Andrew On Tour: Part One [The South West]

Right, I did say I would update. So here we go. En masse.

Many moons ago, which may well have been three weeks back, I was in the south-west of England delivering training in both Bristol and Exeter. This was the first step of my tour of the country. It wasn't really a grand tour, but a tour nevertheless.

This is memorable because mainly of the utter ineptitude of the Bristol Central Travel Lodge. Take my advice and never stay there. The odds you would've done anyway are pretty slim, but better safe than sorry.

The place was horrendous. I had the misfortune to be stuck there two nights, due to no accomodation in Exeter within the appropriate price range - instead I got a train early the next morning to Exeter. On the second night of my stay, there were a group of us bitching in the bar about the experiences of the hotel. It was thrilling.

Here were my own experiences: the only hotel in the world that doesn't do shampoo. Unbelieveable. They didn't have the billing information which had been provided. They had electronic keys for the doors and couldn't activate them correctly the first two times.

Other people's complaints included the following: frozen food. But still frozen when served. Nice. Removing your drink when you move from your seat for ten seconds with your book and papers still obviously there. Ignoring you at reception while standing fairly obviously in front of them ringing the bell. But the all time killer was someone driving around who couldn't find the hotel, ringing the hotel reception - only to be told "we're busy" and hung up on. It's something straight out of Fawlty Towers.

Besides that, my trip was uneventful and featured lots of rather boring training and long travelling on not entirely shite trains.