Budget hotel chain Travelodge has opened a 58-room property near Ashford International station in Kent, one of the stops on the Eurostar.
Travelodge said it marked its 574th hotel opening and its 200th near the UK’s busiest railway stations.
Ashford Town Centre Travelodge has an onsite restaurant called Bar Café and offers rooms from £29 per night. Rooms are available in family, double and accessible sizes, with a king-size Travelodge Dreamer bed or singles for children. They also feature temperature controls, a 32-inch Freeview TV and free tea and coffee facilities.
Ashford International has a Eurostar departure lounge with a quiet area for business travellers. It is a stop on services to Paris, Disneyland, Lille/Brussels, Lyon and the French Alps.
Travelodge added that it was looking at ten more hotel sites near railway stations in key commuter towns offering fast access to London. The proposed locations are Broxbourne, Ware, Watford and Stevenage in Hertfordshire; Gillingham, Tonbridge and Maidstone in Kent; Haywards Heath in Sussex; Reading in Berkshire; and Shoreham in West Sussex.
The company said it had been focusing on stops along the HS2 line, a high-speed rail service linking London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester that is scheduled to open in phases between 2026 and 2033.
Tony O’Brien, Travelodge UK’s Property Director, said: “Our next stop is to open hotels by railway stations in key commuter towns across the south east that have a fast service into London. These towns are important business locations in their own right and are growing at pace and attracting businesses of all sizes.
“They are also a magnet for savvy travellers who are seeking low cost accommodation and don’t mind travelling into the capital.
“Collectively this expansion would represent an investment of £59.5 million for third party investors and create around 300 new jobs.”
Last year Travelodge launched a new budget chic brand, Travelodge Plus, in an effort to widen its appeal. We reviewed the flagship hotel here.
