Budget hotels discussion

[Baxenden Bank]

I just booked a stay in Sheffield. Travelodge and Premier Inn are both located just north of the city centre (with others elsewhere). Cheapest 'non-refundable but date amendable rate' standard room at PI was more expensive than the 'fully refundable' 'Plus' room at Travelodge. Both air conditioned, much the same in terms of convenience of location, less money and I get two, two finger Kit-Kats and two Galaxy hot chocolate sachets into the bargain. I'm not bothered about the coffee machine or other 'frills'. There is also an Ibis nearby but I don't book with them (bad experiences).

What I have found, they tend to lower their prices on the day if they are not full. Not worth taking the gamble though.

Only on a very small number of occasions have I found a room cheaper the night before travelling than by booking ahead. I've never looked 'on the day'. With dynamic pricing they can be all over the place but I usually save money, often by a large amount, by booking ahead. In the more popular locations I often find 'no rooms available' so I wouldn't take that gamble.

 

[317 forever]

There is generally no need to stay right in the centre of anywhere. I bet the hotels further out were cheaper even in August. I’ve stayed in numerous Premier Inn’s in the Edinburgh suburbs with good bus, tram or train links into the centre

I've stayed at Newcraighall twice, almost just opposite the train station and on route 30 (and not far from route 49) to the city centre.

 

[route101]

If there is a major event on in Edinburgh even the hotels in Glasgow will sell out!

I am staying in an Ibis Styles soon, how do they compare to regular Ibis and other budget chains?

 

[Blindtraveler]

I find with all of the Ibis branded hotels but there's a huge variation in quality and service, the styles are meant to be sort of top end or boutique but there's one or two around that I really wouldn't recommend. The one in crew was excellent when I used it as it was an acquisition and conversion from a more upmarket property, another one I stayed in more recently post pandemic and I can't remember where now but I didn't book it was bitterly disappointing. I don't as a rule rate Ibis generally, but most interestingly, my friend and her kids stayed in the Ibis budget in Edinburgh a couple of years ago and whilst I was overcharged three times at the bar for drinks, the rest of the experience was apparently excellent and they even cleaned the room and did a lot of things that they said they weren't going to do on the initial booking stage.

 

[takno]

I only stayed in a styles once in central Leeds, but it was far from budget-priced, and it wasn't worth it. It was newly-fitted out, and the carpet and wall coverings looked to be custom, but there was no storage at all, the room was poky and the breakfast was abysmal. As Blindtraveler says, there doesn't seem to be a lot of consistency across Ibises at all, and being in a "better" sub-brand definitely doesn't guarantee a better experience.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I tend to give most of that particular chains brands which also include mercure and one or two less known ones a wide birth, the only one that I use even vaguely regularly is dumped on a roundabout on the A6 outside Preston. But conveniently situated about a mile from relatives who now their kids are older are a little short on spare room, accommodation. And even that is decidedly shabby and apart from eating breakfast and sleeping I spend absolutely no time there at all as I would very quickly find myself going mad

The premier Inn restaurant situation is now clearly impacting on them on the review sites, haven't checked TripAdvisor but the locations I have saved as favourites in Google maps because they are well located or sufficiently. Good that I would return to them again in future if needed. Have all taken a huge nose dive since the alteration catering arrangements with some despite the marketing hype not offering any kind of evening meal at all, which is of course what I said would happen when these totally ridiculous changes were announced. I think the budget accommodation sector whilst looking healthy from an accountant's point of view is taking a few very worrying wrong turnings at the moment in terms of quality and service and it's anyone's guess to see where it goes from here

 

[Cletus]

Currently in the Days Inn at Gretna services (not eloping).

Standard budget hotel room and bathroom. Totally fine.

 

[Blindtraveler]

As a non-driver, I've only ever had one experience of these, but I have to say that that experience was really good and felt much more 4 star than the actual bona fide 4 star that I stayed in a week later

 

[Belperpete]

As a regular stayer in Ibis and Ibis Budget both home and abroad, and Travelodge here, I find it hard to justify the extra expense of a Premier Inn. At one time, PI offered a slightly more up-market ambience, but is that really worth the extra expense when most of the time I spend in the room is asleep? How much extra am I going to pay to sleep in a room that is painted purple rather than blue or orange? And my last couple of stays in PIs were distinctly underwhelming - on the last occasion I wished I had stayed in my regular Travelodge.

I likewise tend to avoid Ibis Styles. It seems to be an odd mixture of budget facilities and upmarket styling and pricing, and no way am I going to pay extra for trendy styling.

The cooked breakfasts in PI are generally good, but no better than those offered by the other chains who again charge significantly less. And anyway, personally, I prefer the Travelodge full breakfasts to the PI offering. The only thing you have to be careful with TL and Ibis is, if you want a cooked breakfast, to choose a hotel with a restaurant. That is fairly simple to do with TL, as there is a box you can tick on the search page to only show hotels with restaurants.

Generally, Ibis Budgets don't have restaurants, and so don't do cooked breakfasts. However, where a standard (red) Ibis and budget (blue) Ibis share the same building, such as at Birmingham airport, you can book a budget room and get a cooked breakfast.

The other thing I like about the Accor hotels is that a lot of them are franchises. So while all the chains have their own house styles (uniform blandness), with Ibis you will sometimes get surprised with a franchise that has obviously been converted from something else, usually with better facilities. On a recent stay in an Ibis I was surprised to be informed that I had been upgraded to a suite! The only thing you are going to be surprised by at a Travelodge or Premier Inn is how run down it is.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I am inclined to agree these days that the TL breakfast is better, with the exception of that dreadful powdered scrambled egg, which I wish they'd do something about

 

[Belperpete]

I am inclined to agree these days that the TL breakfast is better, with the exception of that dreadful powdered scrambled egg, which I wish they'd do something about

How long ago did they introduce that abomination? I am sure that on my last visit, probably about six weeks ago, the scrambled eggs were fresh. Certainly much better than the scrambled eggs in my last visit to a PI, which gave a good impression of rubber.

Scrambled eggs are one of the things that I particularly look for in a breakfast. If a cook can't do decent scrambled eggs, they shouldn't be let anywhere near a breakfast.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I think they've been pouted for years to be honest, but certainly on a stay at a Travelodge. Earlier in the year the egg had run out and someone asked how long it would take to be replenished and the manager's answer was 2 minutes as it's a case of adding hot water to powder. So this confirmed my already active suspicions. If some hotels are breaking the mould and using fresh eggs then good on them, but at the majority of sites it does seem to be a mass-produced powder job bought in in bulk, presumably as it's cheaper.

 

[Cross City]

Certainly much better than the scrambled eggs in my last visit to a PI, which gave a good impression of rubber.

PI use real eggs that's why, they overcook under the hotlamps at buffet breakfasts. It's almost impossible to avoid if you actually want hot food.

Those grim powdered scrambled eggs are actually pretty stable and give a more consistent product.

 

[D6130]

Staying in the Edinburgh Central (St. Mary's Street) Travelodge on Sunday night, I was very pleased to discover that the bath had been fitted with a permanent 'non-slip' mat on which to stand while taking a shower. The danger of slipping while standing in a bath showering - and particularly while getting out - has been a bugbear of mine ever since a shower-exiting accident at home just over five years ago which resulted in a broken foot and severe ankle ligament damage..

 

[Cross City]

Staying in the Edinburgh Central (St. Mary's Street) Travelodge on Sunday night, I was very pleased to discover that the bath had been fitted with a permanent 'non-slip' mat on which to stand while taking a shower. The danger of slipping while standing in a bath showering - and particularly while getting out - has been a bugbear of mine ever since a shower-exiting accident at home just over five years ago which resulted in a broken foot and severe ankle ligament damage..

This is a fear of mine too, and I'm sorry to hear of your injuries.

I slipped in the shower of a Premier Inn at Heathrow the day before flying out to the US. Fortunately I was uninjured apart from a bit of a sore back and a lump where I hit the side of the bath on the way down to eventually end up lying stark naked on the bathroom floor. Could've been much worse, no way I was more than a couple of inches from smacking my head off the toilet.

I was only in my late 20s at the time, mid 30s now, and it still makes me nervous getting in and out of the shower. Dodgy knees from my time playing american football certainly do not help.

 

[TheTallOne]

Premier inn have bath matts on request I believe. Probably should have them there all the time, certainly can be a bit slippy.

 

[ChrisC]

PI use real eggs that's why, they overcook under the hotlamps at buffet breakfasts. It's almost impossible to avoid if you actually want hot food.

Those grim powdered scrambled eggs are actually pretty stable and give a more consistent product.

One thing that seems to be coming more the norm in hotels serving buffet style breakfasts is cold plates for hot food. I haven’t stayed in a PI much recently but the last couple I have stayed in have had piles of icy cold plates at the hot food section. Even if the food is hot after being under lamps or sitting in dishes on hotplates if served on cold plates your breakfast food is cold before you are even halfway through eating it.
On a plus note, last week I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Cardiff and a few weeks ago at the Crowne Plaza in Manchester where the plates were warm every morning.

 

[D6130]

One thing that seems to be coming more the norm in hotels serving buffet style breakfasts is cold plates for hot food. I haven’t stayed in a PI much recently but the last couple I have stayed in have had piles of icy cold plates at the hot food section. Even if the food is hot after being under lamps or sitting in dishes on hotplates if served on cold plates your breakfast food is cold before you are even halfway through eating it.
On a plus note, last week I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Cardiff and a few weeks ago at the Crowne Plaza in Manchester where the plates were warm every morning.

Ever eaten at a restaurant in Italy? They never, ever warm the plates. Italians eat too quickly to worry about such trivialities!

 

[sprunt]

I've been arranging a trip to Glasgow today - I got four nights in the Motel One including breakfast for £3 more than a Premier Inn would have cost. No competition really.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Keystone House, Kings Cross, London. Double no window no breakfast £88 in September (booked months ago via booking.com). Room looks recently refurbished, everything worked, comfortable, occasional rumble from Thameslink as the entrance is right by the old KX Thameslink station. Kettle and coffee/tea supplied. Not bad for central London convenience. Despite being an internal room with no windows, the ventilation (and aircon/heating unit) was fine.

 

[Sealink]

Motel One is decent enough - rooms start at around £59 (and don't have the same huge fluctuations at Premier Inn and Travelodge), the ones I have stayed in are incredibly central - in Edinburgh it is just off Waverley Bridge on one side of the station, and they have another on Princes Street. In Glasgow it's down behind Glasgow Central.

The rooms, I'd say are slightly smaller, and they don't do a cooked breakfast, but the continental offering is filling enough.

 

[Kite159]

Keystone House, Kings Cross, London. Double no window no breakfast £88 in September (booked months ago via booking.com). Room looks recently refurbished, everything worked, comfortable, occasional rumble from Thameslink as the entrance is right by the old KX Thameslink station. Kettle and coffee/tea supplied. Not bad for central London convenience. Despite being an internal room with no windows, the ventilation (and aircon/heating unit) was fine.

Isn't that one also a hostel with shared bedrooms? Only as the name rings a bell.

Personally a windowless room can be an advantage in a busy city as there can be less outside noise.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Isn't that one also a hostel with shared bedrooms? Only as the name rings a bell.

Sorry, no idea.
Edit: their website doesn't seem to mention a hostel

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I think @Kite159 is thinking of The Clink in Gray's Inn Road?

 

[Peter Sarf]

I think @Kite159 is thinking of The Clink in Gray's Inn Road?

Being a Clink that ones always "fully booked" innit .

 

[Howardh]

Ever eaten at a restaurant in Italy? They never, ever warm the plates. Italians eat too quickly to worry about such trivialities!

Stayed at a hotel on Guernsey this week and the breakfast plate very nearly burned my hand. Much rather have warm food on a cold plate so it quickly becomes safe to eat, I'm a fast eater so the food is still warm at the end!

Most hotels I've stayed at are buffet where you pick the plate yourself and help yourself. This was table service - much prefer buffets.

 

[Kite159]

I think @Kite159 is thinking of The Clink in Gray's Inn Road?

It is the Keystone, however it does look like they have changed from being a hostel set up to being a hotel set up (looking at reviews).

 

[Belperpete]

Keystone House, Kings Cross, London. Double no window no breakfast £88 in September (booked months ago via booking.com). Room looks recently refurbished, everything worked, comfortable, occasional rumble from Thameslink as the entrance is right by the old KX Thameslink station. Kettle and coffee/tea supplied. Not bad for central London convenience. Despite being an internal room with no windows, the ventilation (and aircon/heating unit) was fine.

Kings Cross may be in zone 1, but isn't exactly central London in my books. Okay if you need to be in that area, but if you need to use the tube to get from your hotel to where you want to go, you might as well stay somewhere outside central London with good tube connection in.

For an upcoming trip where I will be flying from Gatwick, I recently booked a double room in the Ibis Earls Court for September for £72. Quiet area, newly refurbished rooms, excellent cooked breakfast available (at reasonable charge if booked at check in) and just a few minutes walk from West Brompton underground and overground with fast links into the centre. They will store my luggage for me after check out. And as a member, a good chance that I will be upgraded to a superior room.

Had I booked the Travelodge at East Croydon, just 5 minutes walk from the station with a 20 minute trip straight into central London by Thameslink, I could have got a room for under £40. Very large and spacious rooms (they are converted ex BR offices), cooked breakfast available. However, TLs won't store your luggage for you, which is what swung it in this case.

I have to say that your £88 windowless prison cell in Kings Cross doesn't sound like much of a bargain compared with either of those options. The only thing that would make me even consider staying there would be if I had an early morning departure from KX or the like that I absolutely had to catch, and so couldn't risk disruption on the tube. But each to their own.

 

[Blindtraveler]

I think central London hotels are trading too heavily on the fact that they are in central London and have totally overlooked the fact that there are so many other options available now.

 

[Belperpete]

I think central London hotels are trading too heavily on the fact that they are in central London and have totally overlooked the fact that there are so many other options available now.

Fortunately for the central London hotels, there is a seemingly neverending supply of gullible tourists (both UK and from abroad) who don't seem to realise just how easy it is to get into central London from the outskirts.

I often used to attend meetings in the Network Rail offices in Euston. I got there from my hotel in Wembley faster than many of my co attendees staying in far more expensive central London hotels. Although, TBH, some of them could have got there faster by walking than by taking the tube.