Travelodge London Covent Garden

I didn't expect too much luxury before arriving at this Travelodge other than a handy location so wasn't too disappointed. The staff were pleasant at check-in but the same could not apply to the room which was fairly tatty. I did not like the plastic sheet on the mattress nor the fact that it was very soggy and I could feel the springs. The duvet cover was a grey shade of white and the shower curtain even worse. Carpet and sofa were a little stained in places. The bathroom functioned well apart from a loose loo seat and, upon request, sufficient towels were provided. Our room which was at the front of the hotel on Holborn Street was extremely noisy even with the windows shut. Traffic, sirens and even loud voices from the street could easily be heard and it was difficult to sleep soundly.

We did pay more as we'd left it late to book a room, and it was the cheapest we could find in the vicinity.

We stayed in the older building, which was easy to find after a short walk from Holborn underground.

The check-in queue was not long as we'd checked in at around 3-4pm.

The room was very hot, and despite leaving the window ajar when we'd gone out, it was still very hot, so I wouldn't recommend staying there when it's warm, as the room we stayed in was not air-conditioned. Bizarrely, the corridors outside our room were!

We did not find it noisy staying on the third floor, and had a view of some housing blocks and an outdoor swimming pool.

The bathroom was clean. The bed was clean. Yes the room was in need of a tiny bit of refurbishment, but overall was absolutely fine.

The room was also quite big, and had a flatscreen tv. (We'd stayed in a 4 star hotel in Bloomsbury last time- "superior room" which was very small in comparison.)

I would stay here again as it was very close to where we needed to be. However, I would stay in the colder months, and would book in advance to take advantage of the lower price for the room.

This hotel has fabulous views if you are lucky enough to get a room in the building on the corner of High Holborn & Museum St and are located on high floor. The rooms are huge although feel spartan. My first room had a mattress that kept me awake all night due to being able to feel the springs through the top layer. I secured a different room on my 2nd, 3rd & 4th nights and the mattress was much improved. My big bug-bear with this hotel is its poor value for money. I paid L102 per night for room only. My view is that unless you are getting a discount for staying more than one night that the room should be presented to the same high standards on each and every night (i.e. as if it's your 1st night every night). Travelodge doesn't share my view - the bedding was not changed and the miniscule bar of soap had to last me 4 nights. If I'd paid L29 per night (Travelodge continually promote their L19/L29 offers which is fine if you want to stay on a Sunday in November) then I wouldn't have minded. Those of us that have to be in London on business - and have to pay for the room ourselves can feel nothing but cheated. This hotel is a bit like a bus station too and checkin was laboured - having to queue in order for the reception staff to treat you as if they are doing you a huge favour to let you pay L102 to stay. Luckily I've now found b&b agencies with rates half that of Travelodge.