Photo: londondrum.comAs soon as I arrived at the Travelodge Covent Garden I knew I wouldn’t like it. It took me approximately five seconds to decide that I’m never coming back here ever again. It looks like one of those ugly concrete tower blocks, the kind of residential block that has some kicked over dustbins out the front and a busted lift that stinks of p*ss (it doesn’t – but that’s the first thought that entered my head when I saw it).
When you walk through the door it gets even uglier – like a student union office and bar. It took me ten minutes to check-in and then when I tried to go upstairs the stupid cardboard keycard wouldn’t work (you have to use a pass to enter the lift). So I trooped back down to reception and she fixed that, then I went upstairs again and discovered that she hadn’t given me a Wi-Fi code either, so back down I went and she sorted that out. When I finally had a look around the room I wondered whether I should even bother unpacking.
Photo: londondrum.comI hate this place already and I’ve only been here for fifteen minutes. I’m lying on the bed watching the car lights creep across the ceiling. Of all the hotel rooms I’ve stayed in over the years this one is totally unique in that when you open the curtains absolutely nothing changes – it’s still the same gloomy room that it was before. The only saving grace is that I’m here to do a review so I don’t really care if it’s rubbish, because at least that gives me something to write about.
I suppose I’d better do my duty and tell you about the facilities, just in case you’re nuts enough to come here. The bathroom has got a shower in it (no bath) and a towel… which reminds me… have you ever noticed those signs in hotel bathrooms which say: “Help save the planet! We will only wash your towel if you leave it on the floor.” Well that annoys me as well (everything is annoying me now). We’re not idiots! Everybody knows that that has got sod all to do with saving the planet, and everything to do with keeping the hotel’s laundry bill down. They just slap all of that eco-nonsense on there to guilt trip us into re-using a dirty towel.
Photo: londondrum.comYou get a TV with a lousy choice of channels. You don’t even get the Freeview channels. And there’s no way of bringing up the time either. Now I know why rock stars throw their TVs out of hotel windows – it’s because they stayed at a Travelodge.
You get a waste paper bin. You get a chair. You get a mirror. You get a kettle with two teabags. That’s it. You don’t even get a bedside table! The nearest table to the bed is the desk which is five feet away. So if you want a cup of tea in bed then your only option is to balance it on your head.
What else don’t I like about this place? (I’m just trying to find different things to moan about now.) This picture is crooked. This coat hangar is bent. This drawer is a bit stiff. It’s raining outside.
The restaurant reminds me of a staff canteen. I used to work the nightshift at Sainsbury’s and it has the same plastic chairs, big silver tea urn and shiny metal serving desk full of dried-up scrambled eggs that have begun to curl up at the corners because they’ve been sitting under the hot lights too long. They’ve got some bacon, baked beans, sausages and cereals as well.
The only good thing about this hotel is its location: just twenty seconds from the top end of Shaftesbury Avenue. Covent Garden is only five minutes away and you’re within easy walking distance of Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square.
How to get to Travelodge Covent Garden
| Fare zone | Cash | Oyster & Contactless | Travelcard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single fare | Single fare | Daily cap | One day | ||||
| Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Anytime | Off-peak | ||
| Bus | n/a | 1.75 | 5.25 | 6 | |||
| Train (zone 1) | 7 | 2.90 | 2.80 | 8.90 | 8.90 | 16.60(zone 1-4) | 16.60(zone 1-6) |
| Train (zone 1-2) | 7 | 3.50 | 2.90 | 8.90 | 8.90 | ||
| Train (zone 1-3) | 7 | 3.80 | 3.10 | 10.50 | 10.50 | ||
| Train (zone 1-4) | 7 | 4.60 | 3.40 | 12.80 | 12.80 | ||
| Note: Prices are correct as of | |||||||
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Things to do near Covent Garden
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PDunne I agree it’s not the prettiest hotel in London but come on, for this price you can’t complain and the location is great, just a few minutes walk Covent Garden. There aren’t many cheap hotels in this area so Travelodge are worth considering.
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