Travelodge Waterloo

The air conditioner actually works, which I find is rare in hotels. The location is decent and the place does the job. It's clean enough, though I wasn't convinced the sink had been cleaned after the previous guest. There's a 24-hour bar and you can order pizza at any time. Breakfast was decent; I skipped the evening meal. I usually stay at Premier or Holiday Inn, but the in-room coffee options here are better, and you also get kit kits, which I can't say for those other two.

The location worked well for walking to Covent Garden, the river, theatre land, oxo tower and millennium bridge. The reception was bright and clean, usually busy with people having a drink at the bar. Our room was clean and comfortable, with a cosy bed. The shower was a bit lacklustre, there were no glasses for water, and WiFi wasn't free.

We paid for a meal on our last night and it was truly horrible, completely inedible. I did tell the staff. Still, for a short London stay I'd recommend this hotel. The room was a bit pokey but fine for a few nights, with a comfy bed and good shower. Breakfast one morning was the usual hotel buffet and suited us. The location is wonderful, right beside the Old Vic and an easy stroll from Waterloo Station and the underground. We walked into town each day and took the tube back a couple of times. It's reasonably priced, and we'd definitely book again mainly because of the location.

The staff were excellent throughout, always friendly and helpful. The restaurant food was better than I expected and quite reasonably priced. It's an easy 20-minute stroll to Westminster bridge, with lots of convenience shops and restaurants nearby. The room was very basic. Only standard family rooms were available when we booked, and for three people over three days, six hangers on an open rail and no drawers or other clothes storage meant we lived out of our suitcases. There was no hairdryer, and the beds weren't very comfortable. The tiny bathroom had a leaking shower that soaked the floor, and the toilet kept blocking, though reception sent someone to clear it quickly. There were no sockets near the bed, only USB charging points, and none near the mirror unless you stretched a long cable across the desk.