Accommodation suggestions and reviews

[D1537]

Four Points Flex by Sheraton, Newcastle
3 minutes walk from the station, cheap (except some Saturdays), we had a room which looked out over the station, very clean and tidy (it's quite new).

Motel One, Newcastle
A bit further to walk from Central station, but this is a great hotel and often quite cheap. Excellent late night bar with good (bottled) beer. Can be a little noisy on a Friday or Saturday night if you get a room overlooking High Bridge.

 

[Willie Bee]

Premier Inn Leeds City Centre (Wellington Road)


My wife and I have just returned today from a one night stay here and everything was fine

When in Leeds we usually stay at the Whitehall Road P.I. which I have reviewed here previously, but at the time of booking, the Wellington Road PI was about £40 cheaper.

The hotel isn't as modern as some, but still perfectly OK.

We arrived at about 13:00 and hoped to leave our bags. Lindsey was sitting at a desk in reception which was nice .. at many Premier Inns, you normally have to push a ring button and wait and wait to actually speak to somebody.

Anyway, when my wife asked if she could use the toilet, Lindsey said she would see if our room was ready. Indeed, it was, so we managed to get in about 2 hours early. Considering we have never been to this hotel before and were only staying one night, this was great customer service.

The hotel is only 5 minutes by bus from Leeds Railway Station.

Our room was on the top floor (3rd) next to the busy 4-lane road, but with triple glazing we never heard any traffic.

We actually only paid £48 and we had free breakfasts too, as there was an offer on at the time of booking.

We would certainly stay here again

 

[route101]

Moxys Manchester Spinningfield

Located around a ten minute walk from Victoria Station and on a side street. Paid just over a £100 for one night and added Breakfast for £15. Usual Moxy decor and bar set up. Staff friendly and bed comfortable. I added the breakfast as never had a breakfast at Moxy. Usual selection but not as much choice as a Premier Inn, no black pudding but the sausages were nice. The croissant was a little stale.

 

[Buzby]

Moxys Manchester Spinningfield

Did they stiff you for the nightly tourist tax?

 

[Steddenm]

Travelodge Leeds Central

Stayed here last week for one night and have no complaints at all except that first thing in the morning around 7am there were some contractors in the hallway outside of my room putting plastic wrap over the carpets but they didn't make too much noise.

Only around a five minute walk from Leeds Station and comfortable, refurbished rooms. Quiet during the night with views over the station. Breakfast was good, and a lot better than a usual Travelodge.

Room was only £24.99 for the night with a free breakfast (from a previous complaint about another hotel).

As it was summer the window had been left open and curtains closed. The fan was running and duvet removed off the bed and a sheet put on instead which was nice as it was exceptionally hot.

Handy to walk into Leeds City Centre.

 

[route101]

Did they stiff you for the nightly tourist tax?

No mention of tax.

 

[Kite159]

Travelodge Cardiff (Queen Street)

Located around 5 minutes walk from Queen Street station (a few minutes longer to Central) on The Friary so quite useful for the city centre. Usual Travelodge style rooms, however due to the limited window opening the room I had was quite warm, even the fans weren't helping much.

One of those hotels where it depends where your room is located, I had a room overlooking the entrance which overlooked a nightclub so it was noisy until the nightclub finished playing loud music but was quiet afterwards (as the streets are pedestrianised).

On the plus side the shower was actually reasonable this time round

 

[Willie Bee]

In case foilk here are interested, there's a Premier Inn sale on, with some great deals for stays in early January 2027

 

[Kite159]

In case foilk here are interested, there's a Premier Inn sale on, with some great deals for stays in early January 2027

January time always tends to be cheap for accommodation. Just with the added risk of stormy weather.

 

[Egg Centric]

Went to a place in the basement of the Landmark Hotel just opposite Marylebone station this evening - there's even an awning between the station and the hotel. The hotel itself is roughly a million billion trillion pounds per night but bizarrely the pub food in the basement (not the gorgeous atrium with all the poncy piano playing and stuff) is normal London pub food prices. Well worth it to be surrounded by such opulence.

Now to be clear the food itself is normal London pub grub too! But if you want to go somewhere genuinely fancy looking - and the food ain't *bad* or anything - I recommend

(Disclosure: I wasn't personally paying for this and wouldn't personally go there on my own dime cause I prefer marbled steak to marbled walls - but it's absolutely brilliant for the right use case)

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I wanted to stay in Inverness -prices are outrageous. I would be grateful for any suggestions anyone has please.

 

[route101]

I wanted to stay in Inverness -prices are outrageous. I would be grateful for any suggestions anyone has please.

I have stayed at the Wetherspoons Hotel, have you checked prices for that?

The Premier Inns and Travelodges command high prices in the summer.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I have stayed at the Wetherspoons Hotel, have you checked prices for that?

Standard Non Flexible Rate​

£168.30

September 23rd - not too bad I guess.

 

[route101]

Standard Non Flexible Rate​

£168.30

September 23rd - not too bad I guess.

A lot more what I paid in the Winter. I paid around £70.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

A lot more what I paid in the Winter. I paid around £70.

I may just have to put of my trip until November/December. Should be much lower then as you say.

 

[Egg Centric]

Does it have to be in the city centre? It's technically not a hotel but https://www.glamness.net/ is only £99 on that date and available.

 

[D6130]

I wanted to stay in Inverness -prices are outrageous. I would be grateful for any suggestions anyone has please.

Last September I spent a night at 'Rooms in Inverness' - simple, but clean and adequate en-suite single-bed chalet style ground floor rooms in a yard behind the excellent Phoenix Ale House at the corner of Academy Street and Rose Street....five minutes walk from the station. £60 on Booking.com.

 

[jamieintercity]

Waterfront hotel, southport

Stayed there with my parents for 1 night (Monday to Tuesday), excellent breakfast (dinner menu was poor, so went to wetherspoons instead) and great room with the view towards Blackpool

 

[ChrisC]

I wanted to stay in Inverness -prices are outrageous. I would be grateful for any suggestions anyone has please.

I did a 7 night stay at the Premier Inn in Inverness back in September 2019. Prices then were very high and I delayed my stay from earlier in the summer to get slightly cheaper prices after the school holidays in September. I remember it was the first time ever that I paid over £100 a night to stay in a budget hotel. I can remember begrudgingly paying around £800 for my stay. Until then I had only previously paid between £40 and £70 for nights in hotels like PI and TL.

I only stay in Premier Inns and Travelodges these days as a real last resort if I can’t find find anywhere else. If I’m paying in excess of £100 a night I would rather even pay a little bit more and stay somewhere a bit more upmarket. Lots of privately owned hotels and even smaller chains often offer much better value these days. If they have fixed priced rooms this avoids the excessive prices often charged for some random midweek nights at PI and TL and also breakfast is sometimes included in the price.

 

[Bullfield WEst]

I wanted to stay in Inverness -prices are outrageous. I would be grateful for any suggestions anyone has please.

At the end of June this year, I tried to book something in Inverness but gave up due to the prices. Ended up booking a Travelodge in Aberdeen for less than half the price. The location wasn't a problem as I was using an ALR ticket.

 

[Buzby]

Ended up booking a Travelodge in Aberdeen for less than half the price.

It shows you how things change. Aberdeen previously as ‘oil capital’ meant overnight stays cost a King’s Ransom, and I would have to overnight in Stonehaven or Fraserburgh. By comparison, Inverness was half the cost. Now? Off-season I can get good B&Bs for around £50pn, but even the small establishment want £125pn

 

[D6130]

Last September I spent a night at 'Rooms in Inverness' - simple, but clean and adequate en-suite single-bed chalet style ground floor rooms in a yard behind the excellent Phoenix Ale House at the corner of Academy Street and Rose Street....five minutes walk from the station. £60 on Booking.com.

I've just booked a single en-suite room at 'Inverness Rooms' for the night of Friday 18th September. £65 on Booking.com....so £5 more than last year.

 

[Willie Bee]

I did a 7 night stay at the Premier Inn in Inverness back in September 2019. Prices then were very high and I delayed my stay from earlier in the summer to get slightly cheaper prices after the school holidays in September. I remember it was the first time ever that I paid over £100 a night to stay in a budget hotel. I can remember begrudgingly paying around £800 for my stay. Until then I had only previously paid between £40 and £70 for nights in hotels like PI and TL.

I was amazed at how prices vary so much for Inverness Premier Inn hotels

In January last year, my wife and I combined two 2-day breaks in Inverness and Glasgow for a total of £150, which we thought was fantastic value, especially when considering Inverness P.I. can charge £200+ per night in the summer.

For next January, there are bargains to be had .. see image

 

[317 forever]

For a change I stayed at Ramada Encore in Gateshead about 3 weeks ago.

Their B&B rate was only around £7 higher than Premier Inn.

When I checked breakfast times I saw these started at 6.30 Mon-Fri but 8.00 Sat/Sun.

Thankfully it was not a Friday night. However, as I would have found 8.00 seriously late for a Saturday, I took on board that it will be wise to check breakfast times (or satisfactory alternatives) before booking.

I am staying at a Travelodge next month, but am prepared to skip their Saturday breakfast. As their rate of course does not include breakfast anyway, I will not be paying for it in vain.

 

[Buzby]

I always remain surprised when I’m offered breakfast, usually £10 for ‘continental’ or £15+ for standard. Usually there’s a ‘Spoons nearby (hot breakfast £4.99) and saving 66% is a powerful incentive to decline what the hotel believes it has a captive market. Perhaps if there are no other options nearby I might consider it, but since Most of my stays are in urban areas, I’ve rarely been inconvenienced.

 

[Willie Bee]

I always remain surprised when I’m offered breakfast, usually £10 for ‘continental’ or £15+ for standard. Usually there’s a ‘Spoons nearby (hot breakfast £4.99) and saving 66% is a powerful incentive to decline what the hotel believes it has a captive market. Perhaps if there are no other options nearby I might consider it, but since Most of my stays are in urban areas, I’ve rarely been inconvenienced.

Yep, can't beat a good 'Spoons' breakfast

In my local Wetherspoons, the traditional breakfast is £5.29, but for an extra £2.75 you get two more slices of toast, with jam plus unlimited hot drinks << not bad at all

A retired friend goes nearly every morning and for only £3.19 has a bacon and egg muffin, plus unlimited coffee or tea

 

[styles]

I always remain surprised when I’m offered breakfast, usually £10 for ‘continental’ or £15+ for standard. Usually there’s a ‘Spoons nearby (hot breakfast £4.99) and saving 66% is a powerful incentive to decline what the hotel believes it has a captive market. Perhaps if there are no other options nearby I might consider it, but since Most of my stays are in urban areas, I’ve rarely been inconvenienced.

I think it depends what's on offer at the hotel.

A Spoons breakfast is fine, but the bacon is wafer thin and the sausages are a bit naff. If the hotel is going to offer thick cut bacon, decent sausages, a choice of how the eggs are done, etc; or a buffet breakfast, it can be well worth the extra. Also some people prefer the convenience of just heading downstairs for breakfast rather than heading out, then potentially back again depending what their plans are.

Personally I can rarely finish a large breakfast these days, given I sit on my arse in front of a computer for 5 days a week rather than doing something active all day like I did when I was a teenager. So I'm more than happy with a Spoons breakfast, but I can see why people pay for hotel breakfasts, especially if they're buffet style.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

I've just booked a single en-suite room at 'Inverness Rooms' for the night of Friday 18th September. £65 on Booking.com....so £5 more than last year.

Wow. That seems excellent. I must try harder.

 

[Steddenm]

Stayed in a Travelodge last night in St Albans and they have a new app for checking in and obtaining your room key, but it is absolutely useless.

There were a number of tries to check in and it kept coming up that the room wasn't ready (at 0230 in the morning as well!). The staff at the hotel did say it is useless and to use the self-check in screens. But that was just as bad so they manually checked me in.

On each floor they had a cupboard with irons, ironing boards and hairdryers in that you could help yourself to.

The app also functions as your room key by NFC or Bluetooth. The new app iw called Travelodge StaySmart. I'm not sure how many hotels have it but it is a no from me, I'll stick to standard check in from now on!

 

[sh24]

Hilton have had a digital key since 2020. The check in part does work pretty well but the key itself is similarly unreliable.