Note: There are several Travelodge hotels in this area. The one I am reviewing is the Kings Cross Travelodge (also known as Travelodge Kings Cross Central). This is the correct hotel for this Ciao category. The Kings Cross Royal Scot on the Kings Cross Road used to be the Thistle Islington and since it became a Travelodge it has become very run down and I would not recommend it. There is another Travelodge at Euston Station and another further along Kings Cross Road called Travelodge Farringdon.
As I wanted us to go away again less than a week after returning from another trip, I had to promise to find some cheap accommodation: my problem was that I wanted to go to London.
The main purpose of the trip was to see the Malicious Damage (Joe Orton ) exhibition at Islington Museum and as our train comes in at Kings Cross it seemed reasonable to look for somewhere in this area. The Kings Cross Travelodge is within two minutes walk of the Kings Cross and St. Pancras Stations and ten minutes walk from Euston. We were able to get a double room through the Travelodge website for a shade under £50. This price did not include breakfast.
Although we knew that we were too early to check in we hoped to leave our luggage at the hotel and go off to the museum. Unfortunately this hotel does not have a luggage room because, according to the receptionist, it is too small. We asked if we might be able to leave our luggage at one of the other Travelodges if we showed our paperwork and were told we could go to the one on Kings Cross Road but would have to pay £5 each. We decided to try the left luggage office at Kings Cross station but it costs £8.50 per item there so we trundled off to the other hotel. Early check in is possible at the Kings Cross Central Travelodge for an additional £10 but this isn’t available until noon and we had arrived at 10.30am.
The Kings Cross Travelodge is in a rather nice old brick building with gothic features and certainly makes a pleasant change visually from the concrete monstrosities that Travelodges usually are. One or two of the architectural features remain inside the hotel too, such as the rather nice staircase and the high ceilings and panelling in the bar/breakfast room. Our room faced onto the Grays Inn Road which is busy at most times of the day and night and even when both layers of glazing are closed, you do still hear the traffic noise. If this is likely to bother you I would suggest that this is not the hotel for you; personally I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and contrary to my usual routine, I slept until 8.30am, not once waking, which is unheard of for me.
Our first impressions of the hotel’s public areas and of our own room were good. Unlike at the Travelodge on Kings Cross Road (where there was also a horrible stench of rotten cabbage in the corridors) the paintwork in the corridors was clean and fresh and the carpets were unstained. Our room was spotless with no obvious damage to furniture, fittings or soft furnishings.
The shower room/toilet was also spotless; a bathmat would have been appreciated though. Overall it’s basic but good. In fact, we’d paid more for a fairly grotty hostel in Cambridge two weeks earlier, an establishment that made this Travelodge look like the Ritz.
Throw in a television and a kettle (with enough coffee and tea for an overnight stay) and you’ve got the only extras you really need in London; with the whole capital to explore why spend more time in your room than absolutely necessary. A vending machine in reception sells snacks, soft drinks and a limited selection of toiletries but there are plenty of shops in the area that stay open till late if you need something.
Although we didn’t have breakfast at the hotel a poster in reception advertised an all you can eat continental style breakfast for £5.40 which isn’t bad at all if you are going to really fill up. Pubs in the area were advertising a hot breakfast for between £7.00 and £8.00 but there are plenty of ‘greasy spoon’ joints around the station where you’ll pay a lot less.
This being a budget hotel there are few frills. Except for the tea and coffee and one miserly bar of soap there are no freebies here; of course, this keeps the cost down. There is free wi-fi in the bar, paid for terminals in the lobby, or wi-fi in the rooms for a charge.
Travelodge often gets a bad press; given the choice of one or t’other I’d rather stay at a Premierinn but this particular Travelodge exceeded my expectations. For budget accommodation it’s very good, way better than the Kings Cross Road Travelodge and miles better than any of the B&Bs I’ve stayed at in the quiet squares on the south side of Kings Cross.
Not one for light sleepers but absolutely fine as a no frills basic hotel for those who sleep like logs.
Cheap and Cheerful - Kings Cross Travelodge 
