Below is a selection of hotels we have stayed at in the past, with our honest reviews, photos and we also have separate dedicated pages for Premier Inn, Travelodge and Village hotels, which can be viewed by simply clicking on a picture below.
Abbey House Hotel - May 2016
With a plan to spend a day around Lake Windermere and a second day then planned to visit South Lakes Safari Zoo, I decided it was worth looking for somewhere to stay for one night. It was the first time I had ever used laterooms.com and at the top of the search list was Abbey House Hotel, looking at the pictures, I was very surprised at the price (£48 inc breakfast) and when I saw one of the remaining 2 rooms go, I immediately booked it. When I told my wife, she was also surprised at the price and being nothing like what we've previously stayed at, my wife was really looking forward to our stay, even if it was just one night.
As you turn off the main road into the hotel entrance, the first thing you see is the beautiful facade and a small introduction to the 14 acres of gardens that surround it. The hotel has great facilities, including plenty of parking, onsite restaurant and bar called Oscar's, conference/events suites and free wi-fi and even better for our plans, it was only a few miles from the South Lakes Safari Zoo.
The room we was allocated was in the extension, on reading the history it told me it was built in 2000 and it has been built using the same colour sandstone, to preserve the original look and style. The room was a very good size, beautifully decorated, with windows spanning the full width, letting plenty of light in, however one window was missing a handle, so it couldn't be opened and the other scraped along the window sill as it opened inwards, so turning the handle to 90 degrees and "tilting" the window open was better.
The bathroom was a little bit of a let down to the room, it wasn't old, but looked tired, with cracks up some of the corners. I was initially disappointed to see the shower was a fixed head on the wall and as I tried to adjust the temperature down a few degrees, it felt like it went down by 10! However once you got the setting just right, it was a nice, powerful, hot shower.
Disappointingly the room was not as sound proofed as we'd like and I struggled to sleep, with the window open I could hear the water feature below, so despite the room being very warm I closed the window through the night. There were some strange tapping noises, that I initially thought were the shower dripping, however as soon as I got out of bed I immediately could tell they were coming from next door, this continued for about 10 minutes and then throughout the night you'd here a loud tap every so often. In the morning I noticed there was another door between ours and the next room, which I presumed was a utility room.
The historic nature, grandeur and beautiful gardens of the hotel make it a fantastic venue for a wedding and we were not surprised there was a wedding party at the hotel when we stayed. As expected we did here several of the guests coming back to their rooms. I appreciate it's hard to reduce noise from people and the corridors, but I shouldn't be able to hear someone going for a wee. Ironically the noise that I noticed least was the train, which runs past the back of the hotel and we could see the line from our room.
Staying in the newer extension, I expected the rooms to be more sound proofed, especially after reading a bit about the hotels history revealed it had undergone a refurbishment in 2014. When we checked out we did advise the hotel of the noisy service room and water feature, in the hope they would look into it before the next guests were kept awake.
Our laterooms deal included breakfast, which is normally £12.95 each, this entitled us to a hot option and cold buffet, we also chose the alfresco dining option, which is in a lovely covered patio area. There was a good selection on offer and the food was beautiful, a great way to start the day.
Abbey House Hotel is a beautiful place to stay and my experience was sadly let down by noises keeping me awake, however considering we only paid £48, we have had the opportunity to see such a wonderful, historic venue, set in beautiful surroundings and I would certainly consider staying again, in the hope I'd get a better night’s sleep.
With a plan to spend a day around Lake Windermere and a second day then planned to visit South Lakes Safari Zoo, I decided it was worth looking for somewhere to stay for one night. It was the first time I had ever used laterooms.com and at the top of the search list was Abbey House Hotel, looking at the pictures, I was very surprised at the price (£48 inc breakfast) and when I saw one of the remaining 2 rooms go, I immediately booked it. When I told my wife, she was also surprised at the price and being nothing like what we've previously stayed at, my wife was really looking forward to our stay, even if it was just one night.
As you turn off the main road into the hotel entrance, the first thing you see is the beautiful facade and a small introduction to the 14 acres of gardens that surround it. The hotel has great facilities, including plenty of parking, onsite restaurant and bar called Oscar's, conference/events suites and free wi-fi and even better for our plans, it was only a few miles from the South Lakes Safari Zoo.
The room we was allocated was in the extension, on reading the history it told me it was built in 2000 and it has been built using the same colour sandstone, to preserve the original look and style. The room was a very good size, beautifully decorated, with windows spanning the full width, letting plenty of light in, however one window was missing a handle, so it couldn't be opened and the other scraped along the window sill as it opened inwards, so turning the handle to 90 degrees and "tilting" the window open was better.
The bathroom was a little bit of a let down to the room, it wasn't old, but looked tired, with cracks up some of the corners. I was initially disappointed to see the shower was a fixed head on the wall and as I tried to adjust the temperature down a few degrees, it felt like it went down by 10! However once you got the setting just right, it was a nice, powerful, hot shower.
Disappointingly the room was not as sound proofed as we'd like and I struggled to sleep, with the window open I could hear the water feature below, so despite the room being very warm I closed the window through the night. There were some strange tapping noises, that I initially thought were the shower dripping, however as soon as I got out of bed I immediately could tell they were coming from next door, this continued for about 10 minutes and then throughout the night you'd here a loud tap every so often. In the morning I noticed there was another door between ours and the next room, which I presumed was a utility room.
The historic nature, grandeur and beautiful gardens of the hotel make it a fantastic venue for a wedding and we were not surprised there was a wedding party at the hotel when we stayed. As expected we did here several of the guests coming back to their rooms. I appreciate it's hard to reduce noise from people and the corridors, but I shouldn't be able to hear someone going for a wee. Ironically the noise that I noticed least was the train, which runs past the back of the hotel and we could see the line from our room.
Staying in the newer extension, I expected the rooms to be more sound proofed, especially after reading a bit about the hotels history revealed it had undergone a refurbishment in 2014. When we checked out we did advise the hotel of the noisy service room and water feature, in the hope they would look into it before the next guests were kept awake.
Our laterooms deal included breakfast, which is normally £12.95 each, this entitled us to a hot option and cold buffet, we also chose the alfresco dining option, which is in a lovely covered patio area. There was a good selection on offer and the food was beautiful, a great way to start the day.
Abbey House Hotel is a beautiful place to stay and my experience was sadly let down by noises keeping me awake, however considering we only paid £48, we have had the opportunity to see such a wonderful, historic venue, set in beautiful surroundings and I would certainly consider staying again, in the hope I'd get a better night’s sleep.
A short walk from the hotel (down a fairly steep gravel path, signposted from the hotel gardens), you can visit the impressive Furness Abbey, which is sadly only a ruin, but on an immense scale.
Pure White - Prague - March 2015
From the street, you probably wouldn’t even know this was a hotel, with its clean, plain frontage and simple name plate, there’s no real hint at what’s behind the front doors. Once inside you walk down to a glass door and the reception is to your left, the bar/lounge is just off the reception area and the breakfast room off to the right of the reception desk.
Having mentioned to the hotel when booking, that this was to celebrate our anniversary, they had upgraded us to a superior room free of charge, which we did not expect. My wife had seen pictures of the rooms online, so we knew what it would look like and it did not disappoint, with a modern look and feel, very spacious and great high ceilings, the four poster bed was a simplistic take on a rarely seen feature in modern hotels today, but followed the theme well.
The tall windows let loads of light into the room, whilst enhancing the rooms’ height, sadly they did not have the view to suit, however we are in a city centre, therefore we appreciate great hotel room views are limited and costly. The room had nice, simple furniture, including a desk, sofa, two chairs and some funky little tables, plus a mini bar (be aware of what you use, you will be charged, price list for mini bar was on the desk).
There was a wardrobe with plenty of shelving and it also housed a large safe, which was very easy to use, the only criticism I had about the room was the lighting, working out which switches controlled which lights, even more annoying was the maids turning every light back on after cleaning the room each day and I know this may sound like I’m being picky, but when the desk lamp can only be turned off by unplugging it and not all the lights were controlled from one main switch, it was a pain going to the correct switches to turn each of them off every night.
Breakfast was interesting, hot stuff consisted of ham slices, not bacon, hotdogs, not sausages and what we thought was omelette, was in fact egg, but fried egg! Although each day was slightly and luckily for me they had, ham, cheese and croissants, sorted! A selection of juices were on offer, including orange and green apple, but the tea was a no go for me, it didn’t look or taste right and I’m not a coffee fan, but I did try the coffee.
In summary, we enjoyed our stay at Pure White, it’s in a good location, (although some may prefer to stay somewhere in Prague 1), the room was lovely and the staff were friendly and helpful.
From the street, you probably wouldn’t even know this was a hotel, with its clean, plain frontage and simple name plate, there’s no real hint at what’s behind the front doors. Once inside you walk down to a glass door and the reception is to your left, the bar/lounge is just off the reception area and the breakfast room off to the right of the reception desk.
Having mentioned to the hotel when booking, that this was to celebrate our anniversary, they had upgraded us to a superior room free of charge, which we did not expect. My wife had seen pictures of the rooms online, so we knew what it would look like and it did not disappoint, with a modern look and feel, very spacious and great high ceilings, the four poster bed was a simplistic take on a rarely seen feature in modern hotels today, but followed the theme well.
The tall windows let loads of light into the room, whilst enhancing the rooms’ height, sadly they did not have the view to suit, however we are in a city centre, therefore we appreciate great hotel room views are limited and costly. The room had nice, simple furniture, including a desk, sofa, two chairs and some funky little tables, plus a mini bar (be aware of what you use, you will be charged, price list for mini bar was on the desk).
There was a wardrobe with plenty of shelving and it also housed a large safe, which was very easy to use, the only criticism I had about the room was the lighting, working out which switches controlled which lights, even more annoying was the maids turning every light back on after cleaning the room each day and I know this may sound like I’m being picky, but when the desk lamp can only be turned off by unplugging it and not all the lights were controlled from one main switch, it was a pain going to the correct switches to turn each of them off every night.
Breakfast was interesting, hot stuff consisted of ham slices, not bacon, hotdogs, not sausages and what we thought was omelette, was in fact egg, but fried egg! Although each day was slightly and luckily for me they had, ham, cheese and croissants, sorted! A selection of juices were on offer, including orange and green apple, but the tea was a no go for me, it didn’t look or taste right and I’m not a coffee fan, but I did try the coffee.
In summary, we enjoyed our stay at Pure White, it’s in a good location, (although some may prefer to stay somewhere in Prague 1), the room was lovely and the staff were friendly and helpful.
East Lodge Hotel and Restaurant – March 2014
We stayed at East Lodge for a wedding and it’s a beautiful venue for a wedding, with its great location in peak district national park and about a 20 minute drive from Chatsworth House. The hotel grounds are extremely well looked after and provide a great backdrop for wedding photos, the hotel is a great size, with many areas/rooms allowing the guests to spread about and chat in a quieter area.
We had a standard room lovely little room, with a nice view of the fields to the rear of the hotel, the shower wasn’t great and lacked power and some of the floors seemed to dip, although it is quite an old building. Breakfast had been arranged for all of us to sit at one long table together and sadly it was disappointing, it seemed as though making changes totally confused the staff and most people didn’t seem to get the correct breakfast and my wife commented on how small the breakfast was, although they did bring regular amounts of fresh toast.
I would recommend the hotel as a great venue for such a special occasion as a wedding, it provides the perfect setting, however I feel the staff could have done a little better and some of the rooms are probably due a refurbishment.
We stayed at East Lodge for a wedding and it’s a beautiful venue for a wedding, with its great location in peak district national park and about a 20 minute drive from Chatsworth House. The hotel grounds are extremely well looked after and provide a great backdrop for wedding photos, the hotel is a great size, with many areas/rooms allowing the guests to spread about and chat in a quieter area.
We had a standard room lovely little room, with a nice view of the fields to the rear of the hotel, the shower wasn’t great and lacked power and some of the floors seemed to dip, although it is quite an old building. Breakfast had been arranged for all of us to sit at one long table together and sadly it was disappointing, it seemed as though making changes totally confused the staff and most people didn’t seem to get the correct breakfast and my wife commented on how small the breakfast was, although they did bring regular amounts of fresh toast.
I would recommend the hotel as a great venue for such a special occasion as a wedding, it provides the perfect setting, however I feel the staff could have done a little better and some of the rooms are probably due a refurbishment.
Holiday Inn – Birmingham A45 - November 2012
It’s fair to say I have mixed feelings about this hotel, the location is ideal for Birmingham centre, only a 15 minute drive, however it’s also located on a busy dual carriageway, so the view from our window was not great. And there’s also and not so great looking estate right next to it, which our sat nav took us up one, not realising the road had bollards at the end, so if you use a sat nav to get here, stay on the main road. I wouldn’t want to have the window open in summer due to the road noise, however the room did have air conditioning, so that covers that issue. There’s an upper and lower car park, which there is a small charge to park in, but safe and secure.
It’s fair to say I have mixed feelings about this hotel, the location is ideal for Birmingham centre, only a 15 minute drive, however it’s also located on a busy dual carriageway, so the view from our window was not great. And there’s also and not so great looking estate right next to it, which our sat nav took us up one, not realising the road had bollards at the end, so if you use a sat nav to get here, stay on the main road. I wouldn’t want to have the window open in summer due to the road noise, however the room did have air conditioning, so that covers that issue. There’s an upper and lower car park, which there is a small charge to park in, but safe and secure.
The room was stylish, modern and comfortable and had a very practical layout, making very good use of the space, including a desk, large TV and chair near the window. The bathroom was small, but adequate and only had a shower, but in my opinion, most people will be happy with just a shower when staying in a hotel and it was a decent size shower cubicle. The staff were friendly and the hotel was very clean, tidy and looked very modern, it was a little strange the dining room being so open and close to the hotel entrance. We had breakfast at the hotel and was sadly disappointed to be waiting quite a while for more hot food to be brought out and then even more disappointed to find there were only sausages, beans and scrambled egg, however there was cereal and toast, but I prefer a hot breakfast when staying in a hotel and Premier Inn have a larger hot breakfast selection.
I would consider staying at a holiday Inn again, however I feel I would probably search for a Premier Inn first.
I would consider staying at a holiday Inn again, however I feel I would probably search for a Premier Inn first.
Oulton Hall – Stayed 2012
We stayed at Oulton Hall for a family wedding and it is a very grand place with beautiful interiors and fantastic gardens and is a great location for a wedding and similar events. The room we had was massive and felt very cosy and homely, rather than a typical hotel room.
We stayed at Oulton Hall for a family wedding and it is a very grand place with beautiful interiors and fantastic gardens and is a great location for a wedding and similar events. The room we had was massive and felt very cosy and homely, rather than a typical hotel room.
Hotel Formule1 - France - June 2011
These cheap hotels, provided us with an overnight stop, on the way down to our campsite in France and also on the return journey back up to Calais. They had nice size rooms, with a very basic interior, containing a double bed, with a single bunk mounted over the top, a TV above a corner desk (best of all, you could get free Wi-Fi!) and a large wash basin. The windows were like square port holes, but had no glass in, so you had to have them open to let light in and in the summer heat, we left them open on their lock, however, being on the ground floor I wouldn't have had them fully open through the night.
However, the biggest let down, was the fact they had strangely decided to put all the toilets and showers in little cubicles (like the size of a portaloo), in the hotel reception area, which didn't sound ideal, especially for going to the loo during the night, but most of all, the cleanliness was terrible and you sometimes had to queue. I would be happy to use these hotels again, based solely on their rooms, but not sure if I would, based on the toilet facilities!
These cheap hotels, provided us with an overnight stop, on the way down to our campsite in France and also on the return journey back up to Calais. They had nice size rooms, with a very basic interior, containing a double bed, with a single bunk mounted over the top, a TV above a corner desk (best of all, you could get free Wi-Fi!) and a large wash basin. The windows were like square port holes, but had no glass in, so you had to have them open to let light in and in the summer heat, we left them open on their lock, however, being on the ground floor I wouldn't have had them fully open through the night.
However, the biggest let down, was the fact they had strangely decided to put all the toilets and showers in little cubicles (like the size of a portaloo), in the hotel reception area, which didn't sound ideal, especially for going to the loo during the night, but most of all, the cleanliness was terrible and you sometimes had to queue. I would be happy to use these hotels again, based solely on their rooms, but not sure if I would, based on the toilet facilities!
Smart Aston Court Hotel in Derby - December 2011
The room was a little smaller than we are used to, compared to a Travelodge we would normally stay in, but it had everything we needed and was clean, tidy and well presented. While we were staying, there was a wedding reception being held in the hotel that night and unfortunately our room was located at the rear of the hotel, therefore our window overlooked the rear entrance from the car park, which was used by many of the wedding party guests until the early hours, making lots of noise keeping us awake. I was extremely disappointed that the hotel staff didn't ask us if we were with the wedding party, as they then could have given us a room at the other end of the hotel. The hotel is within easy walking distance of the town centre and the train station is just around the corner.
The room was a little smaller than we are used to, compared to a Travelodge we would normally stay in, but it had everything we needed and was clean, tidy and well presented. While we were staying, there was a wedding reception being held in the hotel that night and unfortunately our room was located at the rear of the hotel, therefore our window overlooked the rear entrance from the car park, which was used by many of the wedding party guests until the early hours, making lots of noise keeping us awake. I was extremely disappointed that the hotel staff didn't ask us if we were with the wedding party, as they then could have given us a room at the other end of the hotel. The hotel is within easy walking distance of the town centre and the train station is just around the corner.
Extended Stay Deluxe - Florida - November 2010
Located on i-drive and within 2 minutes of an i-trolley stop, we found this to ba an ideal location for travelling from and you can CLICK HERE to check out our Florida Page for our travel details and reviews. We had a massive room, with kitchen, dining table, TV, sofas and would be a great family room, but it did have two double beds, practically next to each other, which was a little strange.
There was a good selection for breakfast, facilities were located at the rear, so you could sit out on a morning to eat breakfast near the pool, although the pool itself appeared a little small for the size of the hotel and was overlooked by the rooms, however it did have a metal fence around, so if you had kids, they wouldn't be able to run off.
Please ignore the untidiness of the room in the pictures below, these were taken a few days into our stay.
Located on i-drive and within 2 minutes of an i-trolley stop, we found this to ba an ideal location for travelling from and you can CLICK HERE to check out our Florida Page for our travel details and reviews. We had a massive room, with kitchen, dining table, TV, sofas and would be a great family room, but it did have two double beds, practically next to each other, which was a little strange.
There was a good selection for breakfast, facilities were located at the rear, so you could sit out on a morning to eat breakfast near the pool, although the pool itself appeared a little small for the size of the hotel and was overlooked by the rooms, however it did have a metal fence around, so if you had kids, they wouldn't be able to run off.
Please ignore the untidiness of the room in the pictures below, these were taken a few days into our stay.