What’s your favourite hotel to stay in when you travel on business?

I have a simple rule. The hotel must at least be up to the standard of my home.

The mattress in my home bedroom is not made of stone. I do not buy rough toilet tissue and my towels are not made of bleached iron wool. So I don’t want these features when I’m travelling.

But it’s not a hard bed and lack of fluffy towels that upsets me most though. My three main gripes with hotels throughout the world, but mainly in the UK, are as follows:

• Extra charges for WiFi
• Cold, congealed breakfast buffets
• Outrageous charges for mini-bars

What about you?

In addition I am also put off by sprawling mega-hotels with endless check-in and check-out queues, which teem with masses of humanity fighting for space in the bar or the restaurant.

So I am happy to have found a hotel chain, Indigo, which hits the spot in almost every way and succeeds in these 3 Ways to Improve Hotels. Indigo Paddington, for example,  is a flawless diamond hidden down a street about 2 minutes walk from Paddington station. This makes it a perfect base for business and pleasure trips. It only has 60 or so rooms so it feels intimate and cosy.

The rooms are quite small but they are brimming with lovely colourful fabrics, pictures and decorations. The bed is liberally covered in throws and cushions and is delightfully comfortable. In the bathroom is one of those showers with a head the size of a plate so you feel as if you are standing in the rain. If this is too much for you just use the second-hand held shower head.

All rooms have free WiFi and soft drinks from the mini-bar are complimentary.

At breakfast you order from a menu and they prepare your plate fresh and a waiter brings it to your table. This alone would set Indigo above many hotels in London. And they are appearing in other UK cities.

Indigo is pricey so if you can book ahead you might get a better deal.

Now It’s Your Turn:

I thought I’d add some travel experiences to add variety to my blog posts. Hope you enjoyed this first travel tip.

So tell me. What are your hotel grumbles? Have you found a hotel or chain that provides a great service at a good price. Please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.