Travelodge is coming to the Oval cricket ground  

To kick-start the development of the new, 95-room Travelodge hotel at The Kia Oval Cricket Ground, a groundbreaking ceremony was held where Steve Bennett, Travelodge Chief Property and Development Officer, and Steve Elworthy, CEO Surrey County Cricket Club, dug the ground to commence the new hotel development. 

Interestingly, the site where the London Oval Cricket Ground Travelodge hotel is being built was previously home to the famous Ovalhouse theatre, which relocated to Brixton in 2020.  

London Oval Cricket Ground Travelodge is the first hotel to be built at the Oval and will feature the group’s new budget-luxe hotel design and on-site restaurant, called the Bar Cafe.  The hotel is located directly opposite the Hobbs Gate entrance at The Kia Oval Cricket Ground and is just 100m from the Oval tube station. 

This development is being developed and funded by Surrey County Cricket Club and construction is being carried out by Bennett Construction. The hotel is expected to open at the end of this year. 

The hotel will be built to a BREEAM excellent standard and achieve an EPC A rating. The design will incorporate air source heat pumps, roof mounted PV’s, an EV car charger and green roofs.   

Steve Bennett, Chief Property and Development Officer at Travelodge said:  “We are delighted to be working with Surrey County Cricket Club to open our milestone 600th Travelodge hotel at this iconic location, the Kia Oval. This hotel is going to be a great attraction, not just for cricket fans, but also as a great base for business and leisure travellers looking for a great value stay, with  just a 10-minute tube ride into the West End and The City.”  

Steve Elworthy, CEO of Surrey County Cricket Club, comments: “This is an important step in the development of the area around The Kia Oval and one which will provide benefits to the Club and to the fans travelling to visit the ground from further afield. We are very pleased that the new development will also create new jobs in the community and will be a boost for businesses in the local economy. Travelodge hotels are renowned for their high-quality experience at affordable prices and we’re delighted to be working with such a trusted partner. Their progressive approach to sustainability is also something that is closely aligned to our own goals and ambitions at the Club.”

London Oval Travelodge is being designed to Travelodge’s new budget-luxe premium look specification. This is the group’s most radical transformation to date and this new format has been created on the success of the group’s budget chic hotel format, TravelodgePLUS, with feedback from the company’s largest consumer study – which surveyed around 5,000 UK business and leisure travellers to find the psychographics of the modern budget traveller. 

Key findings revealed that modern travellers crave style, choice and little homely touches to make it easier to work, rest and relax both inside and outside of the room. 

The new Travelodge budget-luxe design includes all the low cost efficiencies you would expect from Travelodge but with the added benefit of thoughtful, stylish design and homely touches throughout its interiors. 

It also features a number of sustainable initiatives, including carpet made from recycled fishing nets and plastic bottles, low energy lighting installed throughout the hotel with motion sensing controls and aerated showers and taps in the en-suite bathrooms.