Channel Tunnel pit stop (Travel Lodge Ashford)

Member Name: Fiver29

Product:	Travel Lodge Ashford
Date:	04/06/09 (41 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quiet

Disadvantages: Car Park

We arrived at the Travelodge late in the evening, so it wasn't the bustling place you'd normally associate with a Travelodge.

First impressions were that this lodge was quite a bit larger than any others I'd stayed in, but since it was the closest to the Channel Tunnel that wasn't really surprising. The car park, although large, was fairly packed, and we managed to grab two of the last few spaces available, but these were a long way from the door, so it was a bit of a trek with overnight bags. Something we could have easily done without after sitting in a car for just over 9 hours.

Once in the Travelodge, there was a bar and eating area to the right, but this was fairly empty with just couple of people say at the bar. A lone receptionist was very pleasant, but took an absolute age to find our booking on the system. She had to go and talk to another employee, and from the snippets of conversation which I could hear, it sounded like they had actually given our booking to someone else, because the other employee dashed off quickly to finish off the rooms. So our 3 rooms were two floors apart. However, that was not a problem, since we had to be up at 4 am, so socialising between rooms was not going to be a priority.

Having finally received our keys we headed off to the rooms, the lift was a bit small and would only take 4 adults and 2 children, the 2 other adults headed for the stairs, rather than wait for the lift to come back down.

Heading for our room, the lodge looked clean and was very quiet. First impressions of the room were that it too was clean. There was a double bed and a couch with a pull out bed underneath. The mattress on the double bed was extremely soft and wonderfully comfortable; in fact I could have done to have snuck the mattress out under my coat because it was far more comfortable than my own at home. There was plenty of bedding, the double bed was totally made up, and there was bedding and quilts on the shelves for the pull out bed and the couch.

In the room there was also a television and a kettle, with tea bags, coffee and decaffeinated coffee, but no decaffeinated tea, milk cartons and sugar were also provided.

During the night the lodge was quiet with no one tramping the floors making a noise, however in the morning the sounds of people getting up and showering were clearly heard.

The offered breakfast in the mornings, but as we were setting off so early we didn't have time to sample it, so I cannot comment on how good it was. There were also some vending machines in the foyer, for drinks, snacks and ice creams.

Checking out was a none event, with the key just being deposited in a box at the reception desk. So all in all it was a reasonable Travelodge, not the most luxurious of stop overs, but functional and adequate for our needs.


We paid £39 per room per night, but often with Travelodge you can get special deals if you're lucky.

Summary: Nothing luxurious, just did the job it was meant to.