Gordano: Difference between revisions
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{{facilities| Amenities | {{Changing Places}}, Footpath, Showers, [[Welcome Break Gaming]] }} | {{facilities| Amenities | {{Changing Places}}, Footpath, Showers, [[Welcome Break Gaming]] }} | ||
{{facilities| Hotel | {{Ramada||bristol-united-kingdom/ramada-bristol-west}} }} | {{facilities| Hotel | {{Ramada||bristol-united-kingdom/ramada-bristol-west}} }} | ||
{{charging points| Tesla Supercharger 120kW }} | {{charging points| GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 50kW CCS & CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2; Tesla Supercharger 120kW }} | ||
{{facilities| Forecourt | {{WB Fuel}}, {{The Good Bakery}}, Chicago Town Pizza, [[Rollover]], {{Starbucks on the Go}}, Top!Blue AdBlue }} | {{facilities| Forecourt | {{WB Fuel}}, {{The Good Bakery}}, Chicago Town Pizza, [[Rollover]], {{Starbucks on the Go}}, Top!Blue AdBlue }} | ||
Revision as of 15:33, 10 March 2022
M5 at J19
(also accessible to traffic on the A369)
Signposted from the road.
BS20 7XG
map and directions
Single site located at a junction..
Busy services located at a busy junction. Like all M5 services it struggles under the summer holiday pressure, but its large building and surroundings means it copes fairly well - until you try to get back on to the roundabout.
Facilities
Catering: Burger King, KFC, Starbucks, Subway, The Good Breakfast, Ben & Jerry's, Krispy Kreme, Starbucks on the Go, Tango Ice Blast, Starbucks Drive Thru Shops: Waitrose & Partners, WHSmith Amenities: Changing Places, Footpath, Showers, Welcome Break Gaming : Ramada Template:Charging points Forecourt: Template:WB Fuel, The Good Bakery, Chicago Town Pizza, Rollover, Starbucks on the Go, Top!Blue AdBlue
Parking Prices
First 2 hours free for all vehicles, after which cars must pay £15 for a further 24 hours and HGVs, caravans and coaches must pay £30 (or £32 to include a £10 meal voucher).
Prices can be paid in the shop and forecourt, with instructions in each car park. They are strictly enforced by ParkingEye.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
🏢 Address:
Welcome Break
Gordano Motorway Services Area
M5
Portbury
Bristol
Somerset
BS20 7XG
- 🌍 Official Welcome Break Website
- Facebook Page
- Foursquare Page
- 📞 Telephone number: 01275 373624
- 📌 what3words: ///summer.since.rainy
- more map options
Trivia and History
Some of the outdoor buildings which originally adorned the services.
The Starbucks drive thru here, the first to be purpose-built, was originally going to be a KFC. It replaced an old workshop building which was going to be re-used. It was decided to turn this into the fourth (at the time) Starbucks counter instead, with its own seating area, but the building was in too poor a state to invite customers in to and had to be re-built.
The toilets at Gordano costed Welcome Break £1,000,000 to install when they were introduced in 2006. Although they are now quite old, the room still looks relatively smart. It is one of few services to have toilets with a separate exit to the entrance - the exit directs people towards the food court.
The site got top marks in Holiday Which? Magazine's survey in 2006, it was said to have "stylish toilets" and the food was "as good as a local curry house". It didn't come first though, Tebay on the M6 did.
During summer 2018, the former Days Inn hotel underwent a major refurbishment, rebranding to Ramada upon reopening. A large extension was also built to add more rooms, a new restaurant and bar and a fitness suite.
In 2021, Which? Magazine ranked Gordano as the second-worst in the country, criticising its range of facilities and poor social distancing measures.
A Ben & Jerry's kiosk opened here on 16 July 2021.
Location
See also: M5 Service Area Planning
Gordano was the second service area to be built at a junction, as the government conceded that there was not enough space in the area. With a large viaduct to the north and a split-level section of motorway to the south, anything else would have required a lot of engineering. Today this junction suffers from severe congestion.
Rank were allowed to bid for the services as not much traffic was expected to come from Aust, but Taverna were not.
In planning it was sometimes referred to as Portbury services.
Early Design
It opened with a light brown building consisting of four hexagon-shaped domes, similar to what soon opened at Burtonwood. Forte loved hexagons.
The restaurant was carpeted with bench-type seats and a Scandinavian-style strip-wood ceiling.
Shortly after opening it gained a snack bar and AA shop in temporary buildings, and before long had a total of eight temporary buildings, including a St John's Ambulance building, scattered around the entrance. This was severely criticised for looking untidy. Some of the buildings were never removed, and the recent addition of Baskin Robbins has seen the return of outdoor outlets.
Alternatives
| Previous: | Next: | |
| Michaelwood (18 miles) Magor (M4 west, 14 miles) Leigh Delamere (M4 east, 31 miles) | Services on the M5 | Sedgemoor (20 miles) |
| Michaelwood (18 miles) Sarn Park (M4 west, 49 miles) Membury (M4 east, 58 miles)) | Welcome Break services | Sedgemoor (North) (M5 northbound, 20 miles) |
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