Days Inn at Abington is an ideal base to stay to explore Southern Scotland, or for those one night stopovers to break up your journey.
Situated at the Welcome Break Services at J13 on the M74, this Days Inn hotel is said to have the most scenic location of all the Days Inn hotels, as it is nestled between the hills, looking down onto the Clyde Valley.

Indeed the location is quite breathtaking, and to the side of the hotel, there is a large grassed area with picnic tables, looking out onto fields and hills.
Because of its location, it does get quite cold in the winter, which I will come to a bit later!

The hotel is situated 45 mins away from both Glasgow and Edinburgh, so after a days exploring or shopping in the big cities, you can return and relax in this peaceful rural setting.
Abington village is nearby with lovely walks along the River Clyde.

Days Inn hotels are part of the Wyndham family of hotels, which includes Ramada and Travelodge, though I would say these hotels are better than a lot of Travelodges I have stayed in!

On both occasions I have stayed here with my partner, we have always received a friendly welcome from the staff and checking in has been problem free.
The rooms are clean and modern, pretty much the standard size you find at most Premier Inns , Travelodges etc. A comfortable double bed, sofa bed, wardrobe space, TV and work space feature in every room. Also all rooms have en-suite bathroom with both bath and shower. The rooms are suitable for up to 2 adults and 2 children.
Hairdryers, trouser press, tea and coffee making facilities with complimentary tea and coffee are also provided. Extras such as cots are available from reception at no extra cost.

The rooms we have stayed in were both comfortable and adequate.The bathrooms were spotless. There are non-smoking rooms but pets are allowed, which is handy for people travelling with their dogs. I must add that I have not noticed any animal hair, smells or stains anywhere in the rooms we stayed in, they have all been perfectly clean. Your dog will love all the open spce outside to run around on!

If you fancy upgrading to something a little more luxurious, then Executive rooms are available which have a fridge, coffee machine, water, snack pack, fan, iron and ironing board, but we have not stayed in these rooms on our stays.

As I mentioned earlier, it can get very cold here in the winter, and that is the only problem we have encountered staying here. The first occasion was fine. It was in the summer and we did not need to put the heating on. However, our next stay was in late November and it was freezing! There were gusts of cold air coming through the window, and although we had the heating on full, it was still quite cold in the room. We were huddled under the quilt to keep warm!
I did tell reception that it was very cold, and we were given a heater for the room which helped, but they really need to get the windows sorted, as the cold air constantly blowing through was not comforting! Maybe in other rooms, the windows are fine, but we did meet another couple who were experiencing the same problem.
This is the only problem I have found with this hotel however, but I will say that seeing the early morning frost on the fields and the snow topped hills make it very picturesque!

Staying here is also quite quiet, even though the main service area building is next door and can get busy, the petrol station is located quite a distance away from the hotel, down the bottom of the services area, so you are not disturbed by lorries etc coming and going.

You can have continental breakfast delivered to your room for around £4 per person, but we passed on this, due to having something similar delivered to our room in a Travelodge once, and it was basically one of those twin pot cornflake things with UHT milk, which was warm and horrible, a small carton of juice and a small muffin. We swore we would never pay for one of these breakfasts again!
A better option is to walk out of the hotel and into the main services area next door where you will find a restaurant and Burger King, as well as a shop.

Booking a room can be done easily online at DaysInn.co.uk or by telephoning reservations on 0800 0280 400.

Room rates are very reasonable, and by booking online you can secure a room for as little as £38 per night for a family room, or £43 for a executive room. These are a saving of 25% on usual room rates of £51 - £56, but the cheaper rates have always been available when I have booked online, and this is a really good rate for a hotel room.

At the moment there is a rewards offer available, where if you stay twice at Days Inn hotels between 4 June and 30th September 2009, you will receive a free night.

Overall I can recommend the Days Inn hotel, Abington, but I am not sure if I would stay here again in the middle of winter!
If all their hotels are up to this standard then they are a really good value hotel chain. This hotel has been awarded 5/5 sunburst rating, I would have awarded them 5 stars here, had it not been for the windows!

Days Inn Abington
Welcome Break Service Area, J13, M74
Lanarkshire
ML12 6RG
E-mail: abington.hotel@welcomebreak.co.uk