Accommodation suggestions and reviews

It is still there on safari on my iPad

Travelodge Manchester Arena
This is located within ten minutes walk of Victoria Station, and it's easy to get to.

It's a standard Travelodge, with one interesting difference - the corridors are all named after pop groups and musicians hailing from Manchester or the Manchester area. The fifth floor was split into two corridors, and named after The Hollies and Elbow - I was in the latter.

The hotel is new, probably only a couple of years old, and is partly built on the site of the former Boddington's Brewery. Most of the site is now a massive car park, and for those of us who remember the brewery, it's quite sad to see.

As I said, it's a standard Travelodge, and I enjoyed my four night stay there. They have a breakfast area / bar, but I didn't use either as it's so close to the city centre. The room was good, and the facilities fine - I'd recommend it and would stay there again if I needed to.

Kite159 said:

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

No idea if it's just a Firefox related issue

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I see the same as you using IE.
You're missing the obvious, bottom left of your screen shot there's a series of lists, one of these gives you options of what type of room you're looking for.

D6975 said:

I see the same as you using IE.
You're missing the obvious, bottom left of your screen shot there's a series of lists, one of these gives you options of what type of room you're looking for.

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Unless I'm being completely blind, I can't see an option to exclude dorms on the left, just doing a search for London to bring up the similar as the screenshot has the following as "property type"

Property Type:
1 star 22
2 stars 166
3 stars 405
4 stars 538
5 stars 227
Unrated 1008
Apartments 1150
Hotels 735
Guesthouses 223
Vacation Homes 116
Hostels 66
Bed and Breakfasts 53
Inns 17
Homestays 4
Lodges 1
Boats

So nothing which jumps out to exclude dorms

tick the hotels box then click search then click price and price for single room that should do the trick

Kite159 said:

Unless I'm being completely blind, I can't see an option to exclude dorms on the left, just doing a search for London to bring up the similar as the screenshot has the following as "property type"

Property Type:
1 star 22
2 stars 166
3 stars 405
4 stars 538
5 stars 227
Unrated 1008
Apartments 1150
Hotels 735
Guesthouses 223
Vacation Homes 116
Hostels 66
Bed and Breakfasts 53
Inns 17
Homestays 4
Lodges 1
Boats

So nothing which jumps out to exclude dorms

Click to expand...

dave87016 said:

tick the hotels box then click search then click price and price for single room that should do the trick

Click to expand...

Ta

Bit of a headache through compared to the previous method as I would imagine selecting hotels will exclude those hostels who also offer single bedrooms (i.e. Dorms on the downstairs, single/double bedrooms upstairs)

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Seems to be the same on Microsoft Edge, so it's not just a Firefox issue. Might fire up chrome on the tablet a bit later to see if it is the same

Do them as seperate catigories I guess? Takes longer though and a pain?

For the recent BLS charter on the Nottingham tram system, I bring two reviews for the price of one, and a phenomenon I had never previously experienced, but appears far from unique by looking at Tripadvisor.

Using booking.com I booked a night at the Commodore Hotel, chosen because of its close proximity to Wilkinson Street depot. Armed with printed booking confirmation, I turned up at the Commodore on Saturday evening, and this was shown to the bloke on reception. After several minutes fiddling about on the computer, he told me there was a problem. They had forgotten to process my booking, and they were fully booked that evening. The only good thing I'd say was that he was most apologetic and admitted they had made a monumental b**** up, and made several phone calls to other B&Bs / hotels nearby.
Eventually he did find one with a spare room, the Stage Hotel which he advised 'wasn't brilliant', and located not far from The Forest tram stop. I suppose it was better than nothing.

So I trekked to the Stage Hotel. First thing they had a party in the function room with reggae blaring out at about 200 decibels. The woman behing the reception desk could hardly speak English, however once I told her for about the fifth time I had been sent from the Commodore Hotel she asked me to wait in reception while she spoke to the Commodore to ask for a fax. So I waited, and waited, and waited .............................and waited. Eventually after about half an hour she came back and told me she was still waiting for the fax but she'd call them again. Another 15 minutes and the fax finally arrived so at long last I was able to have a room key for the night. And it didn't take long to work out why this place 'wasn't brilliant'. My room was right above the function roon where the reggae party was taking place (and didn't finish until after 01:00 in the morning). The window didn't fully close (this I remind you was 5th December) and the curtains weren't big enough to fully cover the window. And once the party did eventually finish, it was time for the p***heads to start coming home from the pubs and clubs. With a window that didn't close properly it was a very noisy night.

So that's two places I'll be avoiding if I ever need to stay overnight in Nottingham again.
BTW booking.com have been notified about the situation with the Commodore.

Things like that are why I always book direct with any hotel and never through a 3rd party online booking business.

The only 3rd party that I will ever trust to make a booking for me are our official works travel agency, who are permitted to make personal bookings as long as we pay for them ourselves directly and not through the company.

Likewise

Peter Mugridge said:

Things like that are why I always book direct with any hotel and never through a 3rd party online booking business.

The only 3rd party that I will ever trust to make a booking for me are our official works travel agency, who are permitted to make personal bookings as long as we pay for them ourselves directly and not through the company.

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I find the cheapest on Booking.com or similar then contact the hotel directly. The hotel pays booking.com some commission so normally there is room for negotiating the price phoning direct as they wont need to pay the commission now.

I have booked Edinburgh Central Travelodge for the princely sum of £19.40 (plus a bit on Top Cashback) for one night in their January sale. Let's hope the quality of the experience lives up to the pre-discount price (!)

Starmill said:

I have booked Edinburgh Central Travelodge for the princely sum of £19.40 (plus a bit on Top Cashback) for one night in their January sale. Let's hope the quality of the experience lives up to the pre-discount price (!)

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Travelodge are in the process of refurbing all of their hotels. If its a refurbed hotel the refurbs are quite nice. Non refurbed hotels are a bit hit and miss.

I note Premier Inn have revamped their Breakfast Offer with a load of new items including ......BLACK PUDDING at last...take note Virgin East Coast

Price has been revamped as well up to £8.99 although they also do 2 Course Evening Meal with Drink plus Breakfast for £23.99 which is not bad if you get a cheap room.

Although they claim the Breakfast is all you can eat help yourself , how many others have stayed in one that actually does "service off a menu" - I have in several.

Butts said:

I note Premier Inn have revamped their Breakfast Offer with a load of new items including ......BLACK PUDDING at last...take note Virgin East Coast

Price has been revamped as well up to £8.99 although they also do 2 Course Evening Meal with Drink plus Breakfast for £23.99 which is not bad if you get a cheap room.

Although they claim the Breakfast is all you can eat help yourself , how many others have stayed in one that actually does "service off a menu" - I have in several.

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I've not seen the help yourself advertising, but stayed in one with no hot plate buffet in public area, so hot stuff was waiter served. The all you can eat was still applicable and I had no issue having 5 sausages and 5 bacon and 5 hash brown.

Most have been help yourself though.

No wonder I hit 23 stone at one stage most gone again now having lost 5 stone in last 6 months

The new premier inn Sunderland city centre, very close to the station, although if you're anything like me you'll never find it

Has anyone ever stayed in the sleeper carriage at Glenfinnan? I'm thinking of a WHL bash next summer and that's certainly somewhere I'm looking at!

Premier In Birmingham South Longbridge Station

Approx 2 year old hotel 3-5 mins walk from LOB. Beefeater on 1st floor of hotel, Sanesburys, Greggs, Subway, Chippy and another pub in same development, bus stop near by too. New style PI rooms with Aircon etc. Overall great quiet hotel in up and coming redevelopment area.

I stayed here at the weekend:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_...-Rewley_House-Oxford_Oxfordshire_England.html

Rewley House, in Oxford. It is surplus university accommodation that is let-out, so it was obviously fairly basic (but better than the London School of Economics equivalent), but the rooms were clean, comfortable, very convenient for the city centre and 10 mins flat walk from the rail station. It was £95 for two of us for one night, which I thought was decent considering Oxford is quite a pricey place.

Starmill said:

I have booked Edinburgh Central Travelodge for the princely sum of £19.40 (plus a bit on Top Cashback) for one night in their January sale. Let's hope the quality of the experience lives up to the pre-discount price (!)

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Which one? I stayed at Edinburgh Central Princes Street which was very conveniently located for Waverley. It looks a bit suspect from the outside but is fine once inside. Only problem was the pressure washing of the tram lines late at night.

185143 said:

The new premier inn Sunderland city centre, very close to the station, although if you're anything like me you'll never find it

Has anyone ever stayed in the sleeper carriage at Glenfinnan? I'm thinking of a WHL bash next summer and that's certainly somewhere I'm looking at!

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Take plenty of anti-midge creams and protection. I've never stayed in the sleeper-carriage but the last time I was in Glenfinnan the midges were horrendous. It all depends on the climatic conditions.

dorsetman:2398028 said:

185143 said:

The new premier inn Sunderland city centre, very close to the station, although if you're anything like me you'll never find it

Has anyone ever stayed in the sleeper carriage at Glenfinnan? I'm thinking of a WHL bash next summer and that's certainly somewhere I'm looking at!

Click to expand...

Take plenty of anti-midge creams and protection. I've never stayed in the sleeper-carriage but the last time I was in Glenfinnan the midges were horrendous. It all depends on the climatic conditions.

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I'm unlikely to be staying in the sleeper carriage now-one of my friends (who I'm bashing with) dad's friends has a house in Mallaig where we'll be able to stay

Anyone ever been in the Waterside B&B in Thurso? Ive got a nice little trip planned thanks to a certain TOC really ballsing up tickets from a certain origin.

Looks ok, £25 and are happy to accept me at 16!

matt said:

Which one? I stayed at Edinburgh Central Princes Street which was very conveniently located for Waverley. It looks a bit suspect from the outside but is fine once inside. Only problem was the pressure washing of the tram lines late at night.

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Finally found it (as I was on the train going there haha) Edinburgh Central St Marys Street. It was very convenient indeed for Waverley which is what I wanted, and at £19 I was very pleased with the value.

However, the room had a certain 'Caledonian Sleeper' air to it in that although the bedding was fresh and the room was adequate, you really got the sense that nothing was maintained properly! It was OK though because the bed was quite comfy and the linen was clean. There were a lot of marks on the wall, crappy carpet, not the best bathroom, broken exterior window seal, really weird condensation on the headboard, no sockets near the bedside table and tea and coffee facilities looked yuck. However, for £19 it did the job - and was remarkably quiet too. Would not recommend if Premier Inn is just £10 or so more. But often it would be £35 or £39 for such a central Premier Inn, or you'd be relegated to Edinburgh Park, Newcraighall, Edinburgh East, Queensferry or Newbridge. Some of those locations are fine because they've so many trains and aren't far to the station (particularly so for Edinburgh Park) But it isn't the same as being 5 minutes from Waverley if you've an itinerary to follow.

A very positive experience at the ibis Edinburgh Centre Royal Mile hotel. Some of the best hotel staff I've come across on my travels, just couldn't do enough for you - even if you're paying a cheap rate. A good location, just a couple of minutes uphill from the Market Street exit of Waverley via Fleshmarket Close. If you're there for sightseeing as well, you're right in the Old Town and a few minutes walk from Edinburgh Castle.

Did I ever mention the Georgian Lodge in Exeter? It's a few minutes from Exeter Central, about 10 from St Davids and is walkable from St James Park. I stayed during the summer and found it more than acceptable at £63 per night (including Breakfast). Slightly strange arrival set up, in that you have to pick up an intercom and ring another hotel for someone to come and let you in, but the rooms are clean and adequate. Breakfast wasn't great, but you can opt not to pay for it if you don't want it. Beds were a bit hard, but the location and rates make up for it.

trentside said:

A very positive experience at the ibis Edinburgh Centre Royal Mile hotel. Some of the best hotel staff I've come across on my travels, just couldn't do enough for you - even if you're paying a cheap rate. A good location, just a couple of minutes uphill from the Market Street exit of Waverley via Fleshmarket Close. If you're there for sightseeing as well, you're right in the Old Town and a few minutes walk from Edinburgh Castle.

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That's where I have booked for the Friday night of my ALR. Its a shame I didn't see a cheap guest house earlier but looking at the reviews, it looks like it might be money well spent.

185143 said:

Looks ok, £25 and are happy to accept me at 16!

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They won't bat an eyelid; you look like you're in your 20s easily!

Premier Inn also allow 16 year olds.

I'd guess some places have a minimum age of 18 but no-one would question you.

yorkie said:

They won't bat an eyelid; you look like you're in your 20s easily!

Premier Inn also allow 16 year olds.

I'd guess some places have a minimum age of 18 but no-one would question you.

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Probably because you have to be 18 to have a credit card which most hotels like to guarantee a room (if not pre-paid) and to cover any extras.

Edinburgh Thistle Guest House

Little Guest House (which I'm guessing used to be a residential property) in Leith area of Edinburgh, near Claremont Park. I had a tiny single room, but the bed was quite comfy (had a good night sleep in a hotel for a change as it didn't overlook the road).

I would comment on the staff, but I didn't see anybody as when I checked in the keys were waiting in envelopes, and it was a case of dropping the keys in a wee box on departure. For a bed for the night it was ideal for £25. Served by quite a few bus routes

yorkie:2430401 said:

185143 said:

Looks ok, £25 and are happy to accept me at 16!

Click to expand...

They won't bat an eyelid; you look like you're in your 20s easily!

Premier Inn also allow 16 year olds.

I'd guess some places have a minimum age of 18 but no-one would question you.

Click to expand...

Dad phoned them to book but it was full so I'm in the station hotel instead.
Anyone been in there?

Does anyone have any recommendations for places to stay in Guildford please? Also, what's the town like as a place?