I booked a room at Travelodge London Bank for four nights in March 2013. The total cost was £146, on the non-refundable Saver rate, booked 5 months in advance. £36.50 a night is a really good price for Zone 1 ensuite double room in a London hotel. The hotel is a two minute walk from either Cannon St or Bank stations. There’s an M&S Food at Cannon St station and a Tesco Express about five minutes walk away. Many of the restaurants and cafes nearby are closed at the weekend.

Travelodge sign in St Swithin’s Lane

I arrived at the hotel around 12.30 but  check-in wasn’t until 15.00. As Travelodge don’t offer luggage storage facilities and I wanted to make the most of the daylight hours, I paid the £10 early check-in charge, enabling me to deposit my suitcase in my room and get out and about. I was allocated a double room on the first floor, directly above the hotel entrance overlooking the cobbled courtyard, shared with a restaurant. I was a bit concerned that my room might be noisy if people from the restuarant and hotel came out into the courtyard for a cigarette, or if the restaurant’s rubbish bins were wheeled out early in the morning. But I wasn’t disturbed by any exterior noise.

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I stayed at Travelodge London Clapham Junction for two nights in March 2013. I chose this hotel because it cost £34 a night for a family room, booked around 10 weeks in advance, and I wanted to explore the Clapham area.

Family room at Travelodge Clapham Junction (taken with fish eye)

Although there isn’t a Tube station at Clapham Junction, there’s a very frequent rail service into Victoria Station (a ten minute journey) and it’s a stop on the London Overground. It only took me a couple of minutes to walk from Clapaham Junction station to the hotel.  There’s an Lidl supermarket opposite the hotel, a McDonald’s up the road and plenty of other shops, restaurants and bars within a five minute walk.

Exterior of Travelodge London Clapham Junction

The receptionist was very friendly. I was allocated a room on the second floor. It was a large family room, nice and bright with two windows. I could hear a bit of exterior noise as there was a bus stop across the road. However I didn’t hear anything from adjoining rooms.

The Travelodge London Clapham Junction doesn’t have a Bar Cafe, so there’s no free WiFi here. I did have problems getting online with both my USB modems. I assume this was because I was on a lower floor, if I stay there again I’ll request a room on a higher floor which should improve the mobile broadband signal.

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