Travelodge Ipswich

The staff were friendly and happy to help, and the rooms were clean when I arrived. I stayed for work for a few weeks. The hotel is handy for the marina and places to eat, but the rooms at the front get a lot of road noise at night. The rooms at the back are much quieter. The TV needs updating: I stayed in several rooms and all had limited channels, with a no-signal message. Parking at the hotel costs extra and fills quickly. Booking a week ahead is no guarantee of a space after about 5:30 or 6. There’s another car park across the road.

The room was clean and the bed was comfortable, and breakfast was tasty. It was served until 10 a.m., with checkout at midday, so I could have a lie-in. I’d been unable to get a taxi home and the walk would have taken just under an hour, so this was a last-minute emergency plan. It was three minutes from the venue I’d been at, and £55 for New Year’s was hard to complain about when other hotels were charging over £100. I booked and checked in within an hour. I was very happy.

The room was tidy and clean, though there was a slight unpleasant smell. Breakfast had a good range, but it finishes at 10 a.m. and one daytime staff member was a bit rude when we arrived late and were asked to finish quickly. The night reception staff were polite and very helpful. There’s plenty of paid parking, £5 for 24 hours. A decent, affordable stay with friendly staff overall.

Location was why we picked this hotel, and it’s easily its best feature. The room setup, though, was a problem for our family of three in a room that could sleep four. There was nowhere to put our things, so we used the spare bed. Without it, everything would have been on the floor. There’s no bedside table, just one desk for the tea and coffee, and a little cubby that only fits a phone. Power is limited too: one double socket, plus USB ports that are mostly USB A. Our charging cables are C to C, so those ports were useless for us. Making the room easy to service has left it quite impractical to use. This feels like a Travelodge issue, rather than one with this hotel itself.