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As Paul drove south through the rain M6 In Lancashire, my job was to find us somewhere to stay for the night. It was a long day, meandering south through the coast from Angus (quiet county in north-east Scotland, not the Caledonian friend) to Fife.
With so many road trip changes, I was late in booking it. Softening of demand was seen on Sunday night hotel Across the UK, even in hotspot areas WiganSabbath is almost always a buyer’s market when looking for a budget hotel,
Still, my usual go-to, the Premier Inn, was approaching £100 a night. So I cast my net wider, and decided to give WetherspoonThe Brocket Arms Hotel is a must-try. At only £50.40 per night, I wouldn’t need to share a room with Paul (which we have done in the past on a budgetary basis).
This was a wise choice, because In what respect has JD Wetherspoon overtaken Premier Inn? Ranking of chain hotels, Consumer experts now recommend it As a “great value” place to stay.
I love ‘spoon pubs’, and (not just because) you can get a pint for less than the standard £7 in London. They offer excellent professional support, without loud music but with lots of plug-ins, good WiFi and places with food or drinks just a click away from an app. I’m writing this in The Beehive at Gatwick Airport – a Wetherspoon pub that works IndependentT’s South Terminal Bureau at the time of the flight disruption. Invest £3.50, and unlimited tea and coffee for the afternoon is yours.
Yet it was with some trepidation that I approached Mesnes (pronounced “Mains”) Road in northern Wigan. This was due to previous experience with pub-hotel combos of the less-expensive variety. My shoes still haven’t recovered from being stuck on drink-soaked carpets at non-Wetherspoon budget venues from Folkestone to Leeds. And the 90 percent synthetic bedding underneath, along with the creaking noise of the bars below, woke me up to sleep that would never come back.
The signs were better in Wigan. My room was recently renovated. Clean and comfortable, with cool and sparkling bottles of water, tea and coffee, good WiFi and a lighting system that doesn’t require a training course to operate.
Wetherspoon Always shows impressive attention to local history. The Brockett Arms is relatively young – opened in 1957 by Lord Brockett, the brewery’s chairman and so could have its name associated with an inn if he wished.
“It had seven guest rooms, some with television sets,” the story says. Now there are 28, all with TVs.
Downstairs in the bar, social historians are unearthing photographs of a soup kitchen during the miners’ strike in 1893, which lasted five months.
The Brockett Arms does not offer 24-hour room service, but everything you could want is available.
Once established, I sent a message to my friend Dylan Harris, music promoter turned founder of Wigan-based Lupine Travel. “Come for a pint,” I wrote (Worthington or Bud Light £1.99, for those who think two quid is too much for a drink).
Things got a little surreal. He came up with the greatest excuse ever: “Ah, that would have been great but I’m in a small village outside Xi’an [China] With Damon Albert.
Yet despite accompanying Blur’s front man overseas, Dylan took time to miss the charming north-west of England: “Glad I’m not promoting shows in Wigan anymore. There used to be quite a commotion in that hotel after the gigs when the bands went back to their rooms!”
In fact, everything was quiet on the North-Western Front. Paul said it was the best night he had had in ages.
The next morning, from 7am, an industrial-sized breakfast was available for £6.59: “two scrambled eggs, bacon, two Lincolnshire sausages, baked beans, three hash browns, mushrooms, two slices of toast.” Bet you can’t find this in any small village outside Xi’an.
Read more: The best budget-friendly hotels in the Lake District for an affordable trip