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Accommodation suggestions and reviews

Blindtraveler

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Nowhere near enough to a Pacer :(
I was under the impression that the Exeter st Davids station Premier Inn was a recent new opening. Or perhaps they have to in the area or have simply replaced the older one

I'm sure I saw it as a recent opening on the website last year when I was researching accommodation in the area
 
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bspahh

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I was under the impression that the Exeter st Davids station Premier Inn was a recent new opening. Or perhaps they have to in the area or have simply replaced the older one

I'm sure I saw it as a recent opening on the website last year when I was researching accommodation in the area
This is the one that I stayed in in June 2021. From Google Streetview, it was built between 2008 and 2011.

It might have been refurbished recently, but when I went, the windows still opened, and I don't think it had air conditioning.

We also stayed in the Premier Inn in Derrys Cross, Plymouth which was new. It had some teething problems with air conditioning and heating controls in the rooms, and with limited seating capacity in the restaurant during covid. It got some awful reviews on Trip Advisor, but it was fine for me
 

Cletus

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Dover
I've being staying at the Exeter St Davids Premier Inn since 2014, I like the ones near stations. It seems that when you get further into Devon and then Cornwall the hotels are near the main roads and not the railway line, so I always base myself in Exeter.

I think all the rooms I've been in there have opening windows (10 times). From the front facing rooms you can see the station building, but not the trains. You can hear them though :smile:
 

trainophile

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I've being staying at the Exeter St Davids Premier Inn since 2014, I like the ones near stations. It seems that when you get further into Devon and then Cornwall the hotels are near the main roads and not the railway line, so I always base myself in Exeter.

I think all the rooms I've been in there have opening windows (10 times). From the front facing rooms you can see the station building, but not the trains. You can hear them though :smile:

As they say in Yorkshire, that'll do.
 

richw

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This month I have stayed in:

Abingdon Lodge Ryde. it was dated but looked clean and I slept well. Price wise it was £45 and the next cheapest room available on the Isle of Wight for that weekend was £120. It was en-suite and conveniently located a short walk from Ryde St Johns. No breakfast offerings, plenty of cafes and a Spoons within a short walk.

Easyhotel East Croydon. Great location, I paid £42 which included the £5 window supplement. The next cheapest room available in the London area was £199 at the time I booked. It was clean and again I slept well. No breakfast taken. I particularly highly rate the shower’s water pressure and was a lovely shower. It was a tiny room, but adequate as I arrived at 2245 and left by 0800. It was somewhere I’d say good for sleep, but not somewhere you’d want to spend time in the room.

Holiday inn express Watford Junction. Again a convenient location for watford junction station, this was the most expensive room of my month at £117, but included breakfast. Cleanliness looked ok on the surface but a few issues were visible in the more hidden areas. The shelf under the sink was grim. It was the most comfortable bed I’ve stayed in of the three I review here and the largest room. The breakfast was low quality ingredients and one of the worst sausages I’ve eaten. It was the nicest room of the three reviewed here, but wasn’t worth treble the price, so I’d rank it the lowest based on quality versus price paid. Worst value for money of the three I mention in this post by a long way.

All rooms were twin rooms, myself travelling with my 12 year old.
 

High Dyke

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Most recent stays for me have been:

Ibis Glasgow City Centre, West Regent Street. It wasn't bad. Building work taking place opposite at the time of my stay, but not overly noisy in the morning. Charing Cross station is nearer than walking to Queen Street station. Stayed in March 2022.

Premier Inn, Ealing. About 10-minutes walk from Ealing Broadway. Tidy room, combined air-con / heater unit. We found it best to leave switched on whilst out. The walk up to the fourth floor made the legs think (the Mem Sahib doesn't do lifts). Breakfast was plentiful, and still below £10. Stayed mid-May 2022.
 

trainophile

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Question for those who have used EasyHotel. I've just booked the Newcastle one, and now read that not only is there no kettle in the rooms, but you seemingly have to pay extra for a remote to watch the TV. Can anyone confirm if this is true (about the TV), and if so how much is it?
 

richw

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Question for those who have used EasyHotel. I've just booked the Newcastle one, and now read that not only is there no kettle in the rooms, but you seemingly have to pay extra for a remote to watch the TV. Can anyone confirm if this is true (about the TV), and if so how much is it?
At East Croydon on Saturday the remote was handed to me on Check in for no fee.
No tea or coffee facilities in the room, but coffee vending machines throughout the building.
 

trainophile

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At East Croydon on Saturday the remote was handed to me on Check in for no fee.
No tea or coffee facilities in the room, but coffee vending machines throughout the building.
Thanks, yeah I was planning to take a travel kettle, tin mug and tea bags. Don't fancy having to go downstairs in my night attire when I wake up. Besides I'll need hot water for my pot noodles and porridge pots! That's good about the TV, hope it's their policy and not that you just got lucky.
 

Kite159

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I think Easy Hotel has changed policy in regards to the TVs & also WiFi. Both used to be "perks" of booking direct but the last few stays the TV remote has either been in the room [if it was a room with a TV] or handed out at reception.

Although normally the first thing I do when I get to a hotel room is try and switch the TV off so it's not on standby all night long.

Also something to bear in mind, the rooms don't really have much in the way of tables.
 

richw

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This was the interior of the window room at East croydon Easyhotel.
Apologies for the unmade beds, we’d just got up and wife asked for pics to see what the room was like. It was a tiny room but perfectly adequate for somewhere to sleep and wash and toilet. I slept well. That’s the main thing I want.
 

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Butts

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This was the interior of the window room at East croydon Easyhotel.
Apologies for the unmade beds, we’d just got up and wife asked for pics to see what the room was like. It was a tiny room but perfectly adequate for somewhere to sleep and wash and toilet. I slept well. That’s the main thing I want.

Looks like a Cabin on a Ferry.

Not advisable to bring your proverbial puss as no room to swing said feline !!
 

Blindtraveler

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Nowhere near enough to a Pacer :(
To be totally honest, most of the easy hotels with the exception of a couple of the older ones in central London are a pretty good solid option as long as you going with your expectations suitably adjusted. The big problem with Croydon in recent times has been lift availability we have had a bit of a winter of discontent with breakdowns at this location and a number of us use this hotel quite regularly both for business, bashing and general leisure stays

I like them as the standard offering includes climate control and plenty of plugs. A premium extra upgrade for me might be a chargeable extra pillow as only 1 per guest is allocated and I like to
 

trainophile

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Thanks everyone. No reviews from Newcastle then? I will report back! On booking although I entered 1 guest it defaults to "price for 2 guests", so perhaps I will get two pillows. I hope so. Can never understand why hotels think anyone might only want one. Unless it's a super thick one with just the right amount of support, which is never the case in my experience. Always having to unzip the spare two in Travelodge and Premier Inn when there's two of us.
 

185143

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Oh dear, we’ve booked three nights in the Exeter St David’s Premier Inn for next month. One attraction being that it’s only a five minute walk, or to be more precise hill climb, to a rather nice looking Wetherspoons, and of course very handy for the station.

Sorry to hear that the PI is a bit rubbish ☹️. We’ve booked non-refundable.
Ahh The Imperial! One of my favourites that one. Well worth a visit.
 

trainophile

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Ahh The Imperial! One of my favourites that one. Well worth a visit.
We had a quick lunch there a few weeks ago as we had time to kill before getting the Okehampton train. Yes it is rather splendid, I love the huge grounds it's in, so many picnic tables. If the weather's good it will be perfect to eat outside.
 

185143

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We had a quick lunch there a few weeks ago as we had time to kill before getting the Okehampton train. Yes it is rather splendid, I love the huge grounds it's in, so many picnic tables. If the weather's good it will be perfect to eat outside.
I went there last April on a very sunny day back when you had to go outside. There didn't used to be quite so many tables outside, they were added for Outdoors only and have been kept. Very wise in my opinion.

Needless to say, it was a lovely place to kill an hour or three!
 

TechDan2002

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Penryn
Hotels (in the UK) I’ve stayed in this year:

Hotel one: Premier Inn Sandown Seafront, two nights 25-27th February, £97.50.
By far the best I’ve stayed in so far this year. Hotel is a recent build so had the newer style rooms with an immaculate shower room with double walk in shower cubicle. Best part of this hotel was the view. I had a second floor room with a window facing Sandown beach, easily the best view from a hotel room I’ve ever stayed in in the UK! Photos of hotel, room and view below.

Hotel two: Premier Inn Heathrow Airport (Bath Road) one night 7-8th April. Price not a clue my parents booked lol.
Impressive Premier Inn from the exterior and the large central atrium perfect for people watching, older style rooms about a decade old down the halls. I had a twin room (King bed with single sofa bed) with my 15 year old brother and my parents had the standard double room next door. Perfectly serviceable rooms and we got adequate sleep before our early afternoon flight the next day. We also had evening meal and breakfast at the Thyme in the atrium, again perfectly satisfactory.

Hotel three: Abingdon Lodge Hotel Ryde, one night 14-15th May, £45.
As RichW said, dated tired room but clean enough and comfortable bed. Stayed here the same night as him for the Rydabus event at the nearby bus museum as it was by far the cheapest option in the area. Shower room was a bit grubby though with dirty pull cord switches. Photos of room and shower room attached below.

Hotel four: Travelodge Norwich Central, three nights 16-19th May, £144.97.
Ideally situated for me right next to the bus station, room was large and adequate with comfy bed, bathroom was clean on the surface however shower wash dispenser didn’t work and further investigation revealed a large buildup of black mould within it! As hotel is situated on a main road there was a lot of road noise through the night however I anticipated this before booking. Photo of hotel and room attached below.

Hotel five will be The Duke of Wellington JD Wetherspoon in Minehead on the 14-15th June. I’m a fan of their pubs having visited over 100 now in the last year so when I saw a single room available for £56.05 I decided to book. I shall report my findings back after my stay!


All hotels bar the Bath Road Premier Inn I’ve stayed at alone as a 19 year old solo traveler.
 

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185143

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3 Mar 2013
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4,486
Hotels (in the UK) I’ve stayed in this year:

Hotel one: Premier Inn Sandown Seafront, two nights 25-27th February, £97.50.
By far the best I’ve stayed in so far this year. Hotel is a recent build so had the newer style rooms with an immaculate shower room with double walk in shower cubicle. Best part of this hotel was the view. I had a second floor room with a window facing Sandown beach, easily the best view from a hotel room I’ve ever stayed in in the UK! Photos of hotel, room and view below.

Hotel two: Premier Inn Heathrow Airport (Bath Road) one night 7-8th April. Price not a clue my parents booked lol.
Impressive Premier Inn from the exterior and the large central atrium perfect for people watching, older style rooms about a decade old down the halls. I had a twin room (King bed with single sofa bed) with my 15 year old brother and my parents had the standard double room next door. Perfectly serviceable rooms and we got adequate sleep before our early afternoon flight the next day. We also had evening meal and breakfast at the Thyme in the atrium, again perfectly satisfactory.

Hotel three: Abingdon Lodge Hotel Ryde, one night 14-15th May, £45.
As RichW said, dated tired room but clean enough and comfortable bed. Stayed here the same night as him for the Rydabus event at the nearby bus museum as it was by far the cheapest option in the area. Shower room was a bit grubby though with dirty pull cord switches. Photos of room and shower room attached below.

Hotel four: Travelodge Norwich Central, three nights 16-19th May, £144.97.
Ideally situated for me right next to the bus station, room was large and adequate with comfy bed, bathroom was clean on the surface however shower wash dispenser didn’t work and further investigation revealed a large buildup of black mould within it! As hotel is situated on a main road there was a lot of road noise through the night however I anticipated this before booking. Photo of hotel and room attached below.

Hotel five will be The Duke of Wellington JD Wetherspoon in Minehead on the 14-15th June. I’m a fan of their pubs having visited over 100 now in the last year so when I saw a single room available for £56.05 I decided to book. I shall report my findings back after my stay!


All hotels bar the Bath Road Premier Inn I’ve stayed at alone as a 19 year old solo traveler.
It's very nice, though I found it to be rather warm upstairs. Apparently some rooms are above the kitchens.
 

sk688

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11 Sep 2016
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Dublin
The Redbeck Motel - Wakefield

Stayed here as it was one of the best value last minute places I could find, having travelled up for the by-election

Room was slightly dated , but comfortable bed and good facilites.

24 Hour resturant being on site was a godsend , and the breakfast was to die for (certainly helped ease the hangover). For the price would say its very good for what it offers
 

railfan99

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Victoria, Australia
I am a foreigner and have booked a night at Bradford's Midland Hotel that was built between 1885 and 1890.

Looks great, and given it's an advance booking, very cheap for the UK, and close to Bradford's Forster Square railway station with K&WVR not far away, and an historic UNECO village in between.

Strangely despite being months away, Preston's Premier Inn appears to be booked out (or it was when I looked).
 
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IanD

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Newport Pagnell
I am a foreigner and have booked a night at Bradford's Midland Hotel that was built between 1885 and 1890.

Looks great, and given it's an advance booking, very cheap for the UK, and close to Bradford's Forster Square railway station with K&WVR not far away, and an historic UNECO village in between.

Stranegly despite being months away, Preston's Premier Inn appears to be booked out (or it was when I looked).
I like that hotel. It used to have a direct link to Forster Square station via a long luggage ramp. Unfortunately they demolished the old station and built a boring new one 200 yards away but I believe the ramp is till there :)
 
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Old Shire

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Shirehampton, Bristol

I went to the park last December and will be going again this year. Before people start shouting about the price (the holiday is for a week and the carriages sleep up to 6). The site is 5 minutes walk from Dawlish Warren station. If you book a carriage next to the main line you are in train spotters heaven
 

trainophile

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Review of Newcastle EasyHotel as promised. Overall impression, very good for the price (although even since I booked it seems some of their prices have almost doubled for the summer holidays period). Very glad I paid the extra £3 for a room with a window, which did actually open about 4". It overlooked the central yard area so all I could see was the other rooms' windows and the sky, but great to have some daylight. Bathroom spotless, fully tiled in white and everything functioned well. Hair & body wash supplied, nicer quality than Travelodge equivalent. Bed comfortable, lovely thick good quality duvet which would be ideal in winter, if a bit heavy for summer! Being on my own I was able to use both pillows, but those who mentioned about there only being two per double bed have a good point, they are not exactly generously filled and two are needed for proper support. Not sure whether extra ones might be available on request, the staff do seem very willing to help but that might be a request too far.

No kettle, as expected from previous reports, but I took a small travel one. Two plug sockets behind the table/desk, no USB points though. If two people shared the room the one sleeping nearest the window would only have a few inches clearance to get in and out of the bed. Plastic chair provided, not hugely comfortable but okay for watching TV for a bit. No need to request a remote control, it was in the room, and the TV worked well although nearly all the channel numbers were different from the Freeview ones I'm used to. Four hangers of the slot-in kind, plus a hook on the back of the door, and another in the bathroom.

No hot drinks machine in the reception area - apparently it is being repaired, so seems like there will be one soon. Two vending machines for soft drinks and snacks.

Very pleasant staff, desk manned 24/7. They let me leave my bags on arrival and departure for no charge, big bonus there, it was advertised as a £5 charge but this wasn't applied.

Finally, it is about 10 minutes walk from Central station, mostly downhill going, but very steeply uphill coming back! Add in extra time to carry luggage back to the station, it's quite a slog.
 

Andy Pacer

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Review of Newcastle EasyHotel as promised. Overall impression, very good for the price (although even since I booked it seems some of their prices have almost doubled for the summer holidays period). Very glad I paid the extra £3 for a room with a window, which did actually open about 4". It overlooked the central yard area so all I could see was the other rooms' windows and the sky, but great to have some daylight. Bathroom spotless, fully tiled in white and everything functioned well. Hair & body wash supplied, nicer quality than Travelodge equivalent. Bed comfortable, lovely thick good quality duvet which would be ideal in winter, if a bit heavy for summer! Being on my own I was able to use both pillows, but those who mentioned about there only being two per double bed have a good point, they are not exactly generously filled and two are needed for proper support. Not sure whether extra ones might be available on request, the staff do seem very willing to help but that might be a request too far.

No kettle, as expected from previous reports, but I took a small travel one. Two plug sockets behind the table/desk, no USB points though. If two people shared the room the one sleeping nearest the window would only have a few inches clearance to get in and out of the bed. Plastic chair provided, not hugely comfortable but okay for watching TV for a bit. No need to request a remote control, it was in the room, and the TV worked well although nearly all the channel numbers were different from the Freeview ones I'm used to. Four hangers of the slot-in kind, plus a hook on the back of the door, and another in the bathroom.

No hot drinks machine in the reception area - apparently it is being repaired, so seems like there will be one soon. Two vending machines for soft drinks and snacks.

Very pleasant staff, desk manned 24/7. They let me leave my bags on arrival and departure for no charge, big bonus there, it was advertised as a £5 charge but this wasn't applied.

Finally, it is about 10 minutes walk from Central station, mostly downhill going, but very steeply uphill coming back! Add in extra time to carry luggage back to the station, it's quite a slog.
How did you find noise during the night out of interest?
 

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