Budget Family Breaks: The Chain Game

My friends all think I’m mad. Every summer, I take my three young sons down to London by myself, leaving my husband for a week of unadulterated football-watching and beer-drinking… oh, and writing, of course. We go because we used to live in the heart of the capital, when the two oldest boys were tiny, and have friends and other sentimental attachments there. Places such as the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Princess Diana Memorial Park used to be our everyday playground, and though our current home Manchester is a great city, the boys still talk about their old haunts and like to visit them when they got the chance, to wax nostalgic but also to see what’s new.

A visit also means they can keep up with their old muckers. Of course our friends, being growing families themselves, don’t have room for an extra four bodies in the house, and the price of accommodation in London in general would probably discourage me from staying more than a night or two. But when Travelodge emails me early each year with news of its £19 rooms in the capital, I can’t resist booking a five-day stay in the summer holidays. Even if I don’t know what our summer holds, losing less than £100 on a non-refundable booking should we make alternative plans wouldn’t be a disaster. (And there’s always the possibility of selling the rooms – not technically allowed, but I wonder if the chain would make a fuss if it found out.)

Travelodge is resolutely no-frills, but that’s part of its appeal. You know what you’re getting, and at less than £20 a night there’s nothing you can really complain about unless a tramp takes up residence in the corner of your room. The locations normally aren’t idyllic – many hotels are close to train stations. But even just a few metres from insalubrious King’s Cross and its rail lines, we didn’t have a problem with noise.

Of course, a hotel room isn’t ideal for a longer stay with kids – self-catering facilities allow you to save lots of money on hotel breakfasts and eating out, and to slob out over dinner after a busy day rather than have to face yet another restaurant. But we got round that by buying breakfast things for our room, and the boys were often so beat by the evening from running around with their friends on Hampstead Heath that they just wanted a snack and a smoothie before bed in the evening.

Of course, Travelodge rooms are not always £19 – a family room (a double bed and a sofabed) in London normally costs in the region of £95 according to the exact location and date. But think ahead and sign up via their website for email bulletins on sales, and there’s no reason you can’t enjoy an ultra-cheap stay in the destination of your choice. If all you want is a place to lay your weary heads of an evening, they can’t be faulted.

A step up the ladder is Premier Inn, which we’ve also used when in need of somewhere for a cheap overnight stay in London in the knowledge that we’d be spending barely any time in our hotel room. Premier Inns tend to be newer and fresher than Travelodges, with comfier beds and crisper linens, and also offer a Great Days Out scheme whereby guests can get 2-for-1 tickets or free kids’ entry at local attractions. Family rooms (a double bed, a pullout/sofabed and a free cot if required) at Premier Inns start at £29 this half-term (a room in London normally costs an average of £90), and kids always get free breakfast when eating with a paying adult. Again, if you just want a base or someone to stop over while travelling to of from your half-term break, you can’t go wrong.