Travelodge London Central Waterloo — Hotel in London

Travelodge London central Waterloo Booking ref 1533...... one night stay 28/11-29/11

I had asked the (uninterested) receptionist for a quieter room and received the reply, "tell you what I'll put you on the eighth floor." Ok. Well, I can confirm as previous travellers report, there's a frequent loud noise that sounds like a giant washing machine on spin, or a helicopter taking off, right outside the window, which, although fitted with a security cable, wouldn't stay open anyway. Despite as advertised on the website, there is NO Air Cooling/Conditioning system. There was no warning of this at any stage during booking. It has not worked for months (having looked through the reviews it's not a new fault, travellers first reported issues with the aircon months ago, surely this would have been addressed by now..) so don't be fooled by the temporary looking 'out of order, apologies for any inconvenience' notice at front desk. The allocated room was either too cold or too stuffy with the electric convector heaters that I had trouble using as they would go 'bang' every five minutes. The carpet was stained and grubby. DO NOT hazard to walk barefoot in there, there was dust along the skirting boards and what looked to be building debris (I hoped that's all it was..) in the corner of the room. Worst of all the bed, although confirmed as the fabled 'dreamer', must have been a first edition from the 1980's, it was as comfortable as a plank and, better still, infested with bugs. I tried resting but ended up with an itchy rash. All in all, I did not feel comfortable, it was probably one of the worst night's stays. In general, staff seemed uninterested, with the exception of the night duty who yelled at me angrily from behind the counter for trying to open the main door when it had only partially opened. I apologized, it was my misunderstanding of the hand gestures. I realise I could have damaged the door, however a more composed, courteous and dignified communication, as I would have expected from someone in a customer facing role, may at least have eased my guilty conscience.

There were signs up everywhere stating masks, or face coverings as they are referred to, must be worn at all times in public areas of the building unless medically exempt. Oddly, I did not observe a single member of staff adhering to this policy during my stay (apart from staff at check-out who to my dumbfounded surprise were wearing masks..) and all I can think of is that the staff must all have coincidentally had a medical exemption. I came down for breakfast at 7am hoping perhaps a good start to the day might alleviate the pain and the sleepless night. I was told to come back in five minutes. Five minutes went by, and another five for luck. Returned and was told to come back in ten minutes, still waiting for breakfast to come out of the kitchen. It was not my lucky day, nor indeed a lucky stay. I stepped out and walked for 20 minutes across Waterloo bridge towards Fleet Street and found a super courteous welcome from the staff and a hearty delicious breakfast at the Knights Templar, just to the rear of the high court (highly recommend).

I understand these are tough times, and indeed times of uncertainty, but we all must try to do our bit for a brighter and safer future.

As a frequent customer at Travelodge hotels across the UK and in Spain, I've never before had cause for complaint. Of course the model is simple and basic, but I've previously found in the main to be of impeccable standard. However, with this experience, I feel as if I've been conned, having paid a fee to stay and expected a minimum standard of service which wasn't remotely close to fulfilled. Wouldn't have put my worst enemy through this experience.

A Travelodge in the capital ought to be a leader, to showcase the Travelodge brand. Not this branch. This experience has affected my trust in the brand and I'll be reviewing any future bookings with...

Hotel : Travelodge London Waterloo What 3 words : Date : July 27 2023 Room number : 710

Price Paid : 160GBP Number of nights : 1 Number of guests : 2 Adult, 1 Teenager Bedroom type : 1 Double bed + 2 rollout beds Value : We paid a fairly reasonable price at the time

Breakfast included? : No Breakfast cost : Breakfast Rating :

Number of floors : 8 Distance to train : 5 mins walk to London Waterloo East

In room Fridge : No In Room Bottle opener : Yes 24 Hour reception : Yes Vending machine : Yes

Shower or Bath : Bath with Shower Water pressure : ✅ Good 6/10

European plug socket : No U.K. plug socket : Yes USB Socket : Yes Type A Ironing board in room : Yes Safe box in room : No Kettle : Yes TV : Yes TV Size : Approx 30” flatscreen TV Channels : A good selection of channels, however it was missing channels like GB News

Internet : Free for 30 mins Internet quality & speed : 6.6/10

Room Air Conditioning : Yes Ability to cool the room : 0 (Broken) Room Odour : ✅ Fine Portable Room Fan : Yes, 2 Windows that open : Yes, fully. With a cover to help prevent any accidents

General Comfort : ✅ Good+

Bed : The bed was big , spacious and had lots of life and comfort in it.

Is the room tired or worn out : No, 8.9/10

Window : The room features a window that can be opened fully, with a cover to help prevent accidents.

Elevator : The establishment features two separate elevators, next to each other. The space in both are adequate.

Knowledgeable reception Staff : Friendly reception staff : Yes Neighborhood area : Ok. Would I stay here again? : ✅ Yes

Improvements : It would be nice to see GB news added to the TV channel list.

It would also be nice to see the air con being fixed.

I would also like the ability to sling from my phone to the TV.

Score out of 10, taking into account the price paid at the time.

✅ 8/10

Hotel : Travelodge Waterloo London Date : Jan 2020 Room number : 24 Price Paid : £68 per night Number of nights : 4 Number of guests : 1 Adult Minibar : No Hair dryer : No Breakfast included? : No Breakfast Rating : Date : September 2019 Number of floors : approx 4 Distance to train : 3 minute walk (Waterloo train station) Shower or Bath : Shower TV : Yes Tv Size : Approx 30" flatscreen smart TV Internet : Paid Internet quality & speed : Air Conditioning : No Windows that open : Small window, opens fully, but has a metal grill. Bedroom type : 1 Double bed European plug socket : No U.K. plug socket : Yes USB Socket : Yes , type A Ironing board in room : No Knowledgeable reception Staff : No idea, but friendly. Neighborhood area : Good Would I stay here again? : Yes

Tips : The internet is not that great, but just outside the front of the hotel is a Free WiFi spot. Provided by the telephone operator, BT. And the speeds are amazing. This WiFi can be reached from the front of the hotel, or from...

I was going to email the hotel directly however, couldn’t find an email & I thought that the staff at this Travelodge deserved absolute public recognition for what they did for me!

My stay here did not go as planned & it’s exactly for that reason that I learnt how unbelievable the people working here are.

I checked in on Saturday 22nd with my 11 year old son after travelling from Manchester with the plan being to check out on Monday after a weekend of sight seeing. This was not how the weekend went & unfortunately I woke in the early hours of Sunday morning unexpectedly losing a lot of blood to the point of which I was loosing consciousness. I rang the hotel reception & asked them to ring me an ambulance & it was from here that I can safely say I would not have known how to get through the wait for the ambulance without Lacey! This incredible woman deserves the world & more; she brought me towels, gave my son her number so any time I had to get up & risked loosing consciousness she could be there, she brought him breakfast & kept me informed entirely about the ambulance & even chased them up continuously about where there were. My first encounter with Lacey was ringing & asking for an ambulance & from that moment on she made mine & my sons life as easy as they could possibly be in that situation, being so far away from home & anyone we knew, she went entirely above & beyond what I could have even asked for but it didn’t stop there…

I was taken from the hotel to St.Thomas’, it was at this point Lacey & her just as wonderful colleague Mel gave my son the choice of coming with me or staying at the hotel . He choose to stay at the hotel, where he waited for family members who were on their way from Manchester. From what I have been told he was absolutely spoilt rotten while with Lacey & Mel & looked after better than I ever could have wished. Our stuff was moved rooms, my family who came to London to be with us were completely accommodated by the hotel & my son has not stopped taking about how amazing Lacey & Mel are. Not at any point did they have to offer to look after my son but they did it without hesitation!

I will never be able to thank Lacey & Mel for everything they did, no words will ever re pay them or be able to even come close to explaining how grateful I am that those two amazing women exist & were the people who so happened to be around me when I found myself in such a vulnerable position.

Thank you both...