Braille on signage is located by fingernail clips in the side of the board

The new corporate identity and graphics are interesting in their use of colour and plastics. The individual notice boards hold Braille within their coloured area, located by finger sized depressions in the edge of the plate. The blue and white colouring is clear and legible with the raised lettering making a suitable alternative to the Braille, which is in itself almost invisible to the normal reader. Whilst the design might slightly lack finesse it wins hands down on functionality for children, the visually impaired and the less able – which means it is also clear and simple for everyone else. I am told that Braille is designed to be read horizontally and also that there are only 15,000 Braille readers in the UK, but here that element of the signs is so understated whilst being functionally evident that it doesn’t seem to matter – unlike some other signage where the Braille component compromises the whole design.

In the corridors functionality has again driven design. Timber rubbing strips protect the wall finishes, whilst carpet is a woven Axminster, delivering not just traditional hotel quality and wearability but the reassurance of a familiar surface underfoot that speaks of quality. Design is not just functional but also obviously for a budget hotel cost driven. This does not however mean poor quality, and the economies of scale possible when opening an hotel a week have meant that good quality has been achieved in most areas.

Design has the virtue of simplicity and clarity as well as being low-cost

Bathrooms are a podded construction, generously sized and well equipped. Simple white or blue tiles, non slip flooring provide the basic design whilst functionality again is good, with high water pressure delivering strong showering over a bath that is a full size. The space itself is generously sized, and the bedrooms are also quite large.

Bedroom design is again straightforward. I suspect that the room is laid out from the bathroom wall so the length of it is almost irrelevant to the design. However the large space at the window end also enables the basic settee to be split to provide two additional adult sized beds. As the rooms are let on a room rate this means four people can stay here very economically although they do have to be intimately acquainted – not a problem for mum and dad and two kids but otherwise? The rooms have a very effective secondary double glazing installed which makes them very quiet. Unfortunately the soundproofing between the rooms is not quite so effective as to quell the sound of screaming children – but then little is effective this area other than parental control.

Furniture is simple and provides a generous dressing table/worktop area that is plenty large enough for laying out both the laptop and the notebooks that come with it. Internet connection is not free – slightly more forgivable in a budget hotel, but I still don’t believe the cost of installation warrants an additional charge for usage large enough that a small extra cost on the room rate for all rooms would be either noticeable to guests or difficult for hotels to do. Internet access for business people on the road is now so essential that hotels with large business use should be providing it for free as many already do. This issue is becoming like the charges hotels used to make for using the room telephone and may well go the same way as mobiles become an alternative connection to the web.