Travelodge UK - dingy lighting in new hotel

Just stayed at Travelodge at Porthmadog in Wales - one of the newest
locations for this still-expanding chain.

Don't know whether this is a one-off experiment, or the new Travelodge
standard, but the room lighting is so low-energy that it feels dingy and
would be a real problem for some users - no good if you had children who
wanted to sit on the bed and draw, or play a game (or even read). The
bedside lights are flexible LEDs - great if you want to read a book in
bed, but less good for a newspaper (too narrow a pool of light) and
hopeless if you want to do your reading anywhere else in the room (the
lighting is only usefully strong close to the lamp itself). Ambient room
lighting is enough to stop you falling over things, but not enough to do
much.

It didn't ruin our trip, but in slightly different circumstances, it
could have been a real problem. If poor lighting would matter to you, it
might be worth checking with Travelodge about the type of lighting at a
particular hotel before booking.

[Otherwise, Teavelodge Porthmadog is a decent hotel. The walk from town
isn't ideal (the pavement/sidewalk on the main road gives out before you
get to the hotel, and the alternative is to walk through an industrial
estate, which might spook some people late at night). Some noise from
industrial operations from around 07.30 weekdays. But hotel is bright
and efficient, and staff are great.]

John Geddes
England

"John Geddes" wrote in message
...
Just stayed at Travelodge at Porthmadog in Wales - one of the newest
locations for this still-expanding chain.

Don't know whether this is a one-off experiment, or the new Travelodge
standard, but the room lighting is so low-energy that it feels dingy and
would be a real problem for some users - no good if you had children who
wanted to sit on the bed and draw, or play a game (or even read). The
bedside lights are flexible LEDs - great if you want to read a book in
bed, but less good for a newspaper (too narrow a pool of light) and
hopeless if you want to do your reading anywhere else in the room (the
lighting is only usefully strong close to the lamp itself). Ambient room
lighting is enough to stop you falling over things, but not enough to do
much.

I've always found hotel lighting to be inadequate. you turn all the silly
little wall lights on and the room is still dark. Whatever happened to the
idea of a light in the middle of the room?

tim

Martin wrote:

On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:46:02 +0100, John Geddes

wrote:

Just stayed at Travelodge at Porthmadog in Wales - one of the newest
locations for this still-expanding chain.

Don't know whether this is a one-off experiment, or the new Travelodge
standard, but the room lighting is so low-energy that it feels dingy and
would be a real problem for some users - no good if you had children who
wanted to sit on the bed and draw, or play a game (or even read). The
bedside lights are flexible LEDs - great if you want to read a book in
bed, but less good for a newspaper (too narrow a pool of light) and
hopeless if you want to do your reading anywhere else in the room (the
lighting is only usefully strong close to the lamp itself). Ambient room
lighting is enough to stop you falling over things, but not enough to do
much.

It didn't ruin our trip, but in slightly different circumstances, it
could have been a real problem. If poor lighting would matter to you, it
might be worth checking with Travelodge about the type of lighting at a
particular hotel before booking.

[Otherwise, Teavelodge Porthmadog is a decent hotel. The walk from town
isn't ideal (the pavement/sidewalk on the main road gives out before you
get to the hotel, and the alternative is to walk through an industrial
estate, which might spook some people late at night). Some noise from
industrial operations from around 07.30 weekdays. But hotel is bright
and efficient, and staff are great.]

Post your comment here

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_R...les_Wales.html

There is only one review at the moment :-

"Clean, tidy, pity about the surroundings"
Travelodge
Save Review
3 of 5 stars
Wills25
Birmingham
18 Mar 2009

* View from the room
View from the room

Upon arrival at the travelodge, we were greeted by a very new looking
Travelodge
within an industrial area.

The parking is plentiful, the staff and reception was modern, clean and
professional. The rooms were clean, well maintained and comfortable for a
'base'
to stay. Unfortunately the room we had only offered showering facilities.

The view from the window was fantastic.......once you looked past the skip
hire
and industrial units directly outside the window.

Aldi, and Tesco are in very close proximity to the hotel if required.

Porthmadog itself is a very quiet town, with what looked like very little
to do.
Although facilities and resources such as pubs, restaurants can be found
in the
near surrounding areas.

Overall, an average place to stay. Don't expect too much.

* My ratings for this hotel a
o 4 of 5 stars Value
o 4 of 5 stars Rooms
o 3 of 5 stars Location
o 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
o 4 of 5 stars Service

* Date of Stay: February 2009
* Visit was for: Leisure
* Travelling group: With Spouse/Partner
* Your age range: 25-34
* Member since: 14 March 2009

* Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No


If I didn't know you I'd think you were putting us on...

Lol...

;-)


--
Best
Greg