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Accommodation suggestions and reviews

richw

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Hopefully they are not the sort of hotel which are "under 1 mile" from the terminal, but that is how the bird flies and to reach the terminal from the hotel involves a detour due to a runway being bang in the middle :P

you just made me look at a map, the premier inn is out the door and across the road. The travelodge is on the same side as the terminal, to the north along the main road. A shuttle bus is provided if required.
 
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Butts

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Travelodge in Fort William is in a good location right in the Town Centre.

A Wetherspoons adjacent, a chippie opposite and close by the seafront for a stroll to work off the meal or alcohol !!!

New Format as well :p
 

grid56126

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St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel

It is fair to say that this was not a budget stay.

We were booked on the Saturday morning Eurostar to Marseille (07.19) on 12th September (Trip review to follow). Living in South London, the last thing I would normally do is a book a hotel for a trip like this, but it was to be with big bags for a week away with my good lady. Thameslink have been misbehaving with driver issues for a while so with a fortnight to go we decided to bite the bullet and negate the risk of a last minute panic if a silly o’clock train was Caped and book a Hotel close to St Pancras. I was off on the Friday and I wanted to attempt to upgrade to Standard Premier on the Eurostar the day before our trip at St Pancras booking office so this fitted as well, so off to the internet I trotted.

All the usual boring Hotels were available for £80 - £150 so I took the plunge and checked the Renaissance Hotel website. This stated their best rate was £260. This is for a “Barlow room” a decent room but I wanted to know what the ching was for the rooms in the refurbished front, not just a modern room built recently. The answer was a “Suite” at £400. A call to my good lady was anticipating a get lost, but she quite liked the idea of a Barlow Room as long as I booked and paid for a decent dinner on one of the associated restaurants. Fair enough. I decided to call the hotel direct and they were able to confirm the price was the best available – room only – and that they could only allocate rooms on arrival, so it was not possible to specify an older room. Oh well. Here goes nothing and I duly paid up for the most expensive night’s accommodation – so far – of my life.
So Friday 12th comes and I am as much intrigued as to whether we will be able to upgrade for the long distance run to Marseille (not available at time of booking) as I am about the hotel. The first part was disappointment. A knowledgeable agent showed me just how full the train was. Not even possible to move to one of the tables in coach 1 / 18. Pretty much every seat taken. No chance on the way home either, although an option to move in standard to a better seat possible on the day.
So anyway back on topic I met my good lady and we set off into the Hotel an hour earlier than officially allowed for check in to try our luck. First impressions were very good. The reception being “the booking hall” area which I had walked through numerous times, purchased tickets from and even been inside the ticket office for work related purposes on a few occasions in the 1980s.

All very convivial. Then the bombshell. Would you like to consider an upgrade to a suite?

Lot’s of glances between myself and the good lady. Erm… How much. An extra £140. Then the sales pitch. It would be a “Junior Suite” located in the restored section of the hotel and would give us unlimited access to the “Chambers Club Lounge”. A bit like in “Dragons Den” we asked for a moment to confer. The cost of the upgrade on the Eurostar would be £160 return for both of us. We had expected to pay £100 (and some) for the meal that night which could now be downgraded thanks to unlimited access to the “Chambers Club Lounge”. Ooooh go on then.

And so off we trotted minus our gas – the concierge would fetch those later. The “guest services” manager was to show us to our room via the lounge and thence to our suite on the third floor. Truly one of the most spectacular entrances to a room I have experienced as we were just a few steps from the upper landing of the grand staircase. WOW.

The suite itself was at the front of the Hotel; overlooking the old road access and out onto the Euston Road. We had a living room and bedroom, with separate TV’s in case we wanted to watch different programmes, although we never really watched anything anyway! Amazing bathroom with spa bath and huge shower, all the toiletries you could ever want and probably never use as well as a very sweet golden rubber duck.

Enough of that, we were both hungry and thirsty so made our way to the Chambers Club Lounge, made full use of the free afternoon tea (Sandwiches, Scones, various cakes, crisps, nibbles and as much wine, beer, soft drinks and tea / coffee as is humanly possible to drink, all served by very attentive staff who were equally obsequious to those that like that, or just attentive enough to let us know that if we wanted top ups we only needed to help ourselves or ask them. Very well trained!

After a good fill we set off for a stroll about five o clock to let our food digest and then went back to the room to freshen up, take some pictures of the staircase and landing and then headed back to the Lounge where pre dinner snacks were on offer. We decided to forgo dinner elsewhere altogether simply because we had a very good fill earlier and the snacks on offer here combined with a main course off of the menu from the “Booking Hall” brought to our table her sufficed. We could stay as long as we wanted to with drinks flowing freely until well past our bed time.

We reluctantly left for our room and hit the sack with the alarms set too early to take advantage of the free breakfast in the Club (starts 06.30). The only issue with staying at the front of the station are the occasional (!) police / ambulance sirens that seem to resonate against the building, but that aside the street noise was not enough to stop a very fitful sleep.

All too early we were showering and having to check out to enter the fray that was an 06.40 check in at St Pancras International on a Saturday. Security theatre at it’s absolute worst with rude and arrogant staff as well as the great British public’s inability to simply queue for a few minutes being the complete pole opposite of what we had just enjoyed.

Would I do it again? Given the ability to be financially as flush as we were for this trip I would like to do it again. Without the hassle of loads of bags for a holiday trip and actually knowing we would be doing it so we could plan for decent usage of the other facilities we could not use (Swimming pool – and breakfast!) as well as a little more time for decent photography of the stair case and refurbished interiors.

I suspect that will be a very long time in the future, if ever!
 

Techniquest

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Wow, that place sounds absolutely amazing! £400 for one night should make it amazing mind!

If I ever have the fortune to stay there, I will certainly be doing so!
 

Butts

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Wow, that place sounds absolutely amazing! £400 for one night should make it amazing mind!

If I ever have the fortune to stay there, I will certainly be doing so!


Just as well he didn't have a Full Dinner in the Hotel or the £400 would have become a "monkey" quite easily I would imagine. Shame about missing the breakfast.

Certainly beats a Travelodge - must be the most luxurious and expensive stay featured on this thread :p
 

Kite159

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Just as well he didn't have a Full Dinner in the Hotel or the £400 would have become a "monkey" quite easily I would imagine. Shame about missing the breakfast.

Certainly beats a Travelodge - must be the most luxurious and expensive stay featured on this thread :p

Agreed, certainly beats a premier inn or a random B&B
 

Cambus731

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I have been considering staying in either Tweedbank or Peebles as part of clearing the Borders railway. I see that Wetherspoons have a hotel in Peebles.

Can anyone recommend anywhere in either place?
Also would Peebles merit staying spending anytime in on its own merits? I suspect that I'm more likely to stay in Peebles rather than Tweedbank even though it would mean a bus ride to get there it looks like a more interesting place.
 

Mojo

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Oldham Travelodge

Less than 10 Min walk to Moston railway station and a bit longer to South Chadderton Tramstop. A couple of bus routes stop nearby as well. Free parking. Pub serving breakfast, lunch and dinner next door and there is a Subway shop opposite, and a McDonalds down the road (away from the station).

Area that not great but other than the area looking a bit shabby, I never saw any problems on this stay, or when I stayed here last time, and I have walked to both the BR station and Tramstop.

Hotel is in decent condition, and a fairly standard old-style Travelodge. Quite convenient if you want to go to Manchester but City Centre hotels are a bit pricey.
 

dorsetman

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I have been considering staying in either Tweedbank or Peebles as part of clearing the Borders railway. I see that Wetherspoons have a hotel in Peebles.

Can anyone recommend anywhere in either place?
Also would Peebles merit staying spending anytime in on its own merits? I suspect that I'm more likely to stay in Peebles rather than Tweedbank even though it would mean a bus ride to get there it looks like a more interesting place.

The best place for accommodation is Galashiels. There's plenty within minutes walk of the station. The pick of the bunch is on our website: http://station-stays.co.uk
 

Kite159

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St Enoch Hotel, Glasgow

Location - 5 to 10 minute walk from Glasgow Central, varies depending on traffic lights, down a side street so not a lot of vehicle movement

Opposite a tesco metro and other shops, slightly steep spiral staircase, over a pub so I've got a bit of crowd noise at closing time. Room was basic but serviceable with telly, kettle etc, ensuite. Bed was very comfortable with good pillows.

Recommended :)
 

fishquinn

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Barnetby B&B (Holcombe Guest House).

Less than a 5 minute walk to Barnetby station straight down a road with not much traffic at all. A Onestop is on the road too so if anyone requires food they can go there.

The family room was a good size with comfy beds. The only problem with the beds was that they were quite squeaky. There was a kettle (tea bags provided) and a good sized bathroom with a shower.

I was impressed and I recommend it.
 

richw

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We recently stayed on different occasions in both Travelodge Gatwick Airport Central and Premier Inn London Gatwick Airport (A23 Airport Way).

Both were good, and of a high standard even for their respective brands.
The premier inn room and hotel was particularly noticeable as being very comfortable.
 

andyb2706

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Cathedral Gate Hotel, Canterbury. 10 minute walk from Canterbury East station and situated next to the gates that lead into the cathedral. Really nice hotel with plenty of character as parts of it are over 500 years old with exposed beams.
 

Techniquest

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I can only imagine the ching there but sounds lovely!

I will eventually add my views on my most recent hotel stay, I'm a little behind with it all!
 

47403

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The Ashdown Hotel, Preston.
£47 a night for Bed n Breakfast, stayed for 2 nights.
5mins walk from the Station, theres an off licence/general store, 2 mins walk away too, for a supply raid. Theres a good takeaway just round the corner from the station too, come up the ramp, turn right, about 50 yards away on the left, by the taxi rank, next door theres a takeaway, I'd thoroughly reccommentd too, especially if you've been out all day like I had. Only a few mins extra to walk back to the digs.
Rooms were clean and tidy, bathrooms were nice too, the beds for me were comfortable enough, though I'm not sure if the Trips and Planning Bed Checking team will approve, before a good bounce on them:lol::lol:. Plenty tea, coffee and milk, which was duly replenished after I filled my flask, using all the coffee and milk.
The breakfast(full english) was cracking fare indeed, plenty cereal, fruit, yoghurts(if thats your thing) and fruit juice.
Nothing was a bother with the land lady, a thoroughly enjoyable experience, in a cracking location, especially if your doing a rover in the North West
 

Kite159

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Metro House, Forest Gate

Around 10-15 minute walk from Forest Gate, I would say 10 minutes from Wanstead Park on the Gospel Oak - Barking service.

Shared bathrooms, and I had an "indoor" room without windows to the outside (had a window into the corridor), apart from noise of other customers arriving after a night out drinking around 12:30 it was very quiet, room was a tad hot on arrival. Comfy bed with free Wi-Fi. Can't really complain for £32.
 

EbbwJunction1

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The Miramar Hotel, Llanelli
I've stayed there a few times, most recently for rugby reasons at the end of October. It's next door to the station; I could see the platform from my bedroom window (!) and therefore is very easy to get to. The drawback is that it's a ten to fifteen minute walk to the town centre, but there's nothing you can do about that! However, there's a taxi rank around the corner to the station.

It's a fairly old building and a bit of a rabbit warren. Some of the rooms are smaller than others, but all are clean and tidy, and a very good breakfast is included in the price (£40). There's a bar downstairs which I have used at times; it's okay.

It's a reasonable place, not great, but not poor either - I would recommend it.
 

EbbwJunction1

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Hmm, might be handy for doing Pembrook Dock, Fishguard etc.

Well, it could be, but you're a few miles away from both in Llanelli; I'd suggest that you're better of travelling further west and staying somewhere like Haverfordwest instead.
 

Blindtraveler

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Nowhere near enough to a Pacer :(
When your positioning to or from Scotland you often cant get a huge distance into an area where trains are slower and less regular, esp as you often have to hang round to mid morning for a decent AP! Also no offence but have found Wales quite pricy for accom so this sounds like good value as a bass from which to make a decent start the following day.
 

507021

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I've just spent two nights down in London with my girlfriend to watch a gig. We stayed at the Premier Inn at Blackfriars, which was another 10/10 for Premier Inn from me, neither of us could fault it whatsoever. The service was excellent, the food was also excellent and the WiFi (not that either of us used it much) worked perfectly. Would definitely recommend this hotel to anybody.
 

Kite159

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I've just spent two nights down in London with my girlfriend to watch a gig. We stayed at the Premier Inn at Blackfriars, which was another 10/10 for Premier Inn from me, neither of us could fault it whatsoever. The service was excellent, the food was also excellent and the WiFi (not that either of us used it much) worked perfectly. Would definitely recommend this hotel to anybody.

Wouldn't like to think how much ching Premier Inn charge for a centre of London location
 

507021

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Wouldn't like to think how much ching Premier Inn charge for a centre of London location

Fortunately we shared the costs of the trip, so it wasn't too bad. The hotel was booked about two months in advance, so it came to £138 for two nights, which considering the location we thought was very reasonable. I would like to go to London again next year, if I do manage to get down there I'll definitely be staying somewhere a bit cheaper than a Premier Inn, that's for sure!
 
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Blindtraveler

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Nowhere near enough to a Pacer :(
Another Premier Inn Stayer here, Glasgow Cambuslang M74 J2a. Nearest station Carmile, pub next door as well as Mcdonalds, Petrol station, takeaways etc. Under refurb at mo, had a new room, excillent! Cant hear motorway at all, far enough out to be cheep and idiot free.
 

Kite159

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Is it just me who has Booking.com got rid of the option to exclude shared bedrooms when searching for accommodation?
 
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richw

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Is it just me who has Booking.com got rid of the option to exclude shared bedrooms when searching for accommodation?

You can exclude them if you select sort by price. Go to the sort by price, and you can sort lowest price (dorms) or lowest price (single room), lowest price (double) lowest price (family)



Looking back through this thread it seems premier inn consistently perform well.
 

Kite159

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You can exclude them if you select sort by price. Go to the sort by price, and you can sort lowest price (dorms) or lowest price (single room), lowest price (double) lowest price (family)



Looking back through this thread it seems premier inn consistently perform well.

But that option isn't available for me, the little arrow where I used to be able to select lowest price (single room) etc is gone
2qx5ogm.jpg


No idea if it's just a Firefox related issue
 

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