Very convenient for central London - and cheap (Travelodge London Covent Garden)

Member Name: Immlang

Product:	Travelodge London Covent Garden
Date:	27/02/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great location and prices

Disadvantages: Basic - but still great value

There are already two excellent reviews on the Covent Garden Travelodge and I don't want to waste readers' time covering the same ground, but I do have some experiences that may add to the pool of knowledge.
Firstly, the Travelodge consists of two separate buildings: One is on High Holborn and the other is on Drury Lane. They are very close to one another indeed, but having stayed in both of them I've noticed a big difference between them, in that the High Holborn one is more modern and in much better condition than the Drury Lane one, so much that I rate the former a long way ahead of the latter.
Secondly, we discovered in the course of a recent stay that while there is a Travelodge Car Park which costs £15 for 24 hours, Travelodge have negotiated a discount with National Car Parks so that Travelodge customers staying in the NCP car park adjacent to the High Holborn site (entrance on Museum Street) pay only £12 for 24 hours, with a big reduction in the NCP hourly rate for extra odd hours over the 24. To qualify for this, customers have to present the card they receive from the NCP machine upon entry at Travelodge reception for a bar code to be added to it and then the automatic NCP payment machine makes the correct adjustment to the price. The NCP car park is well lit, it had staff on duty every time I went in it and while the full price, in excess of £30 a day is eye-wateringly steep to those of us from the provinces, the reduced £12 rate seemed brilliant.
Thirdly, we found the Travelodge breakfast to be hopeless. It was expensive at £7.50, there was a long and slow-moving queue to be seated (we waited half an hour) and the food when we eventually got that far seemed more school canteen than hotel. To be fair on Travelodge, when we complained they gave us a full refund on the breakfast. Anyway, one morning of that was enough and the next morning we ventured to one of the coffee shops which abound on Drury Lane just by the hotel. There, we were well fed for literally half the Travelodge price. Having stayed three times now at the Covent Garden Travelodge we have tried the Piccolo coffee bar and the Verona coffee shop and we liked them both. Both seem to be run by Italians who have completely mastered the art of the English breakfast, while providing fast and friendly service. Top job!
As for the rest - standard Travelodge, except to remind folk that if you keep watching the Travelodge site and look far enough ahead, you can sometimes get a real bargain and £29 a night rooms are frequently available. At that price, plus £12 for parking and £7 for breakfast for two in one of the nearby cafés you can't go wrong - and there's no congestion charge at the weekend!

Summary: Stay in the High Holborn site for better quality