Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Barking

Barking – Premier Inn Meal Deal

As Liam and I had completed the LDWA Capital Challenge earlier in the day, we thought we’d amend our original plans for us to drive somewhere (well, for Liam to drive somewhere whilst I had a nap in the passenger seat) and eat in the hotel since it worked out around £31 each for a three course evening meal, a pint and breakfast in the morning.

I was initially a little sceptical that it would be one of those half board arrangements where the only thing included was the salad or something ridiculous, but it actually included everything with a just a couple of relatively small surcharges for the mixed grill and steak. I’m not a mixed grill or steak person, so that was that sorted for me. Liam, however, being a civil engineer (a profession I suspect requires a daily intake of at least three different types of grilled animal), naturally gravitated towards the mixed grill. It’s in the blueprints, I’m sure.

I had asked the team member at reception a little earlier if we had to book for the evening meal or tell them in advance we wanted the deal. I liked his informality and he hinted that this wasn’t really necessary and I can see why he thought that when we arrived in the bustling restaurant. However, I quite like the idea of a private dining club and I felt that had been achieved here.

We were effectively the only customers, although there was one other table somewhere just out of sight just finishing their meals. The server was trying to man reception, welcome customers, welcome diners and he told us he had to go to a room to provide the customers with more pillows in between serving us. He was enthusiastic, over-worked and kept forgetting Liam’s order before he reached the till, which was actually located just behind Liam so it wasn’t far. On one occasion the team member mouthed “what did he order?” and I liked his whole engagement and attention, it was an informal, endearing and welcoming performance that I thought was perfect for the service we wanted.

Firstly, let me admit that the beer that came with the meal deal was Coors Light. Now, as I had walked 27 miles earlier that day, I needed water and so this was a perfect fit. I went for the prawn cocktail and I’m not entirely sure of the presentation here as it was quite a lot of sauce with some slightly firm prawns, but they had a pleasant enough flavour. I wasn’t sure about the piece of bread and butter, but it was handy for mopping up the sauce. Liam looks surprised and delighted here.

It was becoming evident that presentation wasn’t the key here. However, the chips had a pleasant taste, the chicken was tender and had some flavour to the coating with the bun being fresh and the salad being salady. It was certainly a very reasonable tasting affair and Liam seemed pleased with whatever he was doing with his mixed grill.

The chocolate sundae was served as a large portion and it had a Flake. You can’t argue with a Flake. It’s the universal language of dessert satisfaction.

Breakfast in the morning wasn’t much busier and similarly low-key, but there was a friendly and engaging welcome. I asked if there were fried eggs and there were, I just hadn’t noticed them, but the team member had some more made up for us. They didn’t make the amount we asked for as there was some confusion, but the thought was there and the team members seemed jovial enough despite it being a Sunday morning.

I’m more of a continental breakfast person, but this was a much better cooked offering than somewhere say Travelodge. Travelodge cooked breakfasts are broadly terrible, they don’t deep fry anything and so their hash browns are oven baked (so they’re hard on the outside and uninspiring on the inside), the bacon is often not really cooked and there is no fried egg, just some awful scrambled egg. Here, there are fried eggs, the hash browns are fried and there’s also black pudding.

All very satisfactory and there was a supporting cast of yoghurts, juices, coffees, fruit and the like to add to the arrangement. I would have liked the bacon cooked a little more, but I cut the fat off and was aware they’d probably go and burn me some if I asked as that’s how I like it served. The croissants are also better than the ones at Travelodge that have less taste than the packaging they come in.

Anyway, I was suitably impressed with the whole offer of just under £31 for three courses, a pint and breakfast. The presentation wasn’t great, but the quality was reasonable for a chain restaurant and the service was well above average. Indeed, so good was the service in the evening that I messaged Whitbread who said they’d pass on my thoughts, which I imagine they probably have. Given that there wasn’t anything else nearby in Barking that didn’t require a fifteen minute walk each way (and we’d done enough of that) it was more than satisfactory as a post marathon refuel. I wouldn’t rule out doing this again in future, although it’s obviously dependent on what else is in the local area.

April 20, 2025
London – Barking and Dagenham (Borough of) – Travelodge Barking

The cheapest accommodation option (or at least the cheapest that I considered safe) in London was the Travelodge Barking, a hotel that I’ve never stayed at before. The frontage is certainly colourful and it’s above a Tesco Express store for anyone who wants some snacks or the like. I arrived just before 23:00, which is never really an ideal time to arrive at a hotel on a Saturday night, but all was well. Other than I managed to get behind some other customer’s crisis at reception, but that was soon resolved. I always have to try and stand in a way that makes me not look annoyed whilst I have to wait for staff to deal with crisis matters like this (as it’s not their fault), despite being slightly annoyed that I am having to wait.

The room, all clean and tidy. Travelodge are consistently decent in terms of their accommodation, there was nothing here for me to be disappointed by. The only limitation for me is how far the plugs are away from the bed, but Travelodge seem to be fixing that when they modernise the rooms.

I can’t recall having an electric window in a hotel room before, but because it was recessed some way back there was a little switch to open and shut it. I like having an open window, although it meant listening to some rather drunken conversations outside which kept me awake because I was insistent on listening in and not missing out on anything interesting. The temperature in the room was fine and there was a fan available for anyone who was too hot.

One of the harder to read fire escape plans that I’ve seen, but I decided not to let this bother me. The reviews for the hotel aren’t exactly ideal, although by far the lowest rating on Google is for the location. I’m not sure what the hotel is meant to do about that given that it’s two minutes away from Barking railway and underground station, but there we go.

One guest stayed at the hotel before her wedding and was disappointed that there was no air conditioning, car parking or intercoms in the room (I assume that’s a phone). I can sense the disappointment for anyone staying in a Travelodge as a pre-wedding night treat…… There was another guest annoyed that they had to wait five minutes for a receptionist who told them to wait until the check-in time when they arrived early, but that definitely comes with the territory of a Travelodge for those who don’t want to pay for an early check-in.

Anyway, I liked this hotel, the room was just over £30 for the night and everything was quiet, clean and organised, with the staff member being friendly (although she looked exhausted trying to do everything herself). The hotel could do with something of a refurbishment of the public areas, but it was all still serviceable. If the Ibis down the road is a bit expensive, I’ll likely stay here instead in future.

August 8, 2021
London – Barking and Dagenham (Borough of) – Ibis Barking

Of no great relevance to anyone other than me, but I’ve realised that I’ve never written about the Ibis at Barking, despite having stayed there three times. Given I can be quite a completist, I feel the need to quickly note a few things about the hotel for my own record if nothing else….

This hotel is about an eight minute walk from Barking railway station or around ten minutes from East Ham underground station, so not ideally located for those using public transport (especially if they’re carrying things), but it’s also not in the middle of nowhere. There’s also an Ibis Budget very nearby, although I’ve not yet been to that one. Perhaps because of the location of the hotel, which is more suited for cars, it’s generally one of the cheaper Accor hotels in London, which is its main appeal to me. There is a reasonable amount of car parking on site, which is of no relevance to me, but it seems reasonably priced.

The hotel has been clean and welcoming on my three visits here, all entirely functional and comfortable. There’s a small bar and restaurant area at reception which isn’t the largest, but it seems sufficient for the number of customers who want to use it. They have a slightly annoying system that the floor numbers don’t match the room numbers, so that the second floor has room numbers beginning with 3, but fortunately I manage not to let that concern me overly. All of the rooms appear to be the same, so there’s not much to add other than the photo above, with the usual Accor prefabricated shower pod being used as usual.

The free welcome drink I had last week, which is a perfectly acceptable Brewdog Punk IPA. The drinks selection is not earth shattering, but it’s better than most other Ibis hotels, so I can’t much complain about that. I’ve never had any difficulties with noise, either internally or externally, nor indeed any other problems of note. So, all rather lovely.

July 14, 2021