Staying in Bristol for the Festival

why not stay in cheltenham as opposed to bristol.genius.

Sorry in reply to Oufies, price. Hell of a lot cheaper to commute each day then pay the exhorbitant prices in Cheltenham.£70 for a double room in Bristol wouldn't get you a toilet in Cheltenham unfortunately.

FG,

We stayed in Bristol 2 years ago, and are again this year.  We stayed in the Bristol Central Travelodge the other year, but there are 12 of us this year so we have hired 3 x 4 person apartments by Temple Meads.

Agree totally with Deplasterer.  I would never pay the massive prices to stay in Cheltenham.  Everywhere is rammed and full of fellas; not my cup of tea anyway.  Trains are quick, but its just as hard to get a train back to Bristol after racing - you need to bail straight away after the last race or hang around until the crowds have gone, we normally do the first.

It depends on what you're looking for in Bristol.  I'm in my 20's and so are my mates, so there are loads of lively bars that cater for us.  By the waterfront there is a Lloyds and a Las Iguanas which do decent food, just standard chains to be honest.  There is a good club called Oceana, well it was good when we went anyway.

If you put BS1 5UH into google maps and look at street view, that's Oceana, but its also where the Las Iguanas is etc.  It all looks really modern round there, must be a regeneration area.  I think most of the pubs, bars, restaurants are within about a 1/2 mile radius from there.

I've only been once though so any locals on here may know a lot more than me

Have a good one

Thanks for the replies. oufies pal, well done on getting a good deal in Cheltenham, but like Deplasterer and wellchief say, its not always easy getting a place cheap there, especially as it was a late decision on my behalf this year to go to the Festival. I do stay in Cheltenham for the Paddy Power meet, but had no choice really this time and as wellchief says, many of the bars after racing (during the Festival) are uncomfortably busy.

I'm actually getting the Coach to the races rather than the train. It costs a little more, but hopefully it will be a more pleasant journey. On the train from Worcester last year, you were packed in like sardines and I cant be doing with that again. And having seen the trains coming/going to Bristol, it doesnt seem that they would be any better, so the Coach it is.

Theres just 2 of us wellchief, but weve also got an apartment near Temple Meads station and are both in our 20's so your advice is real helpful. The area you mention sounds like a decent starting point. Going to a new city you can end up walking round for ages and not find anywhere decent, so cheers for that, its exactly the sort of advice I was hoping for.

I live in Bristol and Tory's given a pretty good guide, although since the recession kicked in, the three biggest bars on Whiteladies Road have shut down (there are still a few others around though, and lots of pubs further up at the top end on Blackboy Hill).

In addition to the newer bars on the Waterfront and Corn St, there are a few historic pubs around King St / Welshback which have a nice pedestrianised area in the middle plus the Apple cider boat moored in the docks, so that's a good area to go to as well - hope you enjoy your stay!

I am debating staying in Bristol for the Wednesday/Thursday nights. Can get a hotel for £80 for the 2 nights, and the train would be £15. By the time I have driven 150 mile a day, and paid £10 parking a day. It wont be that much difference in cost.

As I would be on my @ss in Bristol would anyone be up for some Betfair drinks?

We went to a wine bar opposite the Walkabout (Shot will tell you street - if you are not going racing any of the days) on the weds as we were severly hungover and was brill as they had all five screens on for Cheltenham. Found it surprisingly difficult to find a racing type bar in Bristol, even O'Neills hadn't it on for fecks sake!

Thanks for this thread as i am also staying in Bristol this year.Stayed in many places in Cheltenham over the years and more recently have been using the Premier inn just down the road from the Landsdown pub,next to TGI Fridays.This year they wanted £145 per night so i thought sod it and sorted myself a travelodge in Bristol for £105 for THREE NIGHTS.I have pre booked my train tickets etc and have just checked again for you now that on the trainline.com you can get an off peak anytime return for £8.20.Im off down on the Monday so will be out and about Monday night having a few beers and a wander round.As an earlier poster said the last train back is around 11pm which is perfect as i love the atmosphere around Cheltenham on a night so have have a good few bevvies and wander off for a train anytime up until then.Hope you all enjoy it and best of luck

Thanks chief but im going on train as well,£55 return from east Yorkshire.....bargain!
Its my Birthday on the Monday so im having a few tho not going mad as i dont wanna feel rough Tuesday.
Speaking of Tuesday,that's everyones Birthdays

Heregoesnothing, pretty sure In will be booking this week... Just waiting for a friend to decide whats he's doing... I think he needs to do some shameless grovelling for the time off work. But either way a few drinks in a pub would be welcome!