Travelodge London City Airport

The rooms are basic, but fine if you just need somewhere to shower and sleep. The 12pm checkout was a real bonus after a late night, or if you want to work before heading out. I wanted an affordable, accessible place for one night near the O2, and this was ideal for an event there. A bus right outside runs directly to and from the O2 in 15-20 minutes, an easier and quicker option than using the underground after a show. The same stop gets you to Custom House on the Elizabeth Line in five minutes. The downside is WiFi: only 30 minutes are free, then it’s £3.50 for 24 hours. I’d expected free access from an airport or business hotel, though the price isn’t bad otherwise.

It was 30c, but the vending machine cooler wasn’t working, so a bottle of extra hot Coke cost over £3. Good luck finding anyone to serve you at the bar, too. I know you get what you pay for, but these basic things could be fixed. I stayed twice for work, 2-3 nights each time, and both times the room card stopped working on the second and third day until it was reset. Staff didn’t apologise or seem bothered about sorting it out. I’ll try Premier Inn next time.

The hot water was reliable and the parking charges reasonable. We also appreciated the Kit Kats, though the much-promoted Lavazza coffee machines came with pretty awful tea bags for us tea drinkers. Why weren’t there drinking glasses in the room? Over two days, we saw only two staff besides the person who checked us in. That young man checked us in efficiently, then disappeared to the back office before we could ask anything else. We’d worried after reading about staffing and car park safety, and it felt like there was no one around. We’d booked a Super Room, but couldn’t see what was super about it. The bed was okay, everything else was there, but the promised cushion for the supposedly comfy armchair was missing. A hairdryer and iron with board hardly seem like extras when most hotels provide them as standard. The shower curtain didn’t reach the tray, so water ran onto the floor. There was one hand towel for two of us, so we couldn’t use a spare to mop it up. We had two bath towels and a bath mat, but couldn’t use those until we’d dealt with all the water pouring through the gap. The outward-curving rail over a square tray made no sense either. The internet was the worst part. Even with Premium Wifi, only two devices could connect, and it kept logging us out. Couples have two phones, and might have a laptop or tablet too, never mind families. The 30 minutes of free internet in ordinary rooms feels like a slap in the face to paying guests. I’ve travelled around the world and never seen such an obvious attempt to make money by charging for internet. We’ve avoided Travelodge for years because it’s so basic, and we won’t be staying at one again any time soon.

We picked a family room instead of a double because it was only £2 extra and larger. It was £120 for one night, which is decent for London. The bathroom was good, and it’s a great place to catch the train to the O2 if you don’t want to rush home. At first, the room seemed okay, but then we noticed several stains on the bed, and the kettle had so much limescale I didn’t want to make a drink. The coffee machine was missing its water lid as well. We left a complaint. The cleaner woke us in the morning even though our do not disturb sign was up. They asked us for a review, but with these issues, a top rating wasn’t possible.