Fan delivery saves the day

Rather than tackling the morning rush hour for a 9am ferry departure from Portsmouth, Bev Fearis decided to spend the night before at a hotel near to the port.

I’m not a morning person, so getting up at 6am and driving an hour and a half through rush hour traffic on the M27 was not an option, especially with a four year-old in tow. We needed a place to rest our heads before our early morning ferry from Portsmouth. Our hotel needed to be as close to the ferry port as possible, cheap, and guarantee a good night’s sleep. The Travelodge Portsmouth seemed to fit the bill.

It’s just across a roundabout from the ferry port, costs from around £50 a night and boasts the signature ‘Dreamer’ bed, which according to Travelodge has ‘over 950 individual pocket sprung mattress, each one designed to follow the natural contour of an individual’s body to give the correct amount of support’. Just what was needed before an early morning sea voyage.

Our satvnav took us directly to the hotel and into the big car park around the back, which has 108 spaces (one for each room) and is free of charge, available on a first-come first-served basis. It was less than half full. Two smiley faces were there to greet us reception, gave us our card key and offered us extra milks for our tea and coffee. I asked for recommendations for places to eat that night and was advised to avoid the adjoining pub/restaurant (presumably it’s not very child friendly). Instead, they suggested we ordered pizza from the nearby Pizza Hut, which seemed like a good idea.

First, we took the lift to our family room to dump our bags. The room was basic but functional, with a small bathroom, large double bed, and two singles either side, wardrobes and a long desk along one side. No fancy frills but clean and comfortable.

As promised, the Pizza Hut was a 5-minute walk from the hotel but we decided to take a stroll to see what else was available. Unfortunately the answer was ‘not very much’ in this part of Portsmouth (North End) at 8.30pm on a Tuesday night, so we headed back to Pizza Hut, ordered our pizza and walked briskly back to the hotel (less than five minutes) so it didn’t get cold.

It was a hot night so we had to open the windows, but as they were child proofed we couldn’t open them very far and there was no breeze. It also meant we then had the traffic noise from the roundabout. After a very quick search for the air conditioning control we realised there wasn’t any, nor was there a phone to call reception, so I nipped downstairs to ask in person about the possibility of borrowing a fan. Our luck was in as the hotel had just that morning taken a delivery of fans due to the particularly hot weather. The receptionist unpacked one and I took it back to the room. It made such a difference.

Pizzas eaten and channels searched (nothing for children at that time of night), it was bath-time. The bath ran quickly and my shower the next the morning was hot and powerful. No complaints there.

The Dreamer bed lived up to its reputation and was super comfy, but as is always the case when you have something early to catch the following morning, and due to the hot weather, I still woke up early. My son was still sleeping so I thought I might as well check my emails with the 30 minutes of free wi-fi but it was all a bit complicated to register so I gave up. Apparently 24-hour internet access is only £3 and one week is £12.

When the alarm went off, there was time for a quick cuppa, shower and dress, say a quick thank you and goodbye at reception, and we were back in the car. The drive to the ferry port was literally two minutes, perhaps even less, and we were in the Brittany Ferries queue.

All in all, the Travelodge was exactly what it claims to be – an inexpensive, no-frills experience with a well-designed bed and in a useful location. I notice that on TripAdvisor the main complaint from guests was the lack of air conditioning, but hopefully the new delivery of fans will go some way to addressing this. A few other people apparently had trouble with the wi-fi too, so I don’t feel so stupid now.