Mollie’s Motel Bristol review: Soho House takes on the budget hotel giants

Brits staying in always affordable and tidy rooms is a good thing.

The ubiquitous Premier Inn recently proved that once again, delivering another stellar run of results for its parent group, Whitbread.

But while a room under one of a hotel’s purple banners usually offers the necessary combination of dependable quality and a comfortable place to flop, it probably won’t score any style points and won’t be the most inspiring of evenings.

This creates a clear gap in the market that Soho House – the fashionable chain of member clubs – wants to enter with its Mollie’s motels.

The concept is simple. Take the consistently affordable recipe for good quality rooms and add a stylish twist, with Soho House designed interiors and an Americana vibe, to get some of that roaring nighttime trade.

There’s a plethora of high tech stuff at Mollie’s to appeal to today’s digitally minded traveller: like an app to check in and cast to the room’s TV, order food and drinks, use as a key to your room. And of course you can charge your electric car if you have one.

Plus, there’s also Mollie’s Diner – a slice of American roadside retro serving food all day that’s open to guests and the public.

There are currently just two Mollie’s motels, the first in Oxfordshire and the second on the outskirts of Bristol, with a third variation on the theme set to open this year at Old Granada Studios in Manchester. Ten more are in the pipeline.

To test how it compares to Britain’s budget hotel giants, I stayed the night Mollies Bristol, located above the M5 at Cribbs Causeway on the northern edge of the town. Double and twin rooms here start from £91 per night and you can also get connecting rooms suitable for a family and rooms with bunk beds.

You may have guessed that Cribbs Causeway isn’t the most glamorous location – it’s your classic city-edge web of dual carriageways and retail parks – but Mollie’s manages to stand out from a dull crowd with its stylish black angular diner in front of it motel.

In an interesting juxtaposition, it sits next to a Travelodge, which looks distinctly old-fashioned by comparison. A quick check online showed that Travelodge comes out at a similar price to Mollie’s on popular nights.

I’ve never stayed at the Cribb’s Causeway Travelodge so won’t pass judgment on how that is, but I’ve spent the night in plenty of others and many a Premier Inn so how does the Mollie’s experience compare to those few overall ?

It’s undeniably a classier prospect than my previous experiences at a Premier Inn or Travelodge.

First impressions are good. Mollie’s Bristol’s 123 rooms are housed in a pair of three-story black buildings with a central glass lobby and courtyard garden beyond.

It doesn’t quite live up to all the classic American movie motel boxes: you can’t park directly in front of your bedroom door and instead park in the back parking lot. It also lacks the stereotypical bored motel clerk found in the Hollywood versions.

On entering the building, you are met by a reception desk that doubles as a bar and coffee shop – where you can check in old-fashioned, non-app style if you wish, or simply order a drink – at the heart of a lounge area with tables, chairs and low-slung sofas and armchairs.

It’s clearly designed as a place to hang out, whether for evening drinks or daytime coffee, and the spaces are clearly aimed at people who do a bit of WFM – working out of a motel.

Behind the lobby is a garden area with plants and seating, overlooking the bedrooms on the three interior floors of both buildings.

Unfortunately I didn’t get one and was instead given a ground floor room overlooking the car park. It’s called a motel so can’t really complain about that, but on a return visit I’d ask for one of the garden view rooms.

The bedroom itself lived up to Mollie’s promise of a ‘high-spec contemporary room’ and was stylishly decorated and well laid out.

It looked and felt high-end, with walls partially clad in natural oak slat panels, an armchair, small table and chair, floor lamp, wooden floors, and a large comfortable bed. There was everything you needed to feel comfortable and relax – and once you pulled the thick floor to ceiling curtains there was peace and privacy from the outside world.

After driving down solo from London after work and arriving around 8pm, I was eager to get out of the room and into Mollie’s Diner, with the thought of cold beer and a rack of ribs on my mind.

Housed in a barn-style building, with an open kitchen to one side, booth seating and tables, and of course, retro American diner decor. Novotel.

A daily menu from noon has what you would expect: nachos, hot wings, salads, burgers, ribs, mac and cheese, steaks, etc. But while it is easy to write menus like this, his years of dining experience have taught me that for places harder to get the food right.

Mollie’s Diner pulls it off though: hot wings were spicy and flavorful, nicely topped by a classic blue cheese sauce, while the half ribs were meaty, quality pork that fell off the bone and so firm I was glad the menu hadn’t tried me to seduce with a full rack.

A local pale ale from Bristol Beer Factory was ice cold indeed and on the menu was a selection of well-considered and reasonably priced wines, including a decent Castelao from Portugal and a Chilean merlot.

When I got back to my room that night, I slept soundly and comfortably, with no outside or highway noise bothering me, although a little internal noise did creep in as the early risers left.

That morning I returned to sample Mollie’s Diner’s version of the American style breakfast, with a menu of muesli, pancakes, eggs cooked many different ways and, of course, a full English breakfast. After the meal the night before, I didn’t opt ​​for the latter, so opted for just scrambled eggs, bacon and sourdough toast. Although somewhat odd, I had to order scrambled eggs and salmon, remove the fish and add bacon to achieve this combination.

Then it was time to go back to my room, pack my things and hit the road. Pit stop at Mollie’s over and done.

Would I stay there again? I probably wouldn’t rush to holiday at Cribbs Causeway – although it is very conveniently located close to the inland surfing lake at The Wave (which I went to), beautiful scenery and of course Bristol – but I would definitely go back to a Mollie’s.

As a convenient, affordable place to stay, it hands down anything I’ve experienced from the two major UK budget hotel offerings. The only downside is that the duo has hotels in pretty much every regular location you need, but Mollie’s are few and far between.

If Soho House can roll out more Mollie’s while keeping quality levels high, it could be a winner.