... I suggested Travelodge Romford because I had been there before. Back then I was satisfied with the hotel and I also quite like Romford as a city.
Getting to London
We took the Eurolines bus at four in the afternoon and were to arrive in London early next day. The ride was incredibly long ... Read review
Your shop for business luggage like briefcases, garment carriers, suitcases, trolleycases, cabin luggage, laptop cases, backpacks and many other items from Samsonite, Antler and Jansport.
Advantages: clean, very cheap, usually friendly employees, good shops close by, easy travelling to C. London Disadvantages: no luggage room, no parking
...left to book. I suggested Travelodge Romford because I had been there before. Back then I was satisfied with the hotel and I also quite like Romford as a city.
===Getting to London=== We took the Eurolines bus at four in the afternoon and were to arrive in London early next day. The ride was incredibly long as other travellers were picked up from places in Beglium and France, but in the end we arrived at the Victoria ... ...go to a hotel like Travelodge for the fancy interior. The room was very clean and tidy, which is the most important thing. We had a double bed, a desk and a television. On the table there was tray with tea making facilities, including two cups, teaspoons, little sachets of instant coffee and two teabags. Sugar and coffee creamer were also there. The bathroom was absolutely fine as well. The shower was good and the water pressure ... more
A Room in Romford
Last year I went to London with a friend to take advantage of the massive sales after Christmas. There are no such crazy sales here in Germany but the English obviously feel the need to throw out all their stock after Christmas – lucky us! So we booked a cheap Eurolines bus from Dortmund, Germany, to London and there was only the hotel left to book. I suggested Travelodge Romford because I had been there before. Back then I was satisfied with the hotel and I also quite like Romford as a city.
Getting to London
We took the Eurolines bus at four in the afternoon and were to arrive in London early next day. The ride was incredibly long as other travellers were picked up from places in Beglium and France, but in the end we arrived at the Victoria coach station at six in the morning, just as promised.
The arrival
I was prepared for not being able to check in that early, so me and my friend went for breakfast and then tried to check in around 11. A fairly nice lady explained to us that we couldn't check in yet and then 1 o'clock was the earliest – but even at that time, it would be an „Early Check-in“ that would cost us an extra fee. We didn't feel like paying that fee with our precious shopping money, so we went through the shops in Romford, dragging our luggage behind. That was probably the part we were really upset about – there was no room where we could leave our suitcases, so we had no choice but to take them along. At least Romford has nice shops and cafés, so passing the time wasn't that difficult. At 3 o'clock we were finally allowed to check in. The procedure went by quickly. I passed my printed out reservation which we had done online which the lady at the reception checked. Then she already gave us our keycards and we were finally able to move into our room.
The room
Our room was situated on the second floor. It was absolutely clean and was really lacking nothing. I could have sworn that the room I had shared with my parents two years ago had been decorated a little nicer, but then again you don't go to a hotel like Travelodge for the fancy interior. The room was very clean and tidy, which is the most important thing. We had a double bed, a desk and a television. On the table there was tray with tea making facilities, including two cups, teaspoons, little sachets of instant coffee and two teabags. Sugar and coffee creamer were also there. The bathroom was absolutely fine as well. The shower was good and the water pressure was absolutely fine, compared to other hotels in London I have been to. The toilet and the floor werealso clean and there was a nice big mirror. The room's floor was covered in carpet, the bathroom had tiles. Smoking and eating is forbidden in the rooms. Of course, there are ways around that and you can carefully eat something in there, but setting the smoking alarm off is something I wouldn't risk. ;)
The Food
This criteria is not applicable to most Travelodge hotels as they usually do not serve food. But you can get breakfast easily in Romford – there are lots of cafés, a department store with breakfast meals and there's a Starbucks close to the station.
The Neighbourhood
Romford is part of Greater London and is connected to Central London through it's train station “Romford Central“. Romford is about 18 miles away from Charing Cross Underground station, which makes it a good place to stay at when you want to visit London without being in the middle of the loud city at night, too. You can reach Central London within approv. 25 minutes from there which is really practical. The train station can be reached within a 10 minute walk that lets you through Romford's high street. Night life has only settled there and if you move through the high street in the evening, people are queuing up in front of them. I can't give any club recommendations though – I never went into one of those. Sadly, violence is also a problem in Romford. When I went there with my parents two years ago, there was a cross with flowers next to the hotel – another stabbing. I wouldn't be too happy about walking through the high street alone at night – but then again, that's how i'd feel about every place like that. The hotel is situated on a little road leading off the Romford market place and on the other side there is a very busy road – still it's absolutely silent at night. Sadly, there is no car parking at the hotel so you should check the car parks around the Liberty shopping mall and research on that before you come to avoid problems.
Checking Out
Checking out on our last day was another malice regarding the time. We had to leave the rooms at 12 and managed to do that with half an hour delay. The receptionist was very friendly and easy about it and we didn't have any trouble. But again, Travelodge not providing luggage rooms is a huge problem as our bus home would leave at 8.30 in the evening. In the end, we had no choice but to bring our suitcases to the „Left luggage“ in Victoria Station, which was safe but very, very expensive.
Price
At Travelodge you can get a wide variety of prices. My friend and I found an amazing offer and paid about 40 pounds together! If you book Travelodge, plan ahead a s early as possible. You can save like crazy! Sometimes you can get rooms for as little as 12 pounds. The only downside of that is that you only get them so cheap if you agree to not have any cancelation possibilities. But other than that, there is no evil condition coming along with that offer!
Address
http://www.travelodge.co.ukSt Edwards Way Market Place Romford RM1 1XJ Tel.: +448719846255 Fax: 01708 766867Altogether I can recommend Travelodge Romford to travellers who want to see London without paying too much for their accomodation. The rooms are perfectly clean and have everything neccessary. Checking in and out is uncomplicated. But make sure your arrival works with the check in and check out times so you won't waste time waiting for your room! But the fact that there is no room for your luggage before or after your check in is really annoying – I am used to hotels having such a room. I take one star off my rating because of that problem and because there as no parking (Travelodge Ilford has rooms just as cheap – but there's also parking!). Over all, I would recommend Travelodge Romford – but do plan your trip well!
