'I put snobbery aside and booked a stay in a £61-a-night Wetherspoons hotel'
A Wetherspoons branded hotel lets you sleep less than a minute from the bar.
If you've ever found yourself enjoying one too many £1.92 pints or bargains bottles of Yellow Hooch from your local jazzily carpeted mega-pub, you'll be familiar with dozing off Spoons.
Happily there is a way to have a proper kip at the pub without immediately getting woken up by a bouncer or the sound of someone counting how many chips they've got.
Ffion Lewis, a reporter at WalesOnline, recently stayed over at the Wyndham Arms Hotel in Bridgend town centre, also enjoying a bath and doing half a day's work at the establishment.
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Ffion decided to check in to a Spoons hotel (walesonline)
The hotel had its own funky carpet (WalesOnline)She explained: "Let's be honest, love them or loathe them, Wetherspoons have become a bit of a UK staple. With their buildings' illustrious histories, 'interesting' carpets and diverse clientele, and with nearly 900 of them across the UK, you're highly unlikely to come across someone who has never visited one of Tim Martin's prized possessions.
"But while the pubs are famous (or infamous depending on who you ask) for their cheap drinks, does-the-job grub and controversial owner, what most people don't know is that if those beers go to your head, some of the watering holes have rooms where you can sleep for the night."
She admitted feeling apprehensive before her visit, feeling like the hotel's single rooms had a "big Norman Bates energy" if the pictures online were anything to go by, prompting her to go for a double room costing £61 a night.
Ffion decided to get some dinner downstairs (WalesOnline)
The reporter found the room to be quite small (WalesOnline)"Despite the reviews all looking great I still couldn't shake the vision of too many cocktail pitchers out of my mind and was still a bit sceptical getting off the train in sunny Bridgend," she added.
"I'm not sure what I was exactly looking for when I went in search of my home for the night, but if any of the Spoons I'm used to are anything to go by, they are often a sorry sight.
"But I've got to be honest, had it not been for the fences outside I would have walked right past the Wyndham Arms before realising it was a Wetherspoon. The near-Georgian style cream building stood out on Dunraven Place, almost glowing in the early evening sun."
Once in the separate and correct entrance to the hotel - having walked to the busy bar at first - she described the hotel as looking "like your average independent B&B".
She added: "None of the gloss and pomp of the fancy chains, but not shabby either. Had it not been for the huge Wetherspoon billboard advertising their latest burger (more of that later) I probably would have forgotten I was lining Tim Martin's pockets."
Down a few long corridors Ffion found her room, which had "no bells and whistles".
She said: "As soon as I opened the door I was met with air con and immediately reminded to stay in hotels more often. The room itself was really compact but had all the necessities you'd need."
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Ffion found it was a fairly lengthy walk from the hotel check-in to her room (WalesOnline)
Promotional material for the pub was left in the room (WalesOnline)According to Ffion, it was possible to touch the bed and front door without fully outstretching her arms, but there was still space for an open wardrobe, ironing board, television, a kettle with tea, coffee and hot chocolate supplies.
Still when it came to issues, there were a few.
"Firstly, the Wetherspoons magazine (or as some staff called it in 2019, propaganda). Perhaps it was meant as some light bedtime reading but it's commissioned by a man who I disagree with on nearly everything and I could have done without it," Ffion said.
"It was pride of place on the table with some food and drink menus as well as some general instructions for my stay, like check-out times, wifi etc.
"And this is the point where my first reservation about staying in a Spoons came true: I heard a cackle, a shout, I looked out of my window onto one of Bridgend's main streets and saw a group of friends having a great time... right under my room. Good for them I thought, not so good for me come 11pm.
Come 8pm Ffion decided to head down to the bar for dinner, timing herself as she went and discovering she was just 56 seconds away from a drink. Her food took about 10 minutes to arrive, and after an hour in the pub, feeling tired she headed back to her toom to "treat myself to a bath and a tea".
As for the noise, it wasn't as disruptive as you'd expect. Ffion said: "It was around 9:30pm by now and I could still hear the group downstairs so I was a little weary but soon enough they either all went home or migrated inside as it all started to quieten down.
The hotel sparkled in the evening light (WalesOnline)"I must say, after this, I would not have known I was staying above a pub, let alone one as lively as a Spoons. Other than a few people walking by, the loudest thing was the air con, which was probably my fault for having it on so strong."
Ffion found the bed was firmer than she'd have liked, but had big and fluffy pillow. Come the morning she headed downstairs, refreshed, for a classic Spoons breakfast.
Her verdict? "Look, I have been known to be as snobbish about Spoons as the next person, but it really was fine.
"The rooms were fairly priced, you know what you're getting, and any hotel where you can get from your bed to the bar (and a bargain one at that) within a minute is a winner from me.
"Quite honestly, had it not been for the incessant reminders about where I was, I probably wouldn't be any the wiser.
"Would I want to stay there for a long period of time? Probably not. But would it be the worst place to do so if I had to? Also no.
"So let's put snobbery aside and agree that whether you love it or loathe it, Wetherspoon - and their hotels - have their place. Just not on Womanby Street!"
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