I hadn’t planned to stay at Travelodge, Lutterworth
In fact until I got there I knew nothing of the town that is birthplace of Sir Frank Whittle the jet engine inventor – among others.
But I was getting tired after a drive from northern Scotland; I had been driving all day Sunday and collected a Travelodge map further north at Wakefield service station in Yorkshire in mid afternoon.
The first place I stopped at after another 2 hours down the road was at Travelodge Leicester, Markfield; it looked very run-down nestled against an equally run-down “services” consisting mainly of a Burger King..
There was a very empty car park- and presumably an empty hotel as well but there could be no discussion by the cold receptionist on her rate of GBP50 – despite Travelodge’s heavy advertising of special Easter rates on radio and TV.
My earlier experience of the pleasant and homely ladies at Wakefield Travelodge reinforced the regional stereotypes. Midlands folks are much less accommodating and not at all warm. There goes that north/south divide in the UK.
Enough of Leicester Markfield Travelodge - avoid it.
I drove a little further down the M1 motorway and got off at the next listed Travelodge on the edge of Lutterworth. The rate was marginally worse there – GBP51 but at least the building looked bright, clean and fairly new.
On check in I verbally confirmed that there was WiFi in each room. The room was fairly large with a big bed and a large settee as well as a desk and comfortable chair.
In keeping with Travelodge philosophy there were no shampoos etc and no telephone in the room. Totally basic rooms – start off with that premise in mind.
It was when I tried to get WiFi working that my evening went wrong. The receptionist could only give me a number for technical support – and as there is no public telephone she told me that I had to call at my expense using my mobile phone. That was it!
The guy on the “Spectrum support” line eventually suggested that the signal was probably too low level and that nothing could be done till the following day. All this after I had entered my personal details and credit card number for the GBP10 charge for 24 hours use. I now have to examine my credit card to ensure no charges were taken.
To some, this may seem trivial but it changed the course of my evening as I was expecting to check emails etc. A wasted hour.
As far as the room was concerned I slept well..
The hotel is on three floors with no elevator which might be a problem for older or disabled guests. In fact the only access to the reception from the car park involves several steps which may be a consideration for the disabled.
And for heavens’ sake, when are UK hotels going to review their very basic and often defective TV’s. Five basic terrestrial channels plus a very shaky Sky news is way less than adequate in 2008.
There’s a pub/ restaurant in the same complex ; it’s a bit of a barn with a good selection of beers and a fairly basic menu and service which can best be described as eventual
Travelodge has more UK hotels than Ibis but would do well to compare facilities against that chain.