Belgrade Trip – Journey to Travelodge

Woooo, a little adventure this week as I’m going to Belgrade which is my first visit to Serbia. I had a little issue that I had to work out how to get to Luton Airport for my flight, but where there’s a will, there’s a Liam and his car. He kindly picked me up just before midnight to take me to the delights of Hatfield. I had established that I could get from Hatfield to Luton Airport relatively easily, although I didn’t realise at the time how easily, and the Travelodge was only £30 for the night. It’s not the easiest hotel to find the entrance to, but I was dropped off in good time. The staff seemed startled at someone trying to get in, but the check-in process was quick and easy. The room is the old style Travelodge lay-out, but it was clean and entirely functional. For the money, it was really rather good and was suitably convenient.

Liam patiently waited outside to check that I had managed to check-in. This is the confirmation photo that he wanted before he could safely drive off without me messaging him 20 minutes later saying I’ve had a crisis.

The room was very cold and I think that’s the state of the art temperature control on the left. I like very cold rooms, but I suspect some guests might not have been surprised and delighted by the arrangement. If only all hotel rooms were chilled like this one then I’d be very pleased.

It was all very peaceful inside, although there are a fair few number of reviews complaining about both internal and external noise. I noted a customer review which reads:

“Horrific. Stayed in room 226, all I could hear all night was the banging from the loud music coming from a restaurant across the road. Went to reception and told them and they said they have had lots of complaints because of it but nothing has been done to resolve it. I literally ended up sleeping in the bath till half 2 in the morning when the music stopped. Worse nights sleep I’ve ever had.”

I’m really not sure that sleeping in a bath was ever going to work as a plan, but there we go…. I quite like the buzz of external noise, but another customer noted:

“There was a man asleep in the disabled toilet after drinking to much. The area around it was terrible. There was rubbish everywhere, bed linen that someone had thrown out of bedroom window was just left.”

Sounds an entertaining evening…..

“Awful ! Truly horrendous.

We started to worry when we tried to park behind the hotel – men openly selling drugs , drug paraphernalia on the floor .

Reception staff lovely but the hotel have an agreement with the local council . Apparently their residents are “well behaved” but on finding one hotel guest on the floor of the corridor so drunk or drugged he could not get up . With another lady guest hanging out the hotel corridor window smoking drugs we decided that due to feeling unsafe we would leave .

The bottles of urine outside the front of the hotel were just disgusting. The hotel surroundings are full of groups of men hanging around . We felt really uncomfortable.

The hotel have refunded my two nights but I am still out of pocket for the two hotels we had to find as we did not stay in Hatfield Central .

I would not like anyone to feel how we did , this in my opinion is not a hotel for a lone female .

I have since found out that another business stopped using this hotel as female staff felt so uncomfortable

Avoid!”

They sound like a satisfied customer.

It is an odd design though, as there’s an open car park under the building and it’s probably quite a protected area for someone some poor sod who sleeps rough to stay dry. There’s a JD Wetherspoon pub about three doors down, one I’ve visited before and I can’t say that I thought I’d be back in Hatfield any time soon.

But, lovely as the stay was, I had to work out to get from Hatfield to Luton Airport….