Travelodge London Marylebone

A long overdue review... Booked the Travelodge due to proximity to LBS (was attending a course) and value - sadly by the time I booked there was no early bird rate and I paid full price. Being a hotelier, wasn't expecting much in terms of service and luxury...but was depressed when I walked in the room! The size of the single room is appalling - like entering a broom closet! The plumbing needed dire repairs - nauseating smells even when bathroom was not in use... and mattress was super-uncomfortable. Missing amenities were not replenished and had to ask to fix the electronic key everyday. Only saving grace was location...but would never stay here again.

Stayed here for the location - right near the tube station, near Baker Street with all its restaurants, easy to find, Marks & Spencers near it open till late. Friendly enough man on reception. But although the room was large, it was a bit too plain and empty. Double bed, with clean sheets and one spare pillow. Kettle, two t-bags, coffee sachets, milk. Small TV on wall. Two large clean towels, in a tired old bathroom, which was a bit dirty, very old fittings, badly added sealant around bath and paneling falling apart in places. No hairdryer. Small bar of soap and two plastic cups at the sink. Nothing special. A place to hang up clothes, but no drawers. A desk and chair. I wouldn't go back again - expensive for what you got. Really nothing special. And the fire alarm that went off my mistake on Sunday morning at 8:30, then again at 8:40 didn't help much... and we weren't even sure what to do.. it was only on for a few seconds each time, but enough to wake us up!!

Pros: Excellent location right off the Marylebone Underground stop. There's a small Marks & Spencer grocery store nearby so we were able to buy food conveniently. The room and bed were large and clean, but pretty bare-bones. The food prices in the restaurant weren't bad, either.

Cons: We had to ask for more towels twice and ended up having to take them up ourselves from the front desk. We had to pay 10 pounds for early check-in because there were no left-luggage facilities and we didn't want to sit around in the lobby until 3 PM. As it was, I had to leave our luggage with my fiance and go get us sandwiches from M&S while we waited another hour for our room. And there's no internet in the rooms - just 2 computers in the lobby which charge a pound per minute.

And maybe it's just the British version of customer service, but the staff didn't exactly wait on us hand and foot. However, when we got our bottle opener stuck in a bottle of wine, the bartender laughed and opened it for us.

Bottom line: handy location, not the best value, plan your arrival time carefully.