When we Flew to Pisa last year, we flew with Ryanair from Prestwick airport. The problem was, that our flight was at 6.45am, and Prestwick is a good hour and a half drive from my house. A quick deek at the travelodge website confirmed that there was a hotel just a few miles from the airport, 10 to be precise, and at the supersaver rate of £26.

The hotel is situated at the junction of the A71, A76 and A77, on the outskirts of Kilmarnock. The A77 is a fast dual carriageway which almost passes the gate of Prestwick Airport.

The reception area in Travelodges could never be described as grand, functional would be more like it...cramped even. However, all I'm looking for when I check in to an hotel, is to check in to the hotel. They almost always have a cabinet or vending machines that dispense snacks and drinks, and perhaps some of the essential items like toothpaste that you may have forgotten, and this one was no different.
As we were pre-booked and had pre-paid, the actual check-in process took only a minute or two, enough time to print a receipt and hand us a key in fact.

The room was a decent size, with a king-size bed (not a very big king-size mind you), and a sofa which converts into two single beds. The walls were painted in different colours - pale grey and tangerine with all the soft furnishings, carpet and curtains a dark blue. A word about the curtains. As in all travelodges, the curtains barely fell below the window sill and therefore allowed a bit of light to creep in. How much would an extra two inches cost? As Mrs P is oft wont to remark, an extra couple of inches would make all the difference.
There was plenty of adequate lighting - a couple of wall lights/reading lights above the bed, and some above the long desk/dresser which housed the TV which, disappointingly had only the 5 terrestrial channels. This was also home to the coffee-maker.
There was plenty of storage space in the open wardrobe, along with spare sheets, duvets and pillows for the single beds. Next to the open wardrobe, a couple of full length mirrors mean that there's no need to leave the room without looking your best.

The room was clean and in good decorative order.


The bathroom was also clean and in a good state of repair. Well-lit, the white tiles kept it bright although personally, white tiles remind me more of a public convenience than somewhere I'd want to linger. There was plenty of space to stack your toiletries (not much chance of the ones supplied edging your stuff out - a couple of measly bars of soap, hardly worth rescuing. A huge mirror above the sink ensures all the steam from a shower/bath has somewhere to condense. The bath-tub was like a three-quarter size affair, although the shower was pretty good - hot and powerful. There were a couple of large white towels on the heated towel rail, and spare ones in the wardrobe if needed.

This hotel is situated in a service area with a Q8 filling station and a Little Chef next door. I didn't bother trying the LC for 'food'. The shop in the garage was quite good though, with a good range of snacks etc.
The service area was fairly busy, even late into the night, but the hotel is far enough away from it so that there's not too much noise.
There's a large retail park on the Kilmarnock side of the junction which is within easy walking distance. There's also a multi-plex, restaurants and bars, and the town centre is just a few miles away.


In conclusion, this is a bog standard roadside Travelodge. If you've ever stayed in one before, then you'll know exactly what to expect. The rack rate for this hotel is £45, but it's relatively easy to get a deal on their supersaver rates (pre-payable, non-refundable and bookable at least 7 days in advance). This is what we paid and at that price, it's hard to find fault.
A decent nights sleep, an early rise, and off to Tuscany in the morning.


©proxam2006