When I went to BritMums Live in London earlier this year I stayed at the Moorgate Travelodge.
Truth be told, I had a terrible night’s sleep. But I can’t blame that on Travelodge. The bed was actually very comfy.
Instead we must point the finger at Asda, for sponsoring the event I had come from with their delicious wine.
Damn you Asda and your free wine in the big glasses.
So here are my top tips if you are thinking of staying at the Moorgate/City Road Travelodge:
- A packet of peanuts and a tin of gin do not the best bedtime snack make.
Especially if you have been to an event where there’s free wine. I might put that up on TripAdvisor. People need to know this stuff. - It’s very clean
When I looked up the Travelodge prior to staying in it, the one word that kept coming up was clean. That’s exactly the word I want to read. And in truth the room was spotless. - It’s on a main road
I didn’t find this particularly noisy, even when there was a full-blown military party in full swing outside, complete with fireworks. Possibly the gin helped.
- There’s a 24 hour Tesco next door
Handy for supplies of peanuts and tins of gin. - It pays to book ahead
I booked my room 3 months before my stay for £26. Very good for a Friday night in central London. Checking again a few days before my arrival and the rate had shot up to over £100. - Free breakfast for children
Breakfast was also pre-bookable for a slightly discounted £6, and there was a special offer where up to two children get a free breakfast per paying adult. It was the standard sort of hotel fare, not particularly amazing and I don’t know if I’d bother next time. Plus it turned out that BritMums Live was serving a nice looking breakfast of waffles and porridge. So the lesson here is – if you think the place you’re going on to will stump up a better breakfast, or there’s a decent cafe nearby, don’t bother. - No shower gel or shampoo
There’s some guff on the website about this being because people prefer to bring their own, but you just know that it’s more about cutting costs. Which is a shame because I LOVE the tiny bottles of shampoo you get in hotels. I don’t prefer to bring my own. There was a little slither of Travelodge soap but that’s it. - But there are tea and coffee-making facilities
So not entirely barbaric.
So all in all, yes I would stay here again. It’s very much frill-free and sparsely decorated, but it’s also very clean and the staff are friendly. I don’t think you’d get better value in central London, especially if you book early enough.