Accommodation suggestions and reviews

philjo said:

Also can anyone recommend anywhere on Orkney - I'm thinking of the Stromness hotel as it is close to the ferry.
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I stayed in The Kirkwall Peedie Hostel which is in Kirkwall and only a few hundred yards from The Ferry Terminals.

They have single rooms at a good price and it is more like a House than a Hostel. Lot's of shops and eateries nearby.

Thanks for your suggestions. I was planning to stay in Stromness as I would be on the ferry from Scrabster. not sure if I want to use the JOG ferry - I'm not too keen on small boats - the larger the better ! Aberdeen-Kirkwall ferry seeemed to be running in the wrong directions on the nights I would want to use it

can anyone recommend any good hotels on the far north line? I see Inverness premier inn is fully booked on a couple of nights I would be in that area so may try further north & allows a later start on the morning I go to Thurso. I'd probably be coming from Kyle in the afternoon.
also what is recommended on Skye- either Portree or Broadford porbably for good bus access (I'll be arriving from Armadale using the ferry from Mallaig)

You can actually stay on the Stromness ferry overnight whilst its docked and are then onboard for the 6:30 saling to Scrabster. Cabbins are ensuite and cost includes breakfast. Evening bar service available till midnight.
Http://www.northlinkferries.co.uk

plenty nice places in Dingwall for your Central Highland stopover, cant help with Sky Im afraid.

Margaret Macdonald House in Glasgow

Around a 10 minute walk from Charing Cross station, basic accommodation which is normally Glasgow School of Arts student accommodation during the education year. En-suite toilet/shower (although no towels it seems, unless you pick up from reception).

Rooms are very basic (as to be expected), free-wifi. Could have done with another pillow as the one provided was very soft (and only a quite thick duvet).

For the price paid (£23.58), a very good deal for the location [bar a rather steep hill]

I stayed at the Wetherspoons 'Brocket Arms Hotel' in Wigan this week.

The website claims its a 15 minute walk from the stations, and I did make it in about that but I generally walk quite quickly and park of the walk is uphill along Mesnes Road.

The hotel itself was clean and comfortable with free wifi throughout. The ensuite single room was good value, I paid £42 for a single room via Laterooms.
Despite being above the pub there was no noise from downstairs.

Also being above a wetherspoons saves the walk home from the pub at night or the search for breakfast in the morning.

Staying in Doncaster High Fishergate Premier Inn right now. Booked just over a week ago. Advance payment rate was £45. Like all PI hotels in design but it's convenient, comfortable, and spotlessly clean.

In the 'not so good' category is the Shipwright Arms Hotel in Ipswich. Stayed there for the G B Railfreight railtour.

Located in one the less desirable areas of Ipswich, it was noisy, there was still rubbish in the room from previous guests and the shower seemed to have a faulty thermostat alternating between freezing cold and scalding hot.

The £45 room price didn't include breakfast. Perhaps just as well, as they don't start serving breakfast until 09:00 on a Sunday and I needed to be at Ipswich station in time for the railtour which departed at 09:17.

Tonight it's Travelodge, Burton on Trent, with a room overlooking the railway. Perfectly acceptable

MrCub said:

Tonight it's Travelodge, Burton on Trent, with a room overlooking the railway. Perfectly acceptable

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Hotel is in an old Midland Railway building?

Kite159 said:

Hotel is in an old Midland Railway building?

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That's right. It's a bit slapdash inside with cardboard Crossroads-esque walls thrown up wherever, and a breakfast room on the ground floor with no windows, but it's fine. My room on the third floor afforded me great views of the railway line, and I'm pleased the building is finding use rather being left to decay.

I went up to Edinburgh at the beginning of the month and stayed at the Edinburgh Park Premier Inn.

I chose it as I was going to a city centre wedding so wasn't wanting to use the car. It's right next to Edinburgh Park station and tram stop. (£1.50 for a single to the centre on the tram).

I think it's a newish hotel but it was lovely, clean and presentable and is near a Tesco and Morrisons. There was a Frankie & Bennys nearby which proved good for breakfast.

Easy to get to as well if you are arriving by car.

The Edinburgh Park Premier Inn has been there for at least 2 years ive stayed there numerous times the rooms can get very hot, but its a good hotel overall and breakfast is very nice and in less than a minute you can be off the train and inside the hotel

Recently stayed at a new Premier Inn on Irwell Street next to the river (M60 9HL) 5 minutes walk from Salford Central, up to the usual standards.

Had the added attraction (if you got a good room) of railways views.
See poor quality pictures that have been zoomed in to be seen better.

Cletus said:

Recently stayed at a new Premier Inn on Irwell Street next to the river (M60 9HL) 5 minutes walk from Salford Central, up to the usual standards.

Had the added attraction (if you got a good room) of railways views.
See poor quality pictures that have been zoomed in to be seen better.

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Excellent new hotel - have added it to the website directory:
http://station-stays.co.uk

Stayed at the new(ish) Premier Inn at Wrexham last week.

Location is excellent, right opposite Wrexham General and as a bonus rooms on one side of the hotel overlook the Bidston-Wrexham Central line whilst the other side overlooks the main line into General.

Don't know if I was unlucky, but I found the bed incredibly uncomfortable - far too soft for my liking although I accept that might be what others like.

There is a restaurant on site although didn't use it as we came of the WAG and had our fill there.
There isn't a bar as such, but residents can sit in the restaurant and have drinks, although its all bottled beers which appeared quite expensive.

I revisited the Wigan Town Centre Premier Inn on friday night, this time at the rear of the building overlooking the car-park (so less traffic noise).

Only downside is that the road between the stations and the hotel is via night-club street so can be an experience walking down late at night/early morning.

I would use it again, as it is in a handy location

Not for bashing purposes, but purely as a B&B, can anyone recommend anything in Liverpool, my stipulations:

1) Own bathroom (can't abide shared bathrooms in this day and age)
2) Fairly close to Lime Street Station, or close to a MerseyRail city centre station
3) Breakfast (cooked preferably, not continental!)
4) Reasonably priced (looking early October - 4 nights - Mon to Fri)

Thanks

crispy1978 said:

Not for bashing purposes, but purely as a B&B, can anyone recommend anything in Liverpool, my stipulations:

1) Own bathroom (can't abide shared bathrooms in this day and age)
2) Fairly close to Lime Street Station, or close to a MerseyRail city centre station
3) Breakfast (cooked preferably, not continental!)
4) Reasonably priced (looking early October - 4 nights - Mon to Fri)

Thanks

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Have you checked station-stays.co.uk?

Rollason Wood Hotel in Birmingham

Location - Around a 15 minute walk from Gravelly Hill on the Cross-city line, although served by buses on the "outer circle" route

Largest hotel, I had an Economy room on the top floor, one thing I would say the stairs from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor were quite steep. Room was basic, shared bathrooms (which sometimes is better as I've been in hotels which have had tiny ensuites forced into the rooms taking up space). Friendly welcome, and a free breakfast. Looks like it had a little bar & games room.

For £27 I would visit again (although not for one for an early start on Sundays as the first Birmingham departure on the cross-city line doesn't arrive until 09:37-odd)

Aha! Im glad anotherone approves of Rollason Wood, writing this whilst lying in bed at the self same place!

No recommendations from me for Liverpool I'm afraid, never stayed anywhere even remotely convenient for the railway and my February 2011 place was a hostel!

Rollason Wood I am going to try an en-suite room next time, will give it another go.

I have visited two new places (well three, but the last one was a Travelodge) last week, and I have yet to do my TripAdvisor reviews, so for now these are RailUK exclusives!

29th July 2015 - Townhouse Bed and Breakfast, 153 Warwick Road, Carlisle

Approximately 10 minutes walk from Carlisle station, along Warwick Road. There are, I should add, a few other guesthouses and B&Bs too that are along this road but I had booked Townhouse. Actually not a bad place, the lady who was running it this evening was friendly which was a good start. The room is fairly modern which is quite welcome, up one flight of stairs and a couple more steps from there. They're not steeply graded steps thankfully. Comfortable bed, with a very good range of channels on the TV. Decent size kettle and a decent supply of tea and coffee, although I had brought my own supply of coffee on my trip anyway. The room was a very good size (I'm sure it was number 5 for the record), which also had a sink and even a supply of cotton buds on the shelf! An alarm clock is also provided, which was useful as I didn't have to keep using my phone for the time!

The biggest irritance here was the bathroom was shared and up more stairs. Access into it is a rather large step and two more steep wooden steps. The shower however is very good, and a bath is also available. Those steps could be very dangerous, in my eyes, if they get wet! I did discover afterwards en-suite rooms are also available, I must have missed that when I booked. As it wasn't super busy on my visit, the shared bathroom didn't cause any queues so no problem this time. It is also fairly modern, which helped a lot!

Breakfast was included, an extreme bonus, and freshly cooked to order. An order form is available upon check-in, to be done ideally by the morning, which suited me. The coffee wasn't too bad, and the food rather decent if the bacon slightly too cooked for me, but I am very difficult to please with that!

Overall, I was most satisfied with my stay and will be adding it to my list of ones to use again! For a cost of £35 I did well in my eyes, and I recommend it to others.

30th July 2015 - Kings Arms Hotel, Lancaster

I didn't believe Google Maps when it told me it was a 3 minute walk, which it wasn't as it didn't quite get the right place, but it took me just 5 minutes to get from my room (212) here back to Lancaster station's platform 4, impressive as that's uphill walking too!

Check in was ridiculously easy as it should be, and one of the few places I've ever stayed at that requests you leave your key at reception while going out, which does save losing it, something I often worry about to be honest. The stairs are easy enough to navigate, not always the case! A lift is available, which have two doors you have to manually open and close, right ancient idea but rather different! The room's a very decent size indeed, with a reasonable range of channels too on the TV. The bathroom's rather large indeed compared to some I've seen. Decent size kettle (very useful when you have a flask to fill up!) and a decent supply of tea and coffee. As with everywhere else I've been to though, the milk pots and sugar packets supply is never enough, so I always take my own sugar packets supply with me.

The bed, well not bad but I've had better. The decor does need a bit of modernising but it is still OK. The shower did a good job of getting me clean, and a bath is also an option here. The reception staff were very friendly and helpful too, Sharleen in particular.

Breakfast is served on the first floor, which confused me originally. I wanted cooked breakfast, and I then get told it was £9.95 for that, £4.95 for the continental breakfast as I had apparently booked a Room Only. Oh well, forget the cooked breakfast then, not paying nearly a tenner for bacon, sausages, hash browns (fried bread on the menu but not an option upon ordering!) and beans! £4.95 makes me think "That's it then, I'm having even more of a feed than I intended to!" and devour plenty. Upon telling reception, Sharleen checked and yes, I had booked bed and breakfast. I'll be checking my statements for that of course, if I do indeed get charged extra money I'll be contacting them.

Otherwise, bar the confusion over breakfast, I enjoyed my stay. I would have preferred more comfort in the bed but hey ho, it did OK. I will still use this place again, it's really close to the station! Highly recommended for sure, most convenient on a North West adventure, crispy1978 this place may be ideal for you?

For £39.56 (a Hotels.com 10% off voucher was used, hence the weird price) I did well in my eyes. As I had used a voucher I sadly don't get the stay on my Hotels.com Rewards account, but I have now gained my first free night to use at selected hotels after the Carlisle stay!

Travelodge in Warrington on 31st July, 5 minutes walk from the platforms at Warrington Central (4 if in a rush and get lucky with the pedestrian crossing!), along the path past the bus station. Ridiculously easy to get to, including from Bank Quay, which you turn left out of, at the crossroads at the top of the road, cross at the lights (Aldi is on the left, open until late too) onto Sankey Street. Leigh Street is your next turn off, which I'm sure was the first turn off to the left after the massive Town Hall (can't miss that with the huge gates!) which takes you past a NHS centre. Travelodge is at the top of this road. It took me 11 minutes from it to Bank Quay in the morning of my departure, which included a 2 minute stop to sort out a broken bag. Quite, I floored it later that morning and walked Central to Bank Quay via the above routes and did it in 12 minutes, so it shows you how easy this one was to find!

Only booked it as everywhere in Chester was outrageously priced, and I could still make it to Chester from Warrington (albeit with an early start) for the PSUL working over Halton Curve. For £31 it was a useful stop for a shower and charging stuff up, with easy access from the railway. Worth noting that on weekdays at least, services don't finish until after 2330 and yes, if you have a room on that side you do get a good view of trains passing (102 I THINK was one, I must admit I didn't memorise the number) BUT the noise will disturb you until the trains stop running.

Beds still the same nonsense everywhere now, but my twin bed room did gave me the choice of a bath or shower, the shower of course was used for a proper thorough de-rancification! If you're prepared for a bad sleep, then by all means book it. Oh, and while some Travelodges offer superior breakfast options this one doesn't, shame as I was looking forward to trying their bacon baguettes! Never mind, Virgin Trains got my money instead and I had a hellfire bacon bap off their shop instead, oh and for less money!

I know Travelodge and Premier Inn were not the intention for this thread, but it's worth mentioning above for the negative bits. Anyway this has taken ages to type up!

Anybody ever stayed in The Star Inn at Beeston?

I was looking for a hotel around Nottingham area close to a major station for a potential week-long East Midlands bash next June and this came close to the top of the pile for price & location.

Kite159 said:

Anybody ever stayed in The Star Inn at Beeston?

I was looking for a hotel around Nottingham area close to a major station for a potential week-long East Midlands bash next June and this came close to the top of the pile for price & location.

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Not personally no, but it has some excellent reviews on TripAdvisor!

£60 they want for a one night stay on 17th August, which is when I plan to possibly go up there for some new tram route bashing. Pending on financial stuff, I'm sure I'm forgetting something in my Advance Budget Planning.

So I stayed in the Kings Highway wether spoons hotel in Inverness last night.

Overall the hotel is of good quality.

However, I would strongly recommend avoiding room 101. At first I thought it a good room as it has a intermediate door between it and the stairwell. However, it seems the staff have to access the pub side of the business though a door just outside your room. They don't make unreasonable noise, but you can clearly hear them. The main problem came from the street level. It's only single glazed and an hour after the pub closed a gentlemen spent 45mins singing Glasgow Rangers songs at the top of his voice. This was right outside the front desk of the hotel (just below the room) yet nothing was done about it. After 45mins I called the police, who dealt with the gentleman. I'm not one to complain normally, but I do think the night porter should have dealt with it before I had to.

I mentioned it at the front desk this morning, they offered me a full refund straight away, which I declined, and said I thought 50% would be fairer.

I wasn't expecting issues on a Tuesday night, so maybe one to avoid on a Friday or Saturday night?

Recently stayed at the Ibis Budget in Bradford. Around 10 Min walk from Forster Sq station, to get to Interchange you effectively walk towards Forster Sq anyway so it's quite a bit further from there. Had a "triple" room which is a double bed with a single bunk bed, which I had to make myself. No toiletries other than a small bar of soap. Don't bother with breakfast; there is a McDonalds and a Subway on the walk to the station, plus a large Tesco store opposite. I paid £22-something which isn't bad and would certainly stay there again if it's cheap enough, but would probably have my own room as there is not much privacy; the shower leads into the bedroom directly, although there is a small room with just a toilet in it.

September 1st till September 5th I am staying at the Clematis Guest House whilst doing Freedom Of Severn & Solent Rover, its 2 minutes walk maximum from Cheltenham Spa railway station has anyone stayed there yet? I will report my opinions on it during my stay

Premier Inn in Elgin. A fair walk from the station; a little over 20-25 Min. A minicab to the town centre was £3.50 but a hackney carriage would cost more. Right next to a Brewers Fayre serving drinks, dinner and breakfast, and not too far from McDonalds. You also pass Burger King on the way to/from the station. Most rooms seem to be of the new/refurbished style, but there are a few of the older style rooms with the purple carpet. Standard Premier Inn facilities, but the ambience was much better than usual.

Mojo said:

Premier Inn in Elgin. A fair walk from the station; a little over 20-25 Min. A minicab to the town centre was £3.50 but a hackney carriage would cost more. Right next to a Brewers Fayre serving drinks, dinner and breakfast, and not too far from McDonalds. You also pass Burger King on the way to/from the station. Most rooms seem to be of the new/refurbished style, but there are a few of the older style rooms with the purple carpet. Standard Premier Inn facilities, but the ambience was much better than usual.

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I stayed there back in May although I was driving so the proximity to the Station was irrelevant.

If you get a Premier Inn for about £30-£40 which with the exception of Sunday depending on the location is sometimes difficult and add the meal deal (Dinner/Breakfast) for £20 odd quid it represents outstanding value.

That equates to under £60 for half Board

Unsure if this is allowable so mods please remove if not. I have an advance paid room booking at Travelodge Walthamsto for Sun 30th August, double room for 1 night that Im no longer using. Unsure if the name on the booking can be changed but if not it probs woant be a major issue. If anyone wants to buy it off me, please PM. Ta.

The latest in my mission to find quality, budget, accommodation around the UK, for bashing purposes. Sadly I was not successful:

Staymor Hotel, Blackpool

Date of stay: 16/08/2015

I should start with a positive, that the guy on reception was really cheery and friendly, always a good start.

First of all then, the stairs to the rooms are up steeply-graded stairs and no lift available. The corridors are narrow too, causing an issue with luggage. The room itself, while en-suite, is tiny as is the bathroom. Worth noting too now this all applies to room 15.

The door to the room was a major concern, it basically needed slamming shut and a hard push to open. Not good in the evening when everyone's trying to sleep!

Another positive, the shower was brilliant and more than welcome in the morning!

No tea/coffee facilities, or kettle, whether this is permanent or just while United Utilties fix their issues and make the water drinkable again. This issue has been going a while apparently, at least 2 weeks. Free tea and coffee is available in the dining room at least.

Power sockets availability was the next cause of concern next, as I had to move the wardrobe to access them, and even then I had to unplug the TV to use it! I later found two more, hidden behind the curtains but still very difficult to access.

The TV was tiny and placed most awkwardly, so difficult to find a suitable place to watch it. Not that I bothered, as I had the forum to read, but potentially an issue for some. WiFi, while free, was seemingly impossible to work out so I gave up. Fortunately my new data allowance had recently started so I was OK but could be an issue another time.

The towels were soft but very inefficient at their job of drying anything. The sink in the bathroom was tiny, so I struggled to wash my flask out, only just big enough to wash hands.

The bed, rather uncomfortable but still better than the beds in Travelodge! The pillows were rather firm, less so than Travelodge pillows though. The floor was creaky almost all over, which was irritating!

Breakfast, a continental affair of cereal and toast, with tea/coffee and orange juice, the glasses for which were tiny! Mainland Europe's continental breakfast is so much better, it should be criminal to call this continental breakfast! I managed to have a reasonable fill though. Breakfast of this type is available 0800-0900, with a Full English available 0900-1000 for 3.50.

Finally, to end on a positive, the location is excellent. Far enough from town to avoid disruptive rowdiness but close enough for easy access. Burlington Road West tram stop is literally across the road from this hotel too.

If I hadn't paid a pittance for this stay, I'd have really grumbled. Sadly I won't return to this one.