We have done a lot of travelling as a family this year so far and Lara gets really excited every time we go to a hotel - there is something a little magical about staying away from home. When we go away we usually stay in budget hotels but I think we have learned over the past few occasions that budget doesn't have to mean that quality is compromised. Last weekend we were invited to stay at the brand new Travelodge in Cambridge on the Newmarket road which opened last month to see that Travelodge can offer quite a bit for their price!
Travelodge have been in Camrbidge for 25 years and to celebrate, they have built a shiny new hotel just outside the main shopping area in the centre of Cambridge. Their website warned us that parking was limited so when we arrived at about 6.30pm on a Saturday night I was a bit worried we would have to walk with our bags and the buggy from a nearby public car park but thankfully we found the very last space in their underground car park which meant we could take the lift straight into reception.
Our room was great. Functional, clean and tidy and surprisingly spacious. Lara had her own bed which had been made up for her on arrival and we had taken a travel bed for Holly. Lara's bed was a sofa by day and a bed by night - I think she found it a bit too firm. Our bed however was FAB - Travelodge pride themselves on the quality of the beds in their new-style hotels and I understand why; it was enormous!
The bathroom in our hotel room was... compact. As a tall lady, if I had wanted to use the bath, I probably would have had to bend myself double. But for the girls it was fine and anyway, there was a shower to use too. Simplicity was key in the bathroom - no nonsense and no-freebies like shower gel but like everything else in our room and the hotel in general, it was done well.
Having had a long drive to Cambridge, we didn't fancy venturing out into Cambridge to find dinner so we tried out the on-site restaurant in the Travelodge. The menu was full of classic pub basics such as lasagne, burgers and a simple curry. The prices were reasonable, given the level of convenience. I've had better pub food, I've had better value-for-money too but it was easy and convenient and I think that's what counts.
The restaurant was large and bright. The girls both had children's meals which included ice-cream for dessert (or something resembling ice-cream, anyway); we paid extra to add a fruit-shoot to their meals, which was a mistake, because the sugar rush then meant that neither girl wanted to go to sleep when we went back up to our room after dinner! By the time we left the restaurant, the bar was filling up with guests getting ready to go for their big night's out.
Despite the numbers of people clearly going out on the town, the hotel was really quiet and we had a great night's sleep. We paid for breakfast in the morning (the kids ate free) which was functional and efficient (cooked breakfast, cereal, pastries) but the scrambled eggs were terrifying (I don't think they had seen an actual physical egg for some time). We came away with full bellies with lots of energy for a long walk.
We spent Sunday at Wimpole Hall and Home Farm which is a National Trust property just outside Cambridge. The girls had great fun walking through the vast grounds and exploring the walled gardens while looking out for cows and sheep.
All too quickly, our weekend away was over. I had a great visit to the new Travelodge in Cambridge and would be more than happy to go back in the future.
You can see my full set of photos on the Mellow Mummy G+ page (see the big G+ follow button in the sidebar on the right!)
Travelodge have been in Camrbidge for 25 years and to celebrate, they have built a shiny new hotel just outside the main shopping area in the centre of Cambridge. Their website warned us that parking was limited so when we arrived at about 6.30pm on a Saturday night I was a bit worried we would have to walk with our bags and the buggy from a nearby public car park but thankfully we found the very last space in their underground car park which meant we could take the lift straight into reception.
Our room was great. Functional, clean and tidy and surprisingly spacious. Lara had her own bed which had been made up for her on arrival and we had taken a travel bed for Holly. Lara's bed was a sofa by day and a bed by night - I think she found it a bit too firm. Our bed however was FAB - Travelodge pride themselves on the quality of the beds in their new-style hotels and I understand why; it was enormous!
The bathroom in our hotel room was... compact. As a tall lady, if I had wanted to use the bath, I probably would have had to bend myself double. But for the girls it was fine and anyway, there was a shower to use too. Simplicity was key in the bathroom - no nonsense and no-freebies like shower gel but like everything else in our room and the hotel in general, it was done well.
Having had a long drive to Cambridge, we didn't fancy venturing out into Cambridge to find dinner so we tried out the on-site restaurant in the Travelodge. The menu was full of classic pub basics such as lasagne, burgers and a simple curry. The prices were reasonable, given the level of convenience. I've had better pub food, I've had better value-for-money too but it was easy and convenient and I think that's what counts.
The restaurant was large and bright. The girls both had children's meals which included ice-cream for dessert (or something resembling ice-cream, anyway); we paid extra to add a fruit-shoot to their meals, which was a mistake, because the sugar rush then meant that neither girl wanted to go to sleep when we went back up to our room after dinner! By the time we left the restaurant, the bar was filling up with guests getting ready to go for their big night's out.
Despite the numbers of people clearly going out on the town, the hotel was really quiet and we had a great night's sleep. We paid for breakfast in the morning (the kids ate free) which was functional and efficient (cooked breakfast, cereal, pastries) but the scrambled eggs were terrifying (I don't think they had seen an actual physical egg for some time). We came away with full bellies with lots of energy for a long walk.
We spent Sunday at Wimpole Hall and Home Farm which is a National Trust property just outside Cambridge. The girls had great fun walking through the vast grounds and exploring the walled gardens while looking out for cows and sheep.
All too quickly, our weekend away was over. I had a great visit to the new Travelodge in Cambridge and would be more than happy to go back in the future.
You can see my full set of photos on the Mellow Mummy G+ page (see the big G+ follow button in the sidebar on the right!)
