Travelodge Bridgend Pencoed

The room was good, and the check-in assistant was friendly. I’m sure the staff at this branch are professional, but for a business trip this place just doesn’t meet the mark. My booking was through a Travelodge business account, so they could see it was for work. The phone signal went from 5G to no calls in or out as soon as I came inside. The building may be built to withstand the apocalypse, but that doesn’t explain it. I’d stayed at another Travelodge the night before, 180 miles away, so I couldn’t use the 30 minutes of free WiFi they advertise. I paid for internet instead, but it was like two strings and a cup. I couldn’t get my work done, and it ended up costing me money unless I sat in my car in the car park and used its hotspot. That’s how I’m writing this now. Using signal blockers may be legally grey, but it feels pretty morally black. I can put up with paying a premium for WiFi, but not when it’s barely good enough for a YouTube video, let alone work. Nobody goes to a Travelodge by the motorway for the view or the soothing sounds of the M4. I do love a truck horn, though. The shower was about as useful for washing as a spaniel would be at driving a car, and there was no shower gel. Absolute cowboys.

It’s clean, and the receptionist was friendly, though they’d clearly had a long day. Finding the hotel felt like driving through one car park after another. The room was like a prison cell with even fewer features. The beds were hard, the TV tiny with poor reception, and the internet was bad, sometimes like dial-up. People upstairs sounded like elephants doing gymnastics until midnight, then started again at 6am. There were hardly any plug sockets. The shower was weak, and the bath was only a usable size if you’re a small child.

The Harvester was tidy, with lovely staff, and breakfast was very reasonably priced and served until 11:30. Parking was limited and had loads of potholes.

Sheila at reception was amazing and handled everything very professionally when I needed to book a second night after checking in just after 3. I’ll stay here again.