I rather like Travelodges.
They are usually clean, always have tea making facilities, the baths are always deep (very important for a tall lass like myself), and there is always a bible in a drawer (no for reading. I just like the tradition).

I stayed in Covent Garden Travelodge in London, on Tuesday night.
We booked online, very easily and efficiently, and were emailed detailed directions, which were very helpful, including a postcode to put into the GPS.
Me and my family had booked two twin rooms, one for my Dad and little brother, and one for myself.


Getting There.
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Getting there didn't proove too difficult, as the directions given to us by the Travelodge were clear and concise. Unfortunately, there were a couple of closed roads, which seriously prolonged our journey.

The Travelodge is on a road in Covent Garden, called Drury Lane, and the tall building is visible from quite a way a way, which is handy when completely lost. There are actually two travelodges within very short distance from one another. I'm still not sure whether they are just two separate buildings sharing the same name, or whether they are completely separate. My family actually booked in at the second Travelodge, but our rooms were in the first one. A little confusing, but not a cause of any major drama.


Parking.
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We were directed to a car park, off High Holborn, by the email that the travelodge sent us.
We were under the impression that the car park was part of the travelodge, but its actually an NCP car park. This is also rather easy to get to. You go up Drury Lane, past the first travelodge, straight over the crossroad, just past the second travelodge, and then the NCP car park is directly on the left, up a ramp.
The Travelodge provides a discount for the car park, and we ended up paying £12.00 from about 5 in the afternoon on Tuesday, until 10 o clock the next morning, which was rather decent for a central London car park.
Beware though, we had a few problems at the car park.
As we entered, the sign that told you to take your ticket, was a little confusing. It showed pictures of debit and credit cards, and told you how to pay. This is obviously intended for people leaving the car park, so there was no purpose to it being advertised on the entrance barrier.
My poor old Dad ended up getting a bit confused, and rather than pressing the button for the ticket, he put his credit card in the slot. The machine promptly swallowed his credit card, leaving us completely stuck. We couldn't get our card out, and no one else could get into the car park.
The NCP car park had real life attendants though (not just someone on the end of the phone) who helped us very quickly, and very patiently, getting our card back, and giving us a ticket.


Checking in the the Travelodge.
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This took forever.
Like I said, we checked in to the travelodge closer the the NCP car park, directly over the road from the other one. We had a lot of bags, so were all a bit upset when we were eventually told we were not staying in the building we had checked into.
There was a very large queue, and it seemed to take the receptionist a very long time to deal with each family.
When it was our turn to check in, the receptionist had a few of our details wrong, for example, she thought we were staying for four nights, when we were actually only staying for one. There was also a bit of a communication barrier, as the girl only spoke very stilted English. We checked in in the end though, were given our room key cards, and directed over to the other building.


Our Travelodge.
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It was a very short walk (a couple of minutes) to our travelodge, but unfortunately, the walk involved a lot of stone steps. I was dragging a little carry case on wheels, which was entirely possible to wheel up the stairs.
There might have been a ramp somewhere, but I didn't see it. I can only assume that customers in wheelchairs, or with mobility problems, would be directed to the Travelodge with easier access.
Once inside the travelodge, we noticed a restaurant on the right of the main entrance, and a reception directly in front.
To the left of us were the doors that lead to the stairs and lifts to get to the rooms.
Another sore point were the Lifts.
There were two lifts available in the travelodge (we were on the fourth floor). One of the lifts only provided access to the basement and first floor. The other lift was active, but incredibly slow, and sometimes didn't turn up for about ten minutes.The lift was also very small, so sometimes, only half of the people waiting to get in the lift, could actually fit in there.


The Rooms.
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My room, upon first inspection, was clean, rather large, and comfortable. There were two twin beds (even though I only needed the one), which were very comfy, and the bed linen was very clean.
There was an en suite bathroom with a bath and shower, two plastic glasses in the bathroom for water.
The main room had a desk with a mirror, a table with a tv, overhead lights, and two little reading lights.
When I initially tried to turn the reading lights on (they were attached to the wall, on the headboard of the bed) they spluttered, and died.
Halfway through the night, the plastic casing around one of the lights dropped off, and fell on my head.
In my Dads room, the lights had singed black burn marks into the wall....which was a little worrying.
The windows in my room didn't seem to open, which was a bit annoying, but considering I was on a rather high floor, and the windows were tall floor to ceiling jobbies, I wasn't too bothered. I would rather be safe than ventilated.
I slept well, and didn't hear any outside noise, which is quite remarkable for central London.


Breakfast.
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Breakfast was an extra £7.50 for all you could eat, and was served between 7 and 10. I believe the times vary on bank holidays.
We went down to breakfast at 9. The restaurant was fairly crowded, but we still managed to find comfortable seats.
It was a self service kind of deal. There was toast, cereals, jams and juices available, as well as bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, baked beans and tomatoes available. You could eat as much as you wanted, no extra costs, and everything was actually rather good, although it did have a feel of school dinners.


Price.
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Travelodge prices vary from city to city, and depending on what time of year you stay, or popularity of the place you are staying.
The two rooms, for one night, with three guests in total (although this is irrelevant) cost £219.47, including three breakfasts. I know you can get rooms at Travelodges for far cheaper than this, in less busy areas.


Overall.
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Overall, Travelodges always do their job competently. The rooms were clean, the furnishings neat and comfortable, the price affordable (although, a little less so in central London). The service was fine, and apart from a few annoyances, like the lifts, the stay was enjoyable.
I would definitely recommend Travelodge to people looking for somewhere clean and comfy to lay their head, but if you want somewhere with a bit more individuality and character, I would advise you to look elsewhere.
Im only giving the Covent Garden Travelodge a 3 out of 5, but its a perfectly nice place to stay. The few bits and bobs (like the faulty lights and the lifts) just let it down.


Where to Book.
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www.travelodge.co.uk