Accommodation suggestions and reviews

[ChrisC]

North Stafford Hotel, Stoke-on-Trent

I have not stayed yet but was considering during a forthcoming Eurailpass.

However having read TripAdvisor reviews and also Internet commentary that 'Brittania Hotels is the lowest ranked hotel chain in England' or similar, I decided against it and booked elsewhere, though further from the railway station.

What is 'so bad' about this chain, given the North Stafford looks to be (at least from exterior photos) an attractive heritage building?

Surely it should be a candidate to be renovated given its ideal location? Or is this chain just not interested?

Has anyone stayed at the North Stafford Hotel - are the comments above fair?

Sadly Brittania Hotels have recently taken over the lovely historic Midland Hotel in Bradford. I’ve stayed there on a number occasions and although a little tired in places a great place to stay. The Midland Hotel was always my hotel of choice when staying in West Yorkshire often at a far better price than staying at some of the chain hotels in Leeds. Very sad to see this historic building with its impressive interior staircases, ballrooms etc become part of the Brittania group.

 

[railfan99]

Sadly Brittania Hotels have recently taken over the lovely historic Midland Hotel in Bradford. I’ve stayed there on a number occasions and although a little tired in places a great place to stay. The Midland Hotel was always my hotel of choice when staying in West Yorkshire often at a far better price than staying at some of the chain hotels in Leeds. Very sad to see this historic building with its impressive interior staircases, ballrooms etc become part of the Brittania group.

Midland Hotel Bradford

I stayed there in September 2022: it was excellent under management of Peel Hotels. Superb value. There was a small conference on, one girl in her 20s also staying informed me.

A couple of months ago, it wasn't taking bookings but recently it's begun to. After reading media comment about Briittania Hotels, I booked elsewhere.

The Midland is a grand "railway hotel" so one hopes under the new, poorly regarded company it doesn't become rundown. Maintenance must be expensive even though it was very well built.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I've posted about it in this thread after staying there... I'll see if I can find the post shortly unless someone else finds it for me first!

Found it:

Accommodation suggestions and reviews

I have stayed there before and i have to say that i also found pretty good, the only point that i would make would be that the rooms were a tad on the small side, but as I said apart from that it was a decent hotel. Sam Yeah, that's the one thing we did notice (especially the bathroom), but we...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[Blindtraveler]

I'm going to come in here and be very controversial in sticking up for the Britannia chain. I've had more positive experiences there than I have had with Travelodge in recent years and I admit things have been wrong in some cases the willingness and can do attitude when it comes to sorting them out is far better than the above chain and indeed some others I could mention

The lease or purchase of the midland is an interesting one as it doesn't really fit with their existing business models at all which are either city hotels in tourism or event locations or hotels that will appeal to coach and other group parties particularly pensioners

 

[D6130]

The lease or purchase of the midland is an interesting one as it doesn't really fit with their existing business models at all which are either city hotels in tourism or event locations

Bradford is already experiencing a small upsurge in conference business and is expecting a huge upsurge in tourism when it will be UK City of Culture in 2025.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Are! Missed that one

 

[railfan99]

Found it:

Helpful comments, but your experience was seven years ago. I will consider changing my booking, as it means zero walking from my (as UK calls it) 'line bashing', but my concern as a foreigner is 'if so many UK residents believe Brittania Hotels is a poor accommodation operator, who am I to expect they'll be wrong given it's the cumulative wisdom and biases of thousands of locals?'

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Helpful comments, but your experience was seven years ago. I will consider changing my booking, as it means zero walking from my (as UK calls it) 'line bashing', but my concern as a foreigner is 'if so many UK residents believe Brittania Hotels is a poor accommodation operator, who am I to expect they'll be wrong given it's the cumulative wisdom and biases of thousands of locals?'

True, seven years ago - but the only other time I've stayed in a Britannia was also satisfactory; that was also 2016 though - it was the Metropole in Blackpool. In neither instance had I even heard of Britannia at the time - I booked based on the location, so in a sense they were both unbiased bookings.

What I do fully agree with is people who say the buildings would be stunning if they had more investment in them.

 

[railfan99]

True, seven years ago - but the only other time I've stayed in a Britannia was also satisfactory; that was also 2016 though - it was the Metropole in Blackpool. In neither instance had I even heard of Britannia at the time - I booked based on the location, so in a sense they were both unbiased bookings.

What I do fully agree with is people who say the buildings would be stunning if they had more investment in them.

A TripAdvisor review from November 2022 suggests that at that time, the hotel was being used exclusively by asylum seekers. That may have changed, but these people may have not treated the rooms with respect, so that's another concern, much as the location is A1.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I think there is a tendency from a lot of online reviewers to prejudge and then deliberately pick holes when they actually get to the property. It's all about trying to be as unbiased as possible and work out if the accommodation works for you in terms of the level of comfort or service or in the case of the North Stafford, location

 

[Haywain]

I think there is a tendency from a lot of online reviewers to prejudge and then deliberately pick holes when they actually get to the property. It's all about trying to be as unbiased as possible and work out if the accommodation works for you in terms of the level of comfort or service or in the case of the North Stafford, location

I couldn't prejudge what I didn't know, and booked because of the excellent location, but I would not go back to the North Stafford unless there was a change of ownership.

 

[Cletus]

Stayed at the Heathrow Terminal 4 Premier Inn, not because I was going anywhere but because it was the cheapest in London Saturday night.

First time through the mainline tunnel into T4. Quite a trek to the hotel. Along the platform, corridor, another corridor, wait for the lifts, then the looong walkway to the hotel.

Usual Premier Inn room, but being on the inside of the triangular hotel, no view and no mobile signal at all.

 

[railfan99]

I think there is a tendency from a lot of online reviewers to prejudge and then deliberately pick holes when they actually get to the property. It's all about trying to be as unbiased as possible and work out if the accommodation works for you in terms of the level of comfort or service or in the case of the North Stafford, location

While we don't want to go OT, TripAdvisor in its 2022 Transparency Review discloses that the vast majority of reviews give either 5/5, 4/5 or 3/5. I had always thought such sites attract the disenchanted but many individuals deliver compliments.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Maxwell arms hotel, Dalbeattie

Weather bus stop right outside it from Dumfries town centre and bus and rail connections and the return stop opposite, this is your classic affordable room above a pub. Friendly locals and good bar prices, not at all good from an accessibility point of view but good basic accommodation with food available at some time to day but no breakfast I don't think. I have also used the birch tree hotel in dalbyte which is a bit more luxurious and does offer a full Scottish but this is also more expensive. As I say don't expect fancy or anything else but the Maxwell is clean and friendly with bar down stairs with good prices and friendly locals and as I say served by a number of bus services directly outside the

 

[Blindtraveler]

Premier Inn Sunbury, kempton park a. Scores well for being close to trains and buses and a selection of shops but currently, June 2023, guests at this hotel can enjoy a free sauna when staying in any of the rooms as opening windows are not provided and the air conditioning is worse than hopeless,

If they fix this then it's definitely one I would use again especially as I now have friends in this area but I will be reluctant to do so until I get positive confirmation that the climate issues have been sorted

 

[railfan99]

Are EasyHotel rooms typically as bad as some reviews (not here) claim? I can accept 'basic', but like most of us I prefer the room to be clean, including the bathroom. Reasonable sound suppression is a bonus.

 

[Haywain]

Are EasyHotel rooms typically as bad as some reviews (not here) claim? I can accept 'basic', but like most of us I prefer the room to be clean, including the bathroom. Reasonable sound suppression is a bonus.

I've only used one on one occasion, and it was fine. A bit scruffy but nothing to suggest it wasn't clean - you have to accept that in cheap places the carpet is going to be replaced because it's marked, for instance, that's why they are cheap.

 

[richw]

Are EasyHotel rooms typically as bad as some reviews (not here) claim? I can accept 'basic', but like most of us I prefer the room to be clean, including the bathroom. Reasonable sound suppression is a bonus.

I’ve only used East Croydon, but multiple trips.

Clean and basic. I slept well on each occasion. I paid about £30 when everything else was £100+ in the area.

Probably my best way to describe would be like a private en-suite hospital ward room.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I keep going back to several of them so they can't be that bad because I do have standards. The only thing I'd say is steer clear of the oldest ones like Victoria and Kensington and Paddington and Luton. I'm not sure about the one at Heathrow

 

[djpontrack]

Are EasyHotel rooms typically as bad as some reviews (not here) claim? I can accept 'basic', but like most of us I prefer the room to be clean, including the bathroom. Reasonable sound suppression is a bonus.

I’ve stayed in Easy Hotels in Croydon, Sheffield, Milton Keynes, Ipswich and Paddington. It’s very basic but has always been clean. The majority are very convenient for public transport. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve stayed in Croydon, must be about 12-15 times?

 

[Kite159]

Easy Hotels are basic but in my experience perfectly functional (other than the lifts at Croydon, climbing to the 7th floor isn't much fun!) AC is always nice, better now they give free WiFi. I must have used the Croydon one countless times over the years for railtours or other trips requiring an early start from London, likewise the one in Ipswich.

They can be very hit & miss when it comes to pricing, sometimes wanting more money than Premier Inns in similar locations

 

[railfan99]

I’ve only used East Croydon, but multiple trips.

Clean and basic. I slept well on each occasion. I paid about £30 when everything else was £100+ in the area.

EasyHotel, Croydon Town Centre

Thank you all! Great to have so many relevant confirmations, as I am staying in the East Croydon one on my first night in the UK.

 

[richw]

EasyHotel, Croydon Town Centre

Thank you all! Great to have so many relevant confirmations, as I am staying in the East Croydon one on my first night in the UK.

As long as you just want it as a bed to sleep you’ll be satisfied. I should have added it’s not somewhere you want to spend hours sitting in your room due to being so basic

 

[railfan99]

Esay

As long as you just want it as a bed to sleep you’ll be satisfied. I should have added it’s not somewhere you want to spend hours sitting in your room due to being so basic

Thanks. Given I arrive on a flight after 1800 hours at T4 Heathrow and will then travel by rail to East Croyon, the biggest risk is the flight being late or cancelled, not spending time in the room.

 

[NorEast]

Grand Central in Glasgow is very nice, and right in the station building - some rooms have a window looking out on the concourse, as does the bar. Prices vary a lot, but can be fairly reasonable midweek in winter (or more like £200 at busy times - which I'd not pay)

 

[bramling]

Grand Central in Glasgow is very nice, and right in the station building - some rooms have a window looking out on the concourse, as does the bar. Prices vary a lot, but can be fairly reasonable midweek in winter (or more like £200 at busy times - which I'd not pay)

Had a bad experience there a few years ago. Room had a noisy radiator, so we asked to change rooms, which shouldn’t have been a problem. First of all they wanted us to come to reception at 1500 (which wasn’t acceptable as we were out for the day), then they said come when we returned, which we did and then got a lecture on how “you were supposed to come here at 1500”. I came very close to walking out without paying, though to be fair we did get a goodwill payment after making the inevitable complaint. Not impressed with the customer service, though the hotel was fine otherwise.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Grand Central in Glasgow is very nice, and right in the station building - some rooms have a window looking out on the concourse, as does the bar. Prices vary a lot, but can be fairly reasonable midweek in winter (or more like £200 at busy times - which I'd not pay)

...or try the Leonardo a short walk down the road on the opposite side of the station. About half the price and a much better view...

 

[D6130]

...or try the Leonardo a short walk down the road on the opposite side of the station. About half the price and a much better view...

Nice photos! Is that the former Jury's Inn?

 

[BJames]

Nice photos! Is that the former Jury's Inn?

Jury's has now rebranded all of its hotels to Leonardo - I had thought for a bit that it was just the one in Nottingham they'd done but it appears they're done with the Jury's brand now.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Nice photos! Is that the former Jury's Inn?

It is, yes - and if you e-mail them when you have booked, you can request a room with a view of the railway.