Meadowhall Travelodge Sheffield

[Blindtraveler]

Even during a pandemic I found Travelodge to be substandard in terms of cleanliness. Like others I have been tempted towards them by the price and each time have regretted it

 

[Bletchleyite]

Even during a pandemic I found Travelodge to be substandard in terms of cleanliness. Like others I have been tempted towards them by the price and each time have regretted it

Yep, that's exactly how it goes for me. The price attracts me and when I arrive I regret cheaping out. It's a bit like flying Ryanair instead of easyJet, in the rare cases when the two actually compete.

 

[Blindtraveler]

A hotel stay for me on about 9 occasions out of 10 is about value for money and this often in compasses other facility is that the hotel or local area might offer. Does the rate I'm booking include breakfast? If it doesn't do I by the hotels breakfast or go elsewhere, usually if going elsewhere I spend more for example. Hence trying to book the hotels inclusive breakfast rate. Does the hotel offer evening food if I'm going to be there in the evenings? If not how much is a local meal out or takeaway going to cost me and is it worth it compared to staying in the hotel down the road that can offer me dinner bed and breakfast for a set price? Only on a handful of occasions do I get to a hotel so late and leave so early but all I need is simply a bed and a shower.

 

[Wolfie]

In my experience, Travelodges vary quite a lot. The good ones are cheap and perfectly fine. The worst hotel I've stayed in was a Travelodge.

After that I made a point checking Tripadvisor reviews. Don't just look at the overall rating, but read a few of the recent ones and the negative ones. I'll ignore moans about car parking for a hotel in a city centre, or a limited choice of restaurants for one on a bypass in the middle of nowhere. However, any that talk about mould or damp, and I'll stay somewhere else.

The worst hotels l've stayed in by a country mile in UK were either Britannia or had the word "choice" or "quality" in their name. All bloody awful.

 

[cactustwirly]

Yep, that's exactly how it goes for me. The price attracts me and when I arrive I regret cheaping out. It's a bit like flying Ryanair instead of easyJet, in the rare cases when the two actually compete.

No it's not.
Please stay in the Pontefract Premier Inn and say it's better than the Travelodge!! (It's not, it's normally £70 a night and it's worse than the Travelodge in Ferrybridge)

 

[Harold Hill]

Best budget places imho are Wetherspoon's Hotels. Fascinating architecture, great service, good locations

 

[Blindtraveler]

The wetherspoon hotels are not bad although at the moment and I have a serious problem with giving them any money for anything because of the way they treated staff and suppliers during the pandemic


Somebody care to enlighten me as to what is so bad about Pontefract PI

The wetherspoon hotels are not bad although at the moment and I have a serious problem with giving them any money for anything because of the way they treated staff and suppliers during the pandemic


Somebody care to enlighten me as to what is so bad about Pontefract PI

 

[unlevel42]

Concerning the location of the Meadowhall Travelodge:
Excellent, road, rail, tram, bus and coach connections.
Meadowhall shopping area has a dining area with many 'restauranta' and a M&S foodhall.
If you want a walk, the canal, Wincobank Hill, Trans Pennine routes and even Tinsley Viaduct are close by.
Otherwise it is not the most attractive area and a long way from a pub-there are a few but difficult to find.

 

[185143]

I too am another who does not get the hate for Travelodge. I've used a few and not had many issues.

I ended up in the Edinburgh Learmonth hotel a few weeks ago due to a few too many adult beverages and definitely remembering the time of the last train home and while it wasn't the best place I've ever, in the circumstances it was more than acceptable at less than £30 on the day. Was quite noisy in the morning though and fairly warm. The Glasgow Central one last week was another older one, but pretty good. Again less than £30 on the day. Slept like a baby, but that might have had something to do with having worked the previous night and only going to bed after the football...

I did learn the hard way to lock the door in Croydon though. Lying in bed, not quite asleep, and someone else entered the room-having just checked in and been allocated it. I complained the next morning and was given a free breakfast and a free beer when I got back. Travelodge's social media team got wind of it too when I posted something about it on my social media and contacted me to ask what exactly had happened as they couldn't see the original post, then later the same day confirmed they were refunding me for that night. I was pretty impressed with that really.

The Fort William one was excellent back in January 2020, with a popular drinking establishment underneath. I'd say I heard no noise from it, but given I was exhausted from the journey on the first night and was in said establishment until closing time the following two nights... I couldn't say! The Super Room in Glasgow Queen Street was good as well, easily better than a Premier Inn. A very friendly welcome and was a bit surprised to see a member of staff actively sat on the front desk at 01:30. Got a night in Aberdeen Central in a couple of weeks, anyone done that one?

 

[Dai Corner]

I too am another who does not get the hate for Travelodge. I've used a few and not had many issues.

I ended up in the Edinburgh Learmonth hotel a few weeks ago due to a few too many adult beverages and definitely remembering the time of the last train home and while it wasn't the best place I've ever, in the circumstances it was more than acceptable at less than £30 on the day. Was quite noisy in the morning though and fairly warm. The Glasgow Central one last week was another older one, but pretty good. Again less than £30 on the day. Slept like a baby, but that might have had something to do with having worked the previous night and only going to bed after the football...

I did learn the hard way to lock the door in Croydon though. Lying in bed, not quite asleep, and someone else entered the room-having just checked in and been allocated it. I complained the next morning and was given a free breakfast and a free beer when I got back. Travelodge's social media team got wind of it too when I posted something about it on my social media and contacted me to ask what exactly had happened as they couldn't see the original post, then later the same day confirmed they were refunding me for that night. I was pretty impressed with that really.

The Fort William one was excellent back in January 2020, with a popular drinking establishment underneath. I'd say I heard no noise from it, but given I was exhausted from the journey on the first night and was in said establishment until closing time the following two nights... I couldn't say! The Super Room in Glasgow Queen Street was good as well, easily better than a Premier Inn. A very friendly welcome and was a bit surprised to see a member of staff actively sat on the front desk at 01:30. Got a night in Aberdeen Central in a couple of weeks, anyone done that one?

Allocating more of the budget towards beer and less towards board so that any deficiencies in the latter are not noticed or cared about is a strategy I may have to try. It might not be a good idea if travelling with children or having to drive or work in the morning though!

 

[Kite159]

Double booking of rooms does happen in Premier Inn as well. As someone entered my room around 1am on Saturday morning as it had been assigned twice

 

[dosxuk]

Regular user of Travelodge's, premier inns and holiday Inn's here, and of those three Travelodge is by far the worst. Sure, I can think of some really nice Travelodge's, better than any of the other companies standard offerings, but I can think of far more bad examples where you feel short changed even paying £35.

I find premier Inn is the most reliable for what you're actually going to get. All their beds are the same, there's almost always food/drink available, they're up front about parking (none/free/paid/etc), and they have a decent refurbishment programme for the older sites. There's too many Travelodge's with a on site Starbucks and no updates except a coat of paint and some fresh linen since the 90s. You might get a really nice one, but you're just more likely to get a bad one.

As for easy hotel, well, stayed there one night, moved to a proper hotel the next and swore never to stay there again. It would be fine for a single night if I'm too drunk to care, but as long as there's alternatives I won't be going back.

 

[jumble]

Travelodges are rubbish. Premier Inns always much better and often not much more expensive, sometimes even cheaper.

I beg to differ
I loath Premier Inn as they do not make me welcome whereas Travelodge are much better as if my master pays £20.00 I can have a holiday as well !

Summer the Cocker Spaniel

 

[johntea]

I stay in the Manchester Piccadilly central Travelodge a lot and it is basic but for the £25 - £35 a night I pay to stay smack bang in the middle of Manchester centre it is hard to be too let down!

Although my most recent stay they stuck me in a room where there seemed to be some sort of loud unit outside operating 24/7 which could still be heard even with the window closed and also the bathroom had no extractor fan so was rather hot and steamy after a shower for several hours as you don’t want to risk leaving the door wide open and setting off the alarm!

Never had any major issues at either Travelodge or Premier Inn that have made me think ‘never again’ though, they’re basically the equivalent of Wetherspoons for the hotel sector!

 

[Ianno87]

I've certainly had a few tatty Traveloges, but I've always had the mentality of "well, you get what you pay for". My main complaint is them generally attracting loud stag/hen parties on weekends, being noisy in the corridor at all hours of the night.

 

[Wolfie]

I beg to differ
I loath Premier Inn as they do not make me welcome whereas Travelodge are much better as if my master pays £20.00 I can have a holiday as well !

Summer the Cocker Spaniel

Nice for Summer! I do hope though that Travelodge use the £20 to thoroughly clean the room, rather than just pocket it, as otherwise anyone with a dog allergy is potentially in deep water....

 

[Grumpy Git]

Travelodge are much better as if my master pays £20.00 I can have a holiday as well !

Summer the Cocker Spaniel

The best reason yet to avoid them.

I've nothing against dogs or any animal, but I prefer not to sleep in a room where a dog has slept thank you.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Anyone intending to stay in Aberdeen Central Travelodge take earplugs. Another older hotel with very little in the way of refinements of any kind and seemingly tends to vary in terms of standards on who is managing it this week. It's many years since I've stayed in there but quite a few people I know have stayed and it's gone from excellent to appalling and back again more times then I've changed my socks in the last year I think.




A side thought on dogs in hotel rooms. What are people's thoughts if an assistance dog who is legally allowed to stay in any hotel room of the person's choosing has stayed and the room then thoroughly cleaned and sold again? I do believe they isolate the room for 24-hours in between

 

[MotCO]

I would echo that you get what you pay for. Do not expect the Ritz standards if you are paying £29 for a night.

Also, I tend to research the hotels by looking at Google Maps and Streetview, just to see what the hotel and area looks like. It will show if the hotel is old and run-down, and if you are right next to an all-night petrol station, a motorway etc. Also, I am put off if there is inadequate parking facilities.

If you do your resesarch, I find that I am not disappointed by Travelodge, but do find Premier Inn a slightly higher standard.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I would echo that you get what you pay for. Do not expect the Ritz standards if you are paying £29 for a night.

Certainly I expect basic for that price (though I have just booked a room in a known-good Premier Inn for £31). But at any price I expect clean and for there not to be bits falling off.

I wouldn't, for example, accept a £5/night campsite to have much more than a bog and a tap, but I would absolutely expect it not to be strewn with litter.

 

[Grumpy Git]

I wouldn't, for example, accept a £5/night campsite to have much more than a bog

Does that include the spade?

 

[Davester50]

Back to the original question, I stayed here a while ago, not long after Purple Hotels went in to administration, and it became a Travelodge.
The hardware was still in decent condition, it was a nice budget hotel, except the Air Con was switched off...
As for now, can't comment.

Coventry Travelodge was the worst budget hotel I've stayed in. The bed was just terrible.

For new-ish budget hotels:
Hampton > HEx > Premier Inn > Ibis > Travelodge > Days Inn.

 

[the sniper]

I gave up on Travelodge years ago, find Premier Inn much better.

To me Travelodge have a similar problem to Burger King, their legacy estate. The cost of enhancing their properties to a higher standard would be huge and probably unaffordable. In the case of Travelodge, the thin wall issue probably can't be renovated out. While they just make do and tweak what they've got, they'll continue to lose out to competitors. Both could do with a wide scale disposal of older properties to save the perception of the better/newer elements of the business.

 

[Mike395]

Back to the original question, I stayed here a while ago, not long after Purple Hotels went in to administration, and it became a Travelodge.
The hardware was still in decent condition, it was a nice budget hotel, except the Air Con was switched off...
As for now, can't comment.

Coventry Travelodge was the worst budget hotel I've stayed in. The bed was just terrible.

For new-ish budget hotels:
Hampton > HEx > Premier Inn > Ibis > Travelodge > Days Inn.

I've also had the misfortune of staying at Coventry TL - run down, uncomfortable and no working air conditioning.

Personally for budget brands I go for HEx first (due to having status with IHG and they're generally reliable/comfortable, even if some of their older properties look a bit run down) -> Premier Inn -> Hampton -> Ibis -> Days Inn -> TL.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I gave up on Travelodge years ago, find Premier Inn much better.

To me Travelodge have a similar problem to Burger King, their legacy estate. The cost of enhancing their properties to a higher standard would be huge and probably unaffordable. In the case of Travelodge, the thin wall issue probably can't be renovated out. While they just make do and tweak what they've got, they'll continue to lose out to competitors. Both could do with a wide scale disposal of older properties to save the perception of the better/newer elements of the business.

Well, it kind of can - you can stick foam-backed plasterboard over the top of it. But yes, I'd agree they should sell some hotels to fund bringing the others up to scratch, and also change their approach to cleaning. An option that wouldn't crank the prices up might be not to clean every room every day, but instead focus on a better clean between guests. I don't clean my house every day and nor is there any need for a hotel room to be cleaned every day, but it does need to be cleaned properly between guests, particularly with a pandemic going on. Perhaps those wanting a mid-stay clean more than say once a week could pay per clean.

That said they have done some divestments - Lancaster has been sold to Ibis and has reopened as an Ibis Budget.

 

[Ianno87]

Well, it kind of can - you can stick foam-backed plasterboard over the top of it. But yes, I'd agree they should sell some hotels to fund bringing the others up to scratch, and also change their approach to cleaning. An option that wouldn't crank the prices up might be not to clean every room every day, but instead focus on a better clean between guests. I don't clean my house every day and nor is there any need for a hotel room to be cleaned every day, but it does need to be cleaned properly between guests, particularly with a pandemic going on. Perhaps those wanting a mid-stay clean more than say once a week could pay per clean.

That said they have done some divestments - Lancaster has been sold to Ibis and has reopened as an Ibis Budget.

My Mum stayed in a Novotel recently, and they are not making up rooms each day during a guest's stay (except by request) - only between guests.

 

[johntea]

I usually just stick the do not disturb sign on the door for the duration of my stay, although I think for longer ones they will insist on at least checking every 4-5 days for security reasons

It does annoy me when housekeeping ignore that and bang on the door at the crack of dawn despite a 12pm checkout time (also the keycard seems to disable itself long before 12pm!)

Also Travelodge charging £3 for anything more than 30 minutes WiFi a day these days feels very Ryanair although there are very simple ways around this if you search Google

 

[Blindtraveler]

Yes the chargeable Wi-Fi thing is really annoying in this day and age. Premier inns standard Wi-Fi isn't great but it's usually sufficient for my needs and if I'm going to want anything more I will happily pay for the ultimate but given that you can check into a budget hostel in a major European city and have Wi-Fi on the house the fact that Britain's second biggest budget hotel chain is charging you you 3 quid for usually somewhat suspect internet service is really going to damage their reputation


The idea of paying if you want your room serviced is a good one. Already in place across the easyHotel estate I have spent 6 nights or was it 7 I can't remember now in one particular easyHotel and paid for a room service on day 3 and day 5, the day 51 in particular was essential as it was a twin room and the second guest instead room was changing at that point


I was also blown away by the quality of the clean that they gave the room. Because I paid a fiver for it that was effectively the majority of the housekeepers wages for an hour so they absolutely went to town on it. I came back at about 14 on the day that I paid and the cleaner was literally just finishing off and the place was absolutely spotless to the point of you could have eaten your dinner off the toilet bowl

 

[Journeyman]

The only trouble I've had with Travelodges hasn't been the rooms or facilities, which have generally been fine - it's been other guests and stuff going on nearby.

On one stay, a couple spent practically all night shouting obscenities at each other, which was pretty disturbing, and in the morning, I was having breakfast when a completely naked woman covered in blood came running into the restaurant screaming. Needless to say, that was all very unsettling indeed. The staff quickly got her wrapped in a towel and off somewhere private, and a few minutes later, the place was full of police officers.

Another time, I stayed at the Travelodge in Barrow with a friend. We'd had a long day and didn't really feel like going back into town for an evening meal, so we were pleased to see a Domino's outside in the car park. I went down there to get some pizza to take back to our room, and found two members of staff beating the crap out of each other.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Another time, I stayed at the Travelodge in Barrow with a friend. We'd had a long day and didn't really feel like going back into town for an evening meal, so we were pleased to see a Domino's outside in the car park. I went down there to get some pizza to take back to our room, and found two members of staff beating the crap out of each other.

Not sure the issue there was the selection of hotel

Barrow is a classic, almost 1980s feeling town built on manual work, and that culture seems to come from that. Definitely has a bit of an edgy feel in places. The local Spoons is certainly somewhere you don't want to pick an argument.