Accommodation suggestions and reviews

[Blindtraveler]

Darlo, good to know there is workmans/contractors type accom in the area, not because I am one but more because I happen to like that sort of place. Cheers.

Butts good info, thanks.

 

[Kite159]

Must have slipped the net

Chase the Wild Goose, Banavie, Fort William

A hostel in the small village of Banavie which is located around 3 miles away from Fort William (day-time bus service of 3 buses an hour), being the 1st stop heading towards Mallaig on the West Highland Line. The hostel is less than a 5 minutes walk from Banavie station, with good views of Nepture's Staircase locks on the Cally Canal.

Friendly reception staff, the room I was in had 8 beds (4x bunk beds) with shared bathrooms. A good place to stay if you are in Fort William area and don't want to pay the Fort William premium for visiting in September

 

[djpontrack]

Lansdowne Hotel Lansdowne Road Croydon
Myself and Mrs djpontrack have just had a week there and we found it very good.
About a minutes walk from Wellesley Road tram stop and about 5 mins from East Croydon.
The hotel looks a bit tired from the outside but was ok inside.

 

[dave87016]

Ye Olde Coach House Harrogate

5 mins walk max from station

It only has 2 rooms

The reviews on its own website and Trip Advisor were incredibly awesome I thought I would try it but I was not prepared for the delights and being spoilt rotten by the owner who is without doubt the most amazing kind lady I have ever met in 40 years she loves her job /role and I wish her all the more for its continued success

I am in the 2nd night of a 3 night stay and honestly I have stayed in numerous bed and breakfasts and hotels but never have I so quickly felt like part of the family , on arrival I was greeted by Irene the owner she asked how I was and how I arrived showed me to my room insisted on making me some refreshments , I didn't expect what she brought me back ......3 sandwiches each with various fillings ( she asked what I liked ) 2 chocolate and cream eclairs 2 chocolate chip shortbreads, a four fingered kit kat and a blue ribband

Breakfast was freshly cooked to order ( proper high quality ingredients ) and a huge choice aswell as very generous portions she was quick to point out the main places in Harrogate she also offered to make me tea on both nights ( free of charge ) or sandwiches anything really my face lit up when she told me where the Wetherspoon pub was on arrival back in my room she had laid a small bottle of wine with a glass and a can of cider !!!!!

She really does expect you to relax and enjoy yourself she made me feel like a king and goes out of her way to do so !!! The room was quite big spotless and great huge shower , there was tables , chairs , flat screen tv with free view

It's no exaggeration to say I have put on a few pounds During my stay talking of pounds it's £70 per night for 2 sharing and £55 for single occupancy both include breakfast and VIP treatment you have never received before !!!

Has anyone stayed there before? Would love to know what their experience was and I challenge anyone to stay you won't want to leave

 

[Blindtraveler]

That has been added to my list of MUST stays.

 

[dave87016]

As long as your prepared to put on a few pounds mate you will be fine .

By far the best place I have stayed in and I felt like royalty I got Irene a large box of thorntons chocolates as a thank you for £55 sole occupancy I considered it a real bargain !!

 

[dave87016]

BlindTraveler I am that sure you would enjoy your stay if your unhappy I will buy you a couple of pints in Scotland !! Honestly the reviews on Trip Advisor aswell as my own speak for themselves

 

[Techniquest]

Wow! That place sounds incredible and I also want to stay there!

 

[Kite159]

The Waverley Hotel, Crewe

Located less than 5 minutes walk from the station it has location on its side (useful for those early starts or late finishes). Friendly staff and reasonable sized rooms. Very nice breakfast as well (I think there is a bar downstairs open some nights as well)

Only downside is the shower in room 13 was a bit weak and the fan in the bathroom stays on a good 20 minutes after turning off the lights.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

..the fan in the bathroom stays on a good 20 minutes after turning off the lights.

That's a deliberate design feature of most modern bathroom extractor fans.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I think 10 minutes is about the norm however

can't quite believe we have sunk to the level of discussing bathroom fans!

A friend of ine recently used the Doubletree by Hilton Abereen City Centre as despite being a local girl she has for affordability reasons moved 2 miles out of town and in true Firstbus style they had just finished setting their new house to rights as they wanted it when the post evening peek and weekend bus service was cut.
Aberdeen has a reputation for expensive hotels as a result of the oil industry and despite the bottom falling out of that the accommodation still remains pricy however on researching the nightly rates for use after a mates hen party she found the Hilton were only charging a fiver more than iether of the City Centre Travelodges and it included nice smelly stuff in the bathroom. wiFi and breakfast plus AirCon and access to room service so if you must spend 70 quid plus on average for a bass in the Granet City look carefully at value for money instead of a cheepest is best option here as you may as well get the best from your investment.

 

[IanD]

That's a deliberate design feature of most modern bathroom extractor fans.

The time can usually be varied on the units but most installers seem to not bother and leave it at the default, probably because they don't have to listen to it.

Anyway, I stayed in the Premier Inn in Charing Cross (Glasgow) last week as the Travelodge was not cheap enough at the time

Perfectly serviceable accommodation, handy for the station of the same name. Plenty of free sockets in the room so I could charge all my devices at once. And the usual free wifi.

Only 3 downsides
i) the main lights were too dim. Seems to be getting more common in hotels these days.
ii) only 4 free mini pots of milk for the 2 people I'd booked for (not really even enough for 1 person). And they didn't replenish the tea/coffee for the second night. OK, you can get more from reception but it's a bit of a trek from the 4th floor.
iii) the size of the bed. For some reason, it was really wide (bonus) but the length was shorter than normal so my feet stuck out of the end (I'm about 6ft tall so don't usually have this problem). Fortunately (or unfortunately), I was alone so could sleep diagonally but I'm not sure why the bed was this size. Maybe it was because I was in a corner triangular room and they had to have some custom sized bed or maybe the padded headboards are too deep. And what's with tucking the duvets in at the end? Defeats the point of having a duvet really.

I should add that the nearby Hengler's Circus Wetherspoons is quite handy for breakfast or a late dinner. Whilst The State Bar over the road from 'Spoons has some excellent cask ales.

 

[Kite159]

Premier Inn, Llandudno Junction (Glan Conwy)

Couldn't quite remember what the proper title of this hotel was, located just over a mile from Llandudno Junction station (and just under a mile from Glan Conwy station). Brewers Fayre next door and nearby Shell Garage.

Usual PI room featuring a bathroom fan which turned off when you turned off the light Only downside is that I got warm last night and was unlucky to get a room on the wrong side, facing the North Wales Expressway so had road noise if I opened the window.

A good place to stay if you want an early start on the Conwy Valley line

 

[IanD]

A couple of weeks back, I stayed in the Ibis Budget in Cardiff (again Travelodge was too expensive otherwise I would have been happy to stay in any of the central Cardiff ones or the one at Atlantic Wharf). We got the room via their summer sale so it was quite cheap (less than £100 for 3 nights for up to 3 people but only 2 of us went in the end).

Handy for either Queen Street or Central stations - about 10 mins from each.

We ended up in a twin which was an accessible room. Decent sized room but the single beds were a bit hard and a bit narrow (but plenty long enough). Bathroom was a walk-in wet room so roomier than the standard Ibis "Shower in a wardrobe and toilet in a cupboard" affair of other Ibis budget facilities. The extractor fan was not noticeable. Only 2 sockets in the whole room so lucky that we took a couple of extension cables. No tea/coffee in the rooms but we took our own and had a travel kettle and a plentiful supply of milk from the free coffee bar in reception.

Didn't try the food or anything (except the free milk) but the breakfast buffet looked a bit sparse whenever we passed at about 8:30.

Would probably use it again if the Travelodges or Premier Inn are unavailable/expensive but maybe stick to the triple room.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I believe all twins in that propperty which I have also used are accessable with wet room, 2 sockets and concreet beds.

I am wondering if I should go back through all reviews Iv left adding bathroom fan information where remembered???????

 

[IanD]

I am wondering if I should go back through all reviews Iv left adding bathroom fan information where remembered???????

It would be useful. I once stayed in a room in Ostend on a Belgium beer jaunt and the extractor fan never switched off (according to the receptionist, that's how it was supposed to work!). If someone had mentioned that on TripAdvisor, I might have stayed somewhere else.

 

[Kite159]

What have I started?!

 

[Blindtraveler]

Out of the ones that are obvious/regularly used/that I can remember:

all species of Travelodge the bathroom fans run continually at low speed. PI's sometimes do this in newer build or heavily refurbished hotels where the entire electrical and plant installation has been replaced. Others tend to shut off nice and quickly.

Easy Hotel is the same, runs slow and low all the time.

Rollason Wood Hotel Erdington, can't speek for shared bathrooms as always go ensuite but these are well timed.

Staymor Guesthouse Blackpool no fans!

 

[Peter Mugridge]

And what's with tucking the duvets in at the end? Defeats the point of having a duvet really.

Duvets are an abomination! The first thing I do with any duvet is tuck it in tight all the way round to banish the dreaded side and foot draughts completely...

 

[dave87016]

Wow! That place sounds incredible and I also want to stay there!

It certainly is incredible Techniquest, I really landed on my feet there pal, I have a large appetite , and the fact breakfast filled me up till tea time says it all.

 

[Blindtraveler]

It does sound like a RUK trip reporters heaven it must be said, and whilst Iv been known on more than 1 occasion to describe Croydon's Easy Hotel as Heaven simply due to cheep coffe, great beds, working sockets and a clean bathroom plus its proximity to all London has to offer its a different sort of heaven, one you go to to simply fall down and when you get up again hours later after sleap its all just seamless and guaranteed to work.
This on the other hand is what sounds like utter luxury heaven and as many of us in this part of the forum has good apitites and in my case a few more pounds will make little odds to the many extra ones already present then I shall certainly try it sometime.

My birthday is next month BTW!

 

[alexf380]

Anyone got any recommendations for Crewe? Looking to stay in January.

Cheers!

 

[Kite159]

Anyone got any recommendations for Crewe? Looking to stay in January.

Cheers!

Waverley Hotel is quite nice, sub 5 minute walk from the station with a few takeaways nearby. They do a nice breakfast as well

 

[robbeech]

There is often an isolator switch for the fans hidden either in the bathroom or quite frequently outside them on the wall near the door, you should allow it to do its job if you have been in the bath / shower but if you are just getting up in the night to get a glass of water then its useful to be able to isolate the fans when they are un-necessary. I have been known to use my torch on my phone instead of switching the light on when there has been a particularly noisy fan that continues for a lunar month after you switch the light off.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Crewe PI is good too with Brewers fare next door, bothe modern and clean. Dont get fooled by the totally misleading map and directions for the Ibis, its further than it says on a business park with the last half mile in the 60mph limmit and actually once there its nout special.

 

[IanD]

There is often an isolator switch for the fans hidden either in the bathroom or quite frequently outside them on the wall near the door, you should allow it to do its job if you have been in the bath / shower but if you are just getting up in the night to get a glass of water then its useful to be able to isolate the fans when they are un-necessary. I have been known to use my torch on my phone instead of switching the light on when there has been a particularly noisy fan that continues for a lunar month after you switch the light off.

Lights above the mirror are also good for this where available.

 

[Kite159]

Belgrave Hotel, Chester

Located less than 5 minutes walk from Chester station (and most of that was spent trying to cross the road) so an ideal location for any early starts/late finishes.

An old building, with my room being a bit of a maze to reach (room 17), usual basics (ensuite bathroom, TV, kettle) with a reasonably comfortable bed.

Down side was my room had a streetlight close by and the window blind wasn't the best at keeping out the light. Plus the walls were covered in some sort of textured paint which might seem petty but when I toss and turn my arms kept on catching on the lumps.

Didn't sample the breakfast, nor the WiFi. I paid £30 for a non-refundable room which for the location on a Friday night is very reasonable. One I would use again.

One odd thing is having to hand in your room key before you head out, I've only come across this a couple times before, but the reception is 24 hours.

Didn't appear to be a bathroom fan

 

[Mag_seven]

One odd thing is having to hand in your room key before you head out, I've only come across this a couple times before, but the reception is 24 hours.

Very old fashioned - are you sure the manager wasn't a B Fawlty?

 

[Kite159]

Very old fashioned - are you sure the manager wasn't a B Fawlty?

No idea who the manager is, it makes sense in a way to hand in the key on heading out, one less thing for people to misplace.

 

[robbeech]

The Avon hotel near Paddington station is another example of handing keys in. It makes sense to do so with those keys as they come attached to a piece of brass weighing in at around 700lb. A generally cheap ish hotel and usually breakfast included in the rates which is adequate.

Fan run on time < 2minutes.