Travelodge Revisited (Travelodge in general)

Member Name: nursingstudent

Product:	Travelodge in general
Date:	11/07/02 (268 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Clean, Convenient position, Good customer service

Disadvantages: No restaurant at Taunton

After a fair amount of deliberation I decided to use a voucher for a free nights accomodation at a Travelodge of my choice, on this occasion it happened to be Taunton. For those of you who read my account of my previous stay at the Heathrow one you may remember my bad experience there and may understand my reluctance ever to stay at a Travelodge again. But circumstances led me to Taunton and the need for somewhere to rest my weary head, and remembering the voucher I'd been given I decided to use it to my advantage and in doing so save myself £49.50. So first of all I phoned their reservation line, no problem there, very helpful in fact, told me all about the facilities at this particular lodge, how far it was from the town centre and even how to get there. Credit card details were taken just in case I didn't turn up so they could take payment, otherwise I would be allowed to cancel right up until 4pm on the day of stay and still retain my free voucher for another day. Pretty good.

I arrived at the lodge and was pleasantly surprised, lovely location, modern building, aesthetically pleasing grounds, plenty of parking and easy access into the building (and only £6 taxi fare from the centre of town too.) Reception was clean and tidy, the staff were very polite and pleasant, dealing with my check-in very efficiently, they offered me breakfast and gave me directions to my room. Smiles all round.
(Breakfast incidentally was just over £4 and consisted of cereal with milk in a pre-packaged container, yoghurt, juice, croissant with butter and jam and a newspaper - not too bad, also it could be left outside your door so no early morning disturbances).

The building itself was arrange on just 2 floors with 48 rooms, easy access for both able and less able bodied people. And the room itself was a complete contrast to the ones at Heathrow - the decor was simply supurb, modern lighting, wooden trimmings and surfaces, the carpets, curtains and b
edding exceptionally well co-ordinated, and in very good order. The bed itself was immaculate, crisp white sheets and extra pillows. The bathroom was clean and sparkly with enough fluffy white towels, soap and bath gel to cope with both a bedtime and a morning shower. There was a modern colour television although I couldn't get BBC2 (no great loss there then..). Tea and coffee was in abundance, all unused (unlike Heathrow) and the whole room was really clean and neat, as it should be.

Although there wasn't a restaurant at this particular site I was able to buy snacks from reception who had a range of crisps, chocolate and sweets, as well as a wide selection of chilled drinks and ice-creams, not the healthiest of choices but the town is quite close if you want a meal. Also for sale, at very reasonable prices I might add, were things needed for an overnight stay, for example, razors, tissues, sanitary products, toothpaste, even a mini sewing kit and travel alarm clock.

The night passed all too quickly and comfortably, the bed was marvellous, a Hypnos I believe. Noise was not a problem with windows being double glazed and the M5 being a little distance away, no noise from other guests either. The early morning shower was refreshing and the towels were lovely and warm from the heated towel rail, luxury! Checking-out could not have been easier, the keys were just handed over at reception. And when asked by the receptionist whether I was satisfied with my stay and did I have any problems with the room - what else could I say but it was all lovely, no complaints at all!

Amazing really to see two such different lodges owned by the same company, one diabolical, dirty and unsafe, the other a real pleasure to stay in. Heathrow should learn a few lessons from Taunton.

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