Designed to be a welcoming, social and stylish space, Travelodge’s 85 Bar Café is a vibrant place where you can enjoy a drink or a bite to eat
Eighteen Bar Cafés have already been upgraded to the brand’s contemporary design including its flagship hotel nestled in the heart of London’s Covent Garden
Travelodge, the UK’s first budget hotel chain, with nearly 600 hotels across the UK, Ireland and Spain announces the rollout, to selected hotels, of its new concept; 85 Bar Café.
In a multi-million pound investment, and in conjunction with the company’s most significant brand transformation to date, which includes a new style reception area and next-generation rooms; the introduction of 85 Bar Café is in response to consumer research, carried out by Travelodge, to gain further insight into the needs of the modern traveller.
85 Bar Café, a nod to the iconic British hoteliers heritage of when it opened its first hotel in 1985, is an overhaul of the pre-existing Bar Café and offers a welcoming, stylish and comfy space for eating, drinking and unwinding (or a quiet spot for working) whilst also maintaining Travelodge’s quality offering at great value prices.
The upgraded Bar Café, with an all day dining service, welcomes both hotel guests and passers-by, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner menus as well as light bites and an extensively stocked bar. The £14 Meal Deal** which consists of two courses of either a main and side or dessert can be enjoyed as well as the mix-and-match offer of three light bites***. For those looking for healthier options, a range of food under 600 kcal is offered alongside plenty of vegan and gluten-free dishes for those with dietary requirements. All of this is at great value, including the Unlimited breakfast* offer, where two kids under the age of fifteen eat for free.
Eighteen Bar Cafés have already been upgraded to the new distinct and modern design with the roll out set to continue into additional selected Bar Cafés, as well as several new Travelodge hotels, up and down the country.
Upgraded locations to date include hotels in popular London destinations: London Central Covent Garden Travelodge, London Central Euston Travelodge, London Finchley Travelodge, London Finsbury Park Travelodge, London Kings Cross Royal Scot Travelodge and London Waterloo Travelodge.
Hotels in key cities include Bath Waterside Travelodge, Birmingham Airport Travelodge, Cambridge Orchard Park Travelodge, Canterbury Chaucer Central Travelodge, Cardiff Queen Street Travelodge, Edinburgh Cameron Toll Travelodge, Guildford Travelodge and Manchester Upper Brook Street Travelodge while Blackpool South Shore Travelodge, Brighton Seafront Travelodge and Poole Travelodge are the first coastal hotels to be upgraded to 85 Bar Café.
The stylish decor creates an inviting and vibrant space. With distinct zones embedded into the design for flexibility in dining, socialising and working, a statement bar acts as the focal point to draw in guests, showcasing the great quality barista coffee, alongside the wide selection of craft beers, premium world wines, spirits and sodas as well as a fantastic selection of cocktails including Picante Margarita and Espresso Martinis.
The distinctive zones have been designed to suit the needs of business and leisure travellers as well as everyday diners and are identified with floor to ceiling bookcase divisions. The use of botanicals oozes charm and the vibrant neon 85 Bar Café signage adds a retro 1980’s touch.
Every 85 Bar Café features a mural, with the numbers 8 and 5 as discoverable elements within. The piece conveys Travelodge’s ethos of bringing people together and putting customers and colleagues at the heart of everything it does. Additionally, SAINT illustrates poster art for the brand, with each piece telling a discoverable music or film reference from 1985 whilst being completely unique to Travelodge.
Travelodge’s investment in 85 Bar Café doesn’t stop there, most importantly it also includes its people. Team members are multi-skilled via a four day training programme to give them expert product knowledge and premium customer service skills with the option of undertaking Aspire, Travelodge’s bespoke in-house management training scheme.
Karen Broughton, Travelodge Chief Sales and Marketing Officer said:
“We’re excited to announce the roll out of our new look Bar Café design, 85 Bar Café as we evolve our quality offering to deliver a better experience for our diverse mix of business and leisure guests.
“Our new Bar Café concept offers a modern atmosphere for all-day dining with a diverse menu to appeal to a variety of tastes. This inviting space is available for both guests and passers-by to enjoy a drink or bite to eat or to connect with friends, family or colleagues. All of this is at great value, including our Unlimited breakfast* offer, with the added benefit of children eating for free.
“The expansion of 85 Bar Café forms part of a strategic hotel investment programme which will see us upgrade half of our rooms by 2024”.
Sustainability runs through everything that the business does, Travelodge has further implemented measures to reduce its impact on the environment which includes steps being taken at all of its 210 Bar Cafés. This includes the use of energy efficient lighting with motion sensor controls, conserving water usage, reducing food waste and recycling anything from plastics, e-waste and leftover food.
