According to The Times Online, Travelodge has just launched an advertising campaign criticising its competitors for being expensive. Travelodge does offer some low deals, particularly if you book online, and as we were simply looking for a hotel near to the airport for one night prior to flying to the USA and one night on the way back, the Gatwick Travelodge seemed like a good option.
We weren’t expecting luxury – after all, the average charge for a room for one night at the Gatwick Travelodge is only £44 – but we were expecting basic, clean and functional accommodation. Unfortunately, we were disappointed.
When we got on the shuttle bus from Gatwick to the hotel, the bus driver looked at us with pity. When we pulled up at the hotel, he told us how close to the airport we were. We’d stopped off at two other hotels on the way, so the distance was difficult to judge, but we got the impression that he’d said it because he knew what we were about to face.
The outside of the hotel was grim – it looked like a 1960s car park building – but hotel exteriors can be misleading, so that didn’t worry us too much. However,the interior wasn’t any better. The reception area looked dirty and the staff were unwelcoming.
We took the grimy lift to our floor and then trekked through the long corridor to our room, which was at the back of the hotel. On the way, we passed an abandoned cleaning trolley, stacked with towels and cleaning products - my best guess is that it had been left there at least a month ago.
When the shuttle bus driver had said we were close to the airport, we didn’t realise that he meant that we were right at the end of the runway. If the view from our window had actually been of the runway, it might have provided some entertainment, but to see the planes you had to try and ignore the view of the hotel’s back yard, which was filled with rubbish. To be fair, the soundproofing was excellent, but the standard of the room meant noise was irrelevant as far as a getting a good night’s sleep was concerned.
We’d booked a family room with two double beds. Unfortunately, one of the beds had a mattress which was too big for the base of the bed, so had I have actually attempted to sleep in it, there was a fair chance that any movement would have made the entire thing collapse and I would have ended up on the floor with the mattress on top of me, which was not really what I was hoping for after a day of travelling and a long flight the next day.
The room wasn’t just basic – it was thoroughly depressing – and the rest of the hotel was much the same. The thought of using the bathroom with its cracked tiles and chipped sink really didn’t appeal, so we headed to the bar (which didn’t open until 5pm). The food was reasonable but the atmosphere was non-existent and not helped by the barman nonchalantly kicking a beer barrel across the room in front of people eating. Unfortunately, it was one of the coldest nights of the year, but you’d think there’d be a little more heating than a few portable heaters that the staff had obviously rustled up from elsewhere in the hotel.
By the time we got back to our room, whatever air freshener they had used in it had worn off and the smell was revolting. The idea of staying there for the night was too much for us, and the thought of returning there after our holiday when we had jetlag was enough to make us want to cry, so we hastily made a booking at the Crowne Plaza and checked out. The receptionist didn’t even bat an eyelid when we checked out and asked for a taxi to the Crowne Plaza.
I’d like to think that we were just unlucky and that this is just a poor hotel in an otherwise reasonable budget hotel chain, but when we got to America, we heard about a couple who had changed hotels because the Travelodge there was so vile that they didn’t want to risk getting into the beds.
Perhaps, instead of criticising its competitors’ prices, Travelodge may want to turn its attention to the quality of its hotels – they may be cheap, but the Gatwick Travelodge certainly didn’t provide value for money.
Tags: airport, airport hotel, budget hotel, gatwick, Hotel, review, travelodge, UK travel
Way to go Smart Traveller – name and shame. Hotels rely on user reviews form sites such as Laterooms and Tripadvisor but sometimes I reckon these are fiddled.
I took the trouble to share my experience at the Confortel Seville in order that others checking it out would benefit from my opinion.
Thanks, Pasty. I popped by to read your review of the Confortel Seville and can confirm that as a result I shall avoid it at all costs. I particularly liked your “cat’s arse” ratings system though. The Gatwick Travelodge would certainly earn several cat’s arses and the smell certainly reminded me of something that would have originated from one.