A Pleasant Surprise. (Motorway Services)

Member Name: daseaford

Product:	Motorway Services
Date:	28/06/01 (384 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very Clean., Air Conditioned., Very Pleasant.

Disadvantages: A little expensive.

Like most people I have come to accept that Motorway Service Areas are a necessary evil when you are making a long car journey.

We all know that these places are usually uninviting and expensive, but there is little choice when you are making a motorway trip.

We were therefore very pleasantly surprised when we stopped at the Hopwood Park Service Area, at Junction 2 on the M42 near Birmingham. As you drive into the car park you realise straight away that this is not the average type service area. The main building has a very modern look to it with a full glass covered front. This glass is tinted black and from outside you cannot see into the building. It gives the impression of modern office accommodation, rather than a service area.

The parking area is very spread out with the lorries being kept well away from the cars. Around the car park there are grass banks and picnic tables and we surprised to see so many people there having picnics. Also outside there is a small lake and an impressive fountain, again with a large grassed area around it. There is a large outdoor children’s play area and table and chairs to sit in the sun and enjoy a meal or a snack.

Inside the building everywhere was very clean and the whole building is air conditioned to give a very relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. From inside the building you can overlook the area outside through the tinted glass and you realise that this is much better than most service areas.

There are the usual facilities that you would expect such as toilets, shops and snack bars, but also up an escalator on the upper level there is a waitress service restaurant.

The prices in the service area were still not cheap, but I do not mind paying that bit extra if the facilities are good and in this case they were very good.

It is so easy to criticise service areas, but I know that there would be much fewer complaints if more places were like Hopwood Park.


I know that next time we travel down the M42 that this will be the service area we will be stopping at.

Summary: