A few months ago I got the chance to stay in one of Travel Inn’s motels/inns, at Tring in Hertfordshire, just 25 miles away from London. Travel Inn offers over 250 inns around the UK, each providing good quality basic but very comfortable accommodation, at a very reasonable price. They are ideal for ‘stopovers’ on long journeys as all have either a bar/restaurant included or are situated right next door to well known restaurants and eating chains.

There is a fixed basic accommodation charge of just £40.95 per room and for this, you will get a modern, airy and fairly spacious double bedroom (please note the price quoted is per room only and does not include any meals) with en suite bathroom (and shower over bath), remote controlled colour television (basic channels), radio alarm and tea and coffee making facilities. They even throw in the odd biccy or two! The beds all have duvets rather than blankets and are very comfortable and you generally get good wardrobe and desk space.

You can book a number of way, either by telephone or FAX directly with the Inn you have chosen, or you can contact Travel Inn’s nationwide Central Reservations by telephone on 0870 242 8000. Travel Inn also have a website (www.travelinn.co.uk) where you can book online, but this facility is only currently available for a limited number of inns.

There are some other facilities you can take advantage of during your stay. For example, you can opt to have a daily newspaper delivered to your room in the early hours of the morning (for a small charge) and breakfast can also be provided. They offer you a choice of 3 types of breakfast depending on your tastes, firstly, the full traditional English breakfast. This includes fruit and fruit juice, a choice of breakfast cereals and yogurts to start with, followed by your choice of egg (boiled, scrambled, fried etc) served with bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms and hash browns. In addition, you will also b
e served either croissants or toast (with marmalade or jam) and tea and coffee. All of this at a cost of just £6. The continental breakfast costs £4 and is the same menu as above excluding the grill. The Children’s breakfast is £3 and includes orange juice or milk and a choice of boiled egg with toast soldiers, bacon, egg and sausage or toast with baked beans and sausages. Breakfast is served between 7 and 9 am on weekdays and between 8 and 10 on weekends and bank holidays.

The inn in Tring where I stayed is close to Whipsnade Zoo and Dunstable Downs with two nearby golf courses and right next to the M11 J11 / M25 J2. The views from the back of the inn are quite pleasing, overlooking the countryside and very pretty. Bedrooms at the front of the Inn overlook the car park!

Just next door is The Crow’s Nest, a large Beefeater pub/restaurant that opens every day and has a basic but appetizing menu, suited best for meat eaters. There are a couple of meals on the menu for vegetarians and vegans, but these are quite limited. The Crow’s Nest is open to everybody and does get very crowded, particularly on Friday nights and weekends, so you are probably best advised to pre-book to be sure of getting a table! But there is a good ambience inside, and the restaurant section is tucked away nicely from the main bar area so you won’t be bothered too much by my hubby and his lager louting pals! ;O)

The facilities at the Inn itself are quite basic, for instance, there is no room service available nor telephones in the bedrooms, but there is a pay telephone in the foyer (the foyer is tiny, one small reception desk, one phone and one door leading to the accommodation itself). There are 40 rooms here; spread over two floors, but no lift and the stairs are fairly steep. The inn and the bedroom were both spotlessly clean and bed linen is changed and rooms are cleaned daily.

We were very lucky in that the room we stayed in was ve
ry spacious, with a large window, which overlooked countryside to the rear. The lighting was superb with lamps on either side of the bed and two main lights in the room itself. The bathroom was small, but immaculately clean and included a shower over the bath and lots of white towels, all soft, fluffy and very clean. There were no hair or bath products provided, and no window, which meant each time you went in, you had to turn the light on and the extractor fan whirred into action. This was quite noisy but if did the job effectively!

Overall, Travel Inn provides a good budget range of accommodation, best suited for those wanting a straightforward overnight stay. Facilities are limited, but the ones provided are adequate for most travelers. I would recommend it to individuals and families who are looking for somewhere quiet, clean and comfortable to spend the night without being worried about the lack of amenities and entertainment. We were certainly very comfortable and felt we got very good value for money.