A Stay at a Travelodge {Birmingham Central}

A few of weeks ago we took a little trip to Birmingham for a short break. We had a lovely couple of days as a family, visiting the sea life centre and enjoying some lovely meals and just time together.

We were invited to stay at one of the many Travelodges there and we chose to stay at the Birmingham Central location based on the fact it was nice and central. We knew that it could potentially be a bit noisy at night-time (and there is a warning on the website) as there are lots of pubs and clubs all around, but we decided to stay at that one anyway. Mainly because we were only staying for a short time and it was more important to us to be right in town so that we didn’t have to get a bus or taxi everywhere, and we hoped for the best.

We were given a room on the seventh floor at the back with very few rooms past ours (I think because we were a family), which was great as we actually heard very little noise at night, and only once were there a few noisy people going past our room. For a hotel right in the central of a city, it was very quiet which we didn’t expect and was a big plus.

Our room however unfortunately wasn’t so great. When we went in for the first time we noticed almost straight away that the carpet looked really dirty. There were many long blonde hairs on the floor which was pretty gross and it meant that we didn’t really want Ava playing on the floor which she wanted to do almost immediately. It looked like it must have been hoovered at least a little bit as I think it would have been dirtier if it hadn’t but it was still pretty dirty. The carpet in the doorway to the bathroom was completely dusty and looked like it was never hoovered.

I know we could have gone and complained but it was late in the day, we were really tired after travelling, and we needed to quickly unpack before going out and getting some dinner. So we didn’t feel like traipsing back down to reception, speaking to someone and then potentially moving all of our bags again. If we were staying for longer we would have done though.

As well as the carpets a lot of the other areas were quite dirty. Some areas of the bathroom were very dusty and the remote control for the television was absolutely caked in dust; it was clearly never cleaned. I just felt like I wanted to get some anti-bacterial wipes and wipe over everything before we touched it.

I feel a bit bad writing all of this because the manager was so, so lovely and chatted to us a couple of times and even gave Ava an Easter Egg as we were leaving. He was so friendly and it seemed like he cared whether we’d had a good stay or not; exactly what you would want a hotel manager to be like.

We could have just got a bit unlucky (although that doesn’t explain the remote control etc) and had a very poor cleaner doing our room the first night, as when we got back after being out the first day our room had been cleaned and it was actually way cleaner that it had been when we got there. The floor was much better and luckily I’d had a bit of wine whilst we were out so could relax about it all a bit more.

On the positive side the beds were completely clean and comfy and I actually had a great nights sleep the first night which is unusual for me.

We were given the breakfast boxes which contained a decent amount of food, including either a yoghurt or cereal, a cereal bar, a muffin and a juice and are £4.45. I think they are a good option and a decent price if you are leaving early and want to get something in your belly before you go. They are certainly not a healthy option (even the ‘healthier’ muffin doesn’t contain very good ingredients) and so for me they weren’t great, but they were good to have to pick bits from or for a snack later on, and I can understand that they couldn’t easily provide boxes with healthy and natural products at a semi-decent price.

The room in general was as you’d expect from a Travelodge; basic and not exactly cosy, but great for a cheap stay in a city for a couple of nights. If our room had have been a lot cleaner everything would have been great. This hotel is in a good location, close to the Sealife Centre, the Bullring, and bars and restaurants. The reception was nice and spacious and our room was in a good location within the hotel which meant that we heard little noise from the other guests, which was great having a young child with us, and I think we were probably given this room based on the fact we were a family. The room had well-stocked tea and coffee and a kettle.

The reception has three self-check in machines, although at the time we were there, two of them were out of order. The staff (including the people on reception, the manager and a cleaner) were lovely, friendly and chatty and made us feel very welcome.

I would possibly stay at a Travelodge again, as I haven’t had these issues before and they are usually a great budget option, and are all around the country. But I would be a bit worried about what the room was going to be like, and I think I would only book there for a short break, which is a shame.

We were given a two night stay at Birmingham Central Travelodge in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are honest (clearly) and my own or my family’s.