Travelodge London Crystal Palace

The carpet smell was so awful we seriously thought about leaving. Maybe old milk, but it clearly needed a proper clean, and nothing was done after we complained. Our room was extremely hot with no AC, the sheets were stained, and nobody cleaned or even emptied the bins. The staff were friendly but couldn’t help, and even the reception was hot enough to have them sweating. They offered us another room that was just as bad, perhaps worse, with even larger carpet stains. It had been sprayed with so many chemicals that it made us cough. It seemed like they were trying to cover up the smell there too. We needed to stay in that area, otherwise we would have left. Avoid if it’s hot.

There were blood stains on the sheets the first night, even though the room was generally clean. Pigeons also flew in through the window, and my colleague had the same problem the next day. On my last night, drunk kids at a party in another room shouted in the hallway and rooms on my floor until 4:30am. I wasn’t happy with the stay and wouldn’t recommend it unless you really need the location.

Getting around was easy, with a bus stop just outside, and the hotel felt safe. The main entrance is locked overnight and you need your hotel card to get in. There’s free parking and basic amenities, though rooms are cleaned only weekly. It’s a decent place, but for what I paid I expected better service. My stay was okay overall.

A good base for exploring south and central London. It’s in a quiet spot with three overground stations about a ten-minute walk away, and from there central London takes around twenty minutes. There’s plenty of free parking, and the rooms are spacious, clean and tidy. There’s no cooked breakfast on site, and we wouldn’t buy the takeaway breakfast again.