A post-lockdown hotel stay: my experience

As a travel blogger, the lack of secure foreign travel right now is hitting my hard - I love to travel, and doing so on a budget means that I often manage to get away 5-6 times per year. I recognise that this is a real privilege and I'm so lucky to be able to do so, but having a year with pretty much no holidays has hit me hard. I'm trying not to be all 'woe is me' because it really is such a first world problem, and I know I'll get to travel again next year, so for now I'm just trying to be creative with my travel content. With that in mind I booked a night in a budget hotel and thought I'd answer the question: what is it like to stay in a hotel after lockdown?

Where I stayed

I booked a night at the easyHotel on Castle Street in Liverpool, as I'd made plans to see some friends over there for a socially distanced drink or seven. The night didn't exactly go to plan, but that's a story for another day! Remember if you're visiting Liverpool between Monday and Wednesday, you can Eat Out To Help Out at plenty of places in the city centre.

What I paid

I paid £18.90 inc free WiFi for a Tuesday night, booked less than 2 weeks in advance. A true bargain, if you ask me! I noticed a lot of hotel prices are cheaper than they previously were, so now might be a good time to book a little trip away if you can - especially midweek.

Check in

I arrived at around 3.45pm and headed inside - you're to wear a mask in all public spaces at the hotel and there is hand sanitiser at the front door and the reception desk. Check in was extremely quick, no questions asked RE symptoms/where you've been etc, and I was given the key card to my room as well as the WiFi password.

The stay

I would say my stay itself was no different to the one other time I've stayed at an easyHotel; apart from the hand sanitiser and masks, as well as the 'one household at a time' rule in the lifts, I didn't notice anything different. It's a basic hotel that comes without any frills, so I suppose there's not much that would have changed really! There's no coffee machine now, but other than that I don't think anything is any different...

Check out

Check out was literally just popping the key card into a box, no interaction with anyone - and that was that. I'd definitely go back as my stay felt incredibly safe, and for me it's actually cheaper to pay £20 to stay in a budget hotel than it is to get a taxi back from Liverpool!

So that's that - my first stay in a hotel after lockdown. Have you done any sort of travelling yet? Share your experience in the comments below...