VISIT CRINGLEFORD AT THICKTHORN ( I love these names!) (Travelodge Norwich Cringleford)

Member Name: nayland

Product:	Travelodge Norwich Cringleford
Date:	11/09/09 (71 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Next to a Park and Ride which is very handy and saves on petrol and parking !

Disadvantages: Just the usual drab decor as all the others!

There really doesn't seem much point in writing a review about Travelodges as they are basically all the same. Although I have stayed in one or two that have been nothing like the run of the mill usual Travelodge. So I thought that sometimes it is good to know what the surrounding areas are like and if they are near any special landmarks ( although I suppose you would have checked that out already!) well sometimes there are somethings you may not find out!

Well as I pointed out before we tend to get about a bit for the odd weekend or visit to family, last week I stayed at a particular good one, up in Yorkshire which had very good amenities, as soon as it comes available on Dooyoo I will be writing about that too ( I hope you don't think I'm toooo boring!).

We chose this one at Cringleford nr Norwich, particulary for the Park and Ride facilities, that is sitting on the back of the Travelodge.As it was a Friday and Saturday it would be nice for hubby to go into Norwich and have a few beers at a couple of the different pubs and bars.It would make a change for him not to have to drive into a busy town that he doesn't really know, or where to park, as well as not being able to have a drink if he had to drive!. So as silly as it seems we drove our car into the Park and Ride and parked up, before getting onto one of the many buses waiting. Now you may be asking yourself why we did this, well if you went in on foot you would be charged more( I can't remember exactly how much!),but if by car it was £2.80 all day for a car holding up to 5 adults and 3 children, with it being just £1 after 12.30pm, with the same amount of passengers. You can go back and forth all day long on this one ticket which is great if you go shopping and then go back to the Travelodge to freshen up and then pop back a bit later in the day to have a bite to eat, but like Cinderella( actually she got a bit longer at least to midnight!!) you have to be back to get the last bus at 7.30pm.

Well if you have stayed at a Travelodge you will be aware that the eating side of it is very limited, with it having maybe a Little Chef, Marks and Spencer Food Shop or a Burger King, ( you could grab something from the garage forecourt as they do tend to have hot pies and pasties usually, but this doesn't appeal to me !). This particular one had the latter one, not a great fan of chips or burgers really, so my choice was limited by quite a bit.

This Travelodge was one of the usual regular one with the trademark blue curtains and bedding with the usual light orangey painted walls, it was clean enough and being that we were only sleeping in there it was enough for us. We found the staff to be pleasant enough and helpful when asking about the park and ride, Norwich shops and where was the nearest place to grab a decent meal in town.

This Travelodge is also a good base not only for Norwich (4 miles), the Norfolk Broads are only 6 miles away which is really beautiful with it's Rose and Jim barges slowly going down the broads.Snetton Race Track and Sunday market is also worth a visit as this is only 15 miles away. Also if you are down from up north and are staying this way then if you have children Pleasurewood Hills is roughly 20-25 miles away, this is a great place for children to visit. This is a theme park with plenty of exciting rides and sea lion shows daily.

Cringleford is set out in the countryside next to the Thickthorn Roundabout ( I think thats a great name for a roundabout!). This is at the junction of the A11 and A47, so it is also easy to visit Great Yarmouth as well.

Well I hope this may have been of some help if you are looking for somewhere to stay in this area!

The full address for this Travelodge is;

Travelodge Norwich Cringleford Hotel
Thickthorn Service Area
A11/A47 Interchange
Norwich Southern Bypass
Norwich NR9 3AU

Tele; 0871 984 6205

The prices per night vary here usually £50, but you can get cheaper deals if you look online at their webpage!

ps. The Park and Ride prices were when I went about 3 years ago so I'm not sure if they have risen ( I expect they have as with everything else!!)

Summary: OK as a base for getting to see some of Norwich's different attractions!!