sleep!), and b) they discovered they were sleeping more than 2 to a room (I could hear the whole conversation at 3am :rolleyes: )
The will likely stop you unless you are very clever about it. But hey, for 15 quid, get two!
I've NEVER found a Travelodge the same price as a Premier Inn. That's why I love Traveldoge so. Every single time I've ever been on a trip (several times a month) all over the country I've paid £20-30 (sometimes more) less for travelodge than Premier Inn. that's a lot of money to me, which is why I avoid Premier Inn like the plague.
And you can get £19 or £29 rooms anywhere, it's just a matter of booking really early for popular places. I booked two family rooms for £9 in a large central London travelodge for this June and July.
A family room is for up to three people, so I'd just make sure one of you is out of sight on checkin, gavin.
We are clever about it
And as long as you keep the noise down, you should be fine.
I usually find I agree with you on most things Psychosis, fellow Browncoat and all that, but I really really disagree with you very strongly about this, and as I'm in my 4th hotel of the week and my second Premier Inn I think I have a fair amount of experience in staying in them. The other two were one Travelodge (which cost £5 less than the Premier Inn I'm in tonight and exactly the same price as the one I was in on Monday) and one Best Western which was £30 more expensive than the Premier Inn tonight and not as nice.
I agree you can get cheap rooms at Travelodges anywhere if you book early enough but an awful lot of travellers, including myself, don't have this luxury - I rarely know where I'm going to be much more than about a week in advance, though tbh, I'd choose a Premier Inn everytime anyway - I really really HATE Travelodges - I only stayed in the one I did this week as it was literally next door to my clients so it seemed silly not too, but after about an hour of being there I wished I had stayed in the Premier Inn 20 mins away!!
I really honestly can't comprehend how you think they're similar these days - back in the days when Premier Inns used to be Travel Inns and Travelodges hadn't cut everything other than the barest basics then I'd have agreed with you, but they're a different world now and have been for about 3 years at least.
I would say even at the last minute, TL is still mostly a cheaper option.
Travel Inns don't exist any more, they are now Premier Inns and have been since Travel Inn and Premier Lodge merged a few years ago.
Both Premier Inns and Travleodges have Wifi in the rooms as well, but why should I pay the extortionate hourly rate they charge when I can get online anyway. My monthly bill for TMobile is equivalent to roughly 4 hours online at either a Travelodge or a Premier Inn!!
Yes, thank you, I stay in them about 3 or 4 times a month, I'm aware of that.
I'm only quoting you, you said Travel Inn.
And you knew who I was talking about.
But you said
"or if you'd stayed in Travelinn......"
and as I'd made it perfectly clear I usually stay in Premier Inns this comment didn't make sense if you meant Premier Inns.
Extremely basic, the bed sheet was stained (an old stain, but still stained none the less), couldn't find the tv remote, no bedding provided for the pull out bed, a tiny crappy bar of soap in the bathroom and nothing else.
The shower was horrible. Well not the shower itself, but the water/boiler system. It took ages to get warm, and when i mean warm i mean just a bit warmer than luke warm. Then it kept going cold on me, only just managed to wash my hair.
Choice of tv channels was extremely poor, BBC1,2 ITV1, C4, Five, Film 4, 4Music and Sky News. No sort of on screen tv guide.
Now i understand Travelodge are keeping costs down, and they say all this on their website, but is it too much to ask for hot constant running water, clean sheets and the tv remove on the desk instead of under the pull out bed (which we only found later when we actually pulled the bed out)
I have stayed in a Premier Inn before and now i have stayed in both, i can easily say Premier Inn was much much better.