Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: Luton

  • Luton – Holiday Inn

    Luton – Holiday Inn

    I’ve never stayed overnight in Luton before (and let’s say here, this must be on the bucket list of any wannabe traveller), but I had an early morning flight from the airport and I also needed to get an LFT test the afternoon before to be allowed into Poland, so this airport hotel seemed a sensible option. It’s not cheap, it was showing as £65 per night on IHG’s site, but I had another free rewards night (so many hotel offers at the moment), so this was all without a charge to me. There was also the option of the Holiday Inn Express down the road about 50 metres, but I wouldn’t have been able to have the free breakfast as I needed to leave early, and missing out on something would have annoyed me (although I think they might offer an earlier takeaway breakfast at the HIE, but I didn’t want to overthink things).

    The standard Holiday Inn interior and the bloody windows that don’t open. There’s no excuse for this sort of short cut, the Holiday Inn Express has windows that open so if it’s good enough for them…. The temperature in the room was OK, but the air conditioning isn’t good enough to get my ideal temperature (which is similar to the chiller room in a fast food chain). Otherwise the facilities were all working and the room was clean and organised, although the television wasn’t one of the smart ones that seem to be so common in Accor properties now. There’s a gym somewhere in the hotel, but I forgot to use it.

    I will give credit to the staff giving me the room furthest possible distance away from the lift on the top floor, which is my favourite room in a hotel (unless there’s a bigger one, or a room with free beer in it). I noted that the signs in the hotel to get to the room take guests a slightly longer way than possible, but then I realised that no-one really cares that another route saved three seconds. I need to get out more…. Oh, also, there’s a 24 hour bar at the hotel, which is no doubt useful for those wanting a drink after a late night flight (or indeed a pre-departure tipple).

    The decoration in the restaurant and bar, with all the staff being friendly enough as well which lifted things somewhat. There are numerous complaints on-line about how guests have got big bills for using the car park, but I suspect a lot didn’t follow the rules which look quite clear. It’s no surprise these rules have to be enforced here, as it’s so near to the airport and they charge drop-off fees and don’t allow stopping.

    A perfectly adequate welcome drink, it’s not going to be stocked in Goose Island, but it’s sufficient for a hotel bar. I will comment on, rather than complain excessively, that the hotel didn’t bother provided the promised snack (ie, crisps or nuts) listed on the drinks voucher. I have no idea why hotels try and make shortcuts with things like that for the sake of 20p given the huge costs they have with the rest of their operation.

    There was a little internal noise from the air conditioning making odd noises, which I wouldn’t have noticed if I could have had a lovely window that was open. The obsession that Holiday Inn have with sterile rooms, fortunately a relatively rare occurrence when I stay in Accor properties (I’ve realised I’ve started to go on about Accor more, sorry).

    The reviews for the hotel are adequate, although not as high as the neighbouring Holiday Inn Express and that’s odd, as I think Holiday Inn should be rated higher. I was amused at this review:

    “An employee brought our beers to table that were 2/3rd’s beer 1/3rd foamy head. Again, just a training issue I would think. My dinner guest happily showed the employee how to pull a pint.”

    I bet the employee wasn’t happy, but there we go…. One customer complained that the taxi fare cost £10 to take them to the airport, but that must be a one minute journey and I can’t imagine the driver wants to wait in the long queue for many trips like that.

    I think I’d be more inclined to use the Holiday Inn Express if I live the dream and stay again in Luton as they appear to have windows that merrily open and close to the heart’s delight of the average guest, and there’s also a free breakfast.

  • Luton – The White House

    Luton – The White House

    I wasn’t in Luton for very long today, but I had chance to pop to the JD Wetherspoon outlet as it’s listed in the Good Beer Guide. The company did have two pubs in the town, with the London Hatter being open between 2011 and 2016, but it couldn’t have done well for them given the short amount of time that it was open. The venue is still closed, clearly it doesn’t tempt any other operator either.

    But back to the White House, which I think is a marvellous name for a pub given my surname (I’m easily pleased). It’s a cavernous venue with two different bars, both of which were staffed when I visited just before lunchtime. As for the reason for the pub name, this is what the company say:

    “In the late 19th century, the Crown & Anchor Brewery stood on the site of this Wetherspoon pub, a short walk from the site of Luton’s first brewery. Founded by Thomas Burr, in 1780, it stood next to his family home, known as The White House.”

    The brewery isn’t noted on this map from the late nineteenth century, the pub is located just above where the PH is indicated on the map, so it’s nice that the site is still used by a beer selling venue.

    This is an odd JD Wetherspoon insomuch that the toilets aren’t upstairs, as they’re usually tucked away in the furthest corner of the pub. Despite being a modern building, there’s been some effort with decorative features and I liked the number of power sockets that were available. Plenty of books on the shelves upstairs as well, they add character to pubs and I approve.

    I went for a half a pint of the Devon Darkness from Hanlons Brewery who are based in Exeter, the same place that Tim Martin lives (I mean the city, not that the owner of the company lives in a brewery). The beer was well kept and at the appropriate temperature, and keenly priced at £1 for a half so there’s nothing much to complain about there. There was nothing of particular note about the beer, but it was an acceptable enough dry stout.

    The pub has about the same review score as the average JD Wetherspoon outlet, so it seems to be running as efficiently as most others, and I felt that the staff were friendly enough. There was a good choice of real ales, seven different ones across a variety of beer styles, all keenly priced. There’s nothing exceptional that I can note, but the pub seemed to be well managed and I can see why it’s been listed in the Good Beer Guide.

  • Flights – London Luton to Athens (Wizz Air)

    My early morning flight to Athens from London Luton Airport which cost me the grand sum of around £8, which is less than the air passenger duty that Wizzair paid. It’s the first time that I’ve visited Greece and it’s hard to imagine getting a flight that would have been cheaper.

    The staff at the Wizzair desk were friendly and helpful, as long that is that you had a bag which was compliant with the airline’s rules. My bag is entirely compliant, but the airline staff were stopping customer after customer and charging them to place their bags into the hold. There were some rather displeased customers, but if airlines are going to have rules it seems sensible that they’re properly enforced, something that British Airlines doesn’t do very well.

    I didn’t pay for a seat reservation, so I was automatically allocated a seat and I was fortunate enough to get an aisle seat. It was the aisle seat at the very rear of the aircraft, an ideal location as far as I was concerned. The flight was nearly full, but there was no-one else on my row, so I had plenty of space.

    All was well with the flight and the pilot came across as warm and helpful, giving some updates during the course of the journey. He warned about heavy winds on the approach to Athens and it did get a little bumpy just before landing. Some customers applauded when we landed, something which I think should be made a criminal offence, but that’s just my view….

    The aircraft in Athens, attached to the jet bridge. I was pleased that I had a seat on the rear row as it meant that I would have been able to disembark first. However, for the first time in ages on my budget airline travels, there was a  jet bridge so customers could only depart from the front. Which meant that I was the last to disembark…. Fortunately, I wasn’t in any rush.

    The queue of passengers at the airport in Athens, although the immigration staff were efficient and I only had a fifteen minute wait. All in all, another comfortable flight from Wizzair with an exceptionally cheap fare. Wizzair have certainly become my favourite budget airline.