There are several reasons so many of us look up Travelodge when planning a trip to London. One, there are plenty of them situated in convenient, central locations around the capital. Two, you know you’ll get clean and comfortable rooms from a trusted brand. And three, they’re really well-priced.
So, when my younger son had a visit to a college on the outskirts of London scheduled, a two night stay in the London Waterloo Travelodge fitted the bill perfectly.
Just a five minute walk from London Waterloo mainline and tube stations, the hotel is on Waterloo Road with near-neighbours including The Old Vic Theatre.
The hotel will store your luggage for you if you’re early for the 3pm check-in, so you can head out and about, hands-free, for a wander, or they have a nice bar and coffee lounge you can pass the time in, too.
With afternoon tickets booked for Doctor Who: Time Fracture’s immersive theatre experience (read our review here) we took the tube to Oxford Street them walked over to Immersive | LDN.
After the energetic and enjoyable show, it was back to the hotel where we unpacked in our pristine, newly-decorated and comfortable room. There were complimentary chocolate bars which went down a treat, plus tea, instant coffee and hot chocolate as well as a swish coffee machine for a proper cup of the strong stuff. The room was bright and airy and ours looked out onto a block of residential flats opposite, some of which had some pretty flower boxes blooming.
After my son had done and dusted the college visit the next day – (Which had been a short hop out of town from nearby Waterloo East station) – we had the city on our doorstep to do as we pleased.
As I hadn’t been to London for a couple of years, I fancied taking in some of the well-trodden tourist traps. Plenty of sights are easily walkable from the hotel. Just a ten to fifteen minute trot and you’re at the river and the London Eye. We walked across Hungerford Bridge to Charing Cross and on to Leicester Square for some photos in the sun, then on through St James’s Park, and up along Birdcage Walk to see Big Ben’s transformation, Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.
A leisurely stroll back, we got ready to head out, having been lucky enough to get tickets for Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre. It’s perfectly walkable if you have the time, but we used the tube as we’d cut things fine if we wanted to a relaxed dinner beforehand.
Just a short walk from the South Bank and plenty of must-see London attractions, Travelodge’s Waterloo hotel – which has recently had a million pound refurbishment – really is conveniently placed for a London trip, whatever your plans.
Book at Travelodge.co.uk
Photos by Hugo Sousa on Unsplash, Lucas Heap, Travelodge and Immersive LDN.