A HOME AWAY FROM HOME - TRAVELODGE STOCKPORT

As a family we generally try to keep our trips away from home, overnight, minimal. That is unless we're heading off on holiday of course, because in truth it can be really hard when you have small children. When you're used to spreading out across a house and all having your individual space, the thought of being holed up in one small hotel room hasn't hugely appealed to me. But with a flight departing from Manchester I didn't really want to risk driving up the same day as I just knew traffic wouldn't be on our side. We opted for a Travelodge, mainly because I roughly knew what to expect, we'd stayed in them before and my main priority was a good night sleep which I was pretty confident we could get there.

Given the fact over 18 million people stay in Travelodges each year, I knew they were a safe bet and that was exactly what we were going to need before a long day of travelling to Turkey. With our room and breakfast booked, we arrived and were checked in within minutes - the reception staff were incredibly friendly and couldn't do enough for us. We made our way to the room which was situated on the third floor of their Stockport hotel, which I believe is quite new. Popping the key card into the family room door I was pleasantly surprised to see just how big the room really was, there was a lot of floor space and we certainly didn't feel like we were all stumbling over each other.

The boys settled down quickly and decided that our bed was were they were going to make themselves comfortable to watch television. That would be my only niggle about the whole room, as it was so large and there was plenty of room for it, some form of seating would have been fantastic. There was a little desk with a chair but given there are four of us, we had nowhere to sit other than in bed. It wasn't really an issue though and the boys loved the novelty of it. We called down to reception for another blanket for Patrick and they were fantastic, bringing a whole pile up to select from. John later in the evening nipped to ask the nearest place that would sell milk for Patrick and they willingly offered him a big glass, I cannot fault their customer service as they went above and beyond what is expected of them.

The beds were all incredibly comfortable, immaculate and played a sure part in helping us all sleep well. I held my breath when I popped the boys down as they're used to having their own bedrooms but to my surprise they completely nodded off without so much as a murmur. I was ecstatic. After a little bit of trash tv, me and John followed suite and nobody stirred until the morning - winner winner. The boys arose around 8am and we made our way down to breakfast in turns, John took Patrick so I could pack the room with Noah and then we swapped. Breakfast was a really casual affair which I like, at just £8.95 per adult, it's buffet style meaning you can have as much or as little as you like. It's unlimited too meaning you can help yourself as many times as you like, Noah took full advantage of that and after his starter of coco pops he turned his attention to some sausage and eggs. I happily sipped on my coffee and was told that if I wanted to take it with me to my room then it would be no issue, of course that was music to my ears and I finished it off upstairs.

Checking out was a painless as check in and within moments we were off on our way. There isn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that we'll be using Travelodge as a family again, the rooms are perfect and big enough to accommodate a family of four, the breakfast is made easy and helps mornings run smoothly and staff can't do enough for you. There isn't any frills attached and you are guaranteed a good night sleep - what more can two seriously sleep deprived parents ask for?

*We were given our stay at the Travelodge in exchange for this review, however all opinions are my own and if you stick around, you're sure to see us stay again!