Motorway Services Online

Revision as of 10:56, 5 April 2022

Location:

M5 at J19
(also accessible to traffic on the A369)

Signposted from the road.

Postcode:

Access/Layout:

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, f'real Milkshakes, Krispy Kreme, Slush Puppie, Starbucks on the Go, The Good Bakery, 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.

Camera icon

Many more photos in the gallery

Opened by Trusthouse Forte 1973

Re-branded Motor Chef 1974

Re-branded Welcome Break 1988

Gordano 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. An unusual layout within the toilets area means there is a separate entrance and exit, with the way out directing people into the food court.

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 in more recent years more outdoor stalls have been added to help manage the summer rush.

Location

See also: M5 Service Area Planning

Gordano was the second service area to be built at a junction. With a large viaduct to the north and a split-level section of motorway to the south, there were very few alternative sites for a service area available, and the Department of the Environment weren't considered building at a roundabout to be better than trying to build in a difficult location.

Today this junction suffers from severe congestion, especially during the summer months, and the road layout has been changed many times to try to deal with it.

Rank were allowed to bid for the service area despite them already running Aust, because not much traffic was expected to come from that direction. Taverna remained forbidden as they already owned Leigh Delamere.

In planning this site was sometimes referred to as Portbury services.

Operation

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". The toilets had cost £1,000,000 as part of a recent refurbishment scheme. Gordano was still beaten by Tebay on the M6.

The Starbucks drive thru was the first new-build drive thru coffee shop on the motorway. It replaced an old workshop building which was going to be re-used and turned into a KFC. That plan was changed to make it the service area's fourth (at the time) Starbucks counter, with its own seating area, but the workshop was in too poor a state to invite customers in to and had to be re-built.

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 service area in the country, criticising its range of facilities and poor social distancing measures.

A Ben & Jerry's kiosk opened here on 16 July 2021 in a new outdoor seating area but was removed that winter.

During early 2022, the site received several refurbishments, bringing The Good Breakfast unit inside re-utilising the former Harry Ramsden's unit. The WHSmith store was refurbished, reopening on 25 March 2022 with its 'premium' upgrade including new ranges and a food to go area, which includes a new The Good Bakery hot food cabinet and f'real Milkshakes and Slush Puppie machines. The KFC unit also underwent a refurbishment and reopened on 1 April 2022.

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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Main Page | Photo Gallery | Location, Map and Directions

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 ==Facilities==
-{{facilities| Restaurants | {{Burger King}}, {{KFC}}, {{Starbucks}}, {{Subway}}, {{The Good Breakfast}}, f'real Milkshakes, {{Krispy Kreme}}, Slush Puppie, {{Starbucks on the Go}}, [[The Good Bakery]], {{Starbucks Drive Thru}} }}
+{{facilities| Restaurants | {{Burger King}}, {{KFC}}, {{Starbucks}}, {{Subway}}, {{The Good Breakfast}}, f'real Milkshakes, {{Krispy Kreme}}, Slush Puppie, {{Starbucks on the Go}}, {{The Good Bakery}}, {{Starbucks Drive Thru}} }}
 {{facilities| Shops | {{Waitrose}}, {{WHSmith}} }}
 {{facilities| Amenities | {{Changing Places}}, Footpath, Showers, [[Welcome Break Gaming]] }}
 {{facilities| Hotel | {{Ramada||bristol-united-kingdom/ramada-bristol-west}} }}
-{{charging points| GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 50kW CCS & CHAdeMO & 22kW Type 2; Tesla Supercharger 120kW }}
+{{charging points| GRIDSERVE Electric Highway 50kW CCS, 50kW 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 }}
@@ Line 54: / Line 54: @@
 {{Key Date | 1974 | Re-branded [[Motor Chef]] }}
 {{Key Date | 1988 | Re-branded [[Welcome Break]] }} }}
-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.
+Gordano opened with a light brown building consisting of four hexagon-shaped domes, similar to what soon opened at [[Burtonwood]]. Forte loved hexagons.
-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 restaurant was carpeted with bench-type seats and a Scandinavian-style strip-wood ceiling. An unusual layout within the toilets area means there is a separate entrance and exit, with the way out directing people into the food court.
-The site got top marks in [[Which%3F Magazine|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.
+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 in more recent years more outdoor stalls have been added to help manage the summer rush.
-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.
+===Location===
+{{fulldetails|History:M5|M5 Service Area Planning}}
+Gordano was the second service area to be built at a junction. With a large viaduct to the north and a split-level section of motorway to the south, there were very few alternative sites for a service area available, and the Department of the Environment weren't considered building at a roundabout to be better than trying to build in a difficult location.
-In 2021, [[Which? Magazine]] ranked Gordano as the second-worst in the country, criticising its range of facilities and poor social distancing measures.
+Today this junction suffers from severe congestion, especially during the summer months, and the road layout has been changed many times to try to deal with it.
-A Ben & Jerry's kiosk opened here on 16 July 2021 in a new outdoor seating area but was later removed in the winter.
+[[Rank]] were allowed to bid for the service area despite them already running [[Severn View|Aust]], because not much traffic was expected to come from that direction. [[Taverna]] remained forbidden as they already owned [[Leigh Delamere]].
-During early 2022, the site gained several refurbishments including bringing The Good Breakfast unit inside re-utilising the former Harry Ramsden's unit. The WHSmith store was also thoroughly refurbished, reopening on 25 March 2022 with its 'premium' upgrade including new ranges and a food to go area including a new The Good Bakery hot food cabinet and new f'real Milkshakes and Slush Puppie machines. The KFC unit also underwent a refurbishment reopening on 1 April 2022.
+In planning this site was sometimes referred to as '''Portbury services'''.
-===Location===
+===Operation===
-{{fulldetails|History:M5|M5 Service Area Planning}}
+The site got top marks in [[Which%3F Magazine|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". The toilets had cost £1,000,000 as part of a recent refurbishment scheme. Gordano was still beaten by [[Tebay]] on the M6.
-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 [[Severn View|Aust]], but [[Taverna]] were not.
+The Starbucks drive thru was the first new-build drive thru coffee shop on the motorway. It replaced an old workshop building which was going to be re-used and turned into a [[KFC]]. That plan was changed to make it the service area's fourth (at the time) Starbucks counter, with its own seating area, but the workshop was in too poor a state to invite customers in to and had to be re-built.
-In planning it was sometimes referred to as '''Portbury services'''.
+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.
-===Early Design===
+In 2021, [[Which? Magazine]] ranked Gordano as the second-worst service area in the country, criticising its range of facilities and poor social distancing measures.
-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.
+A Ben & Jerry's kiosk opened here on 16 July 2021 in a new outdoor seating area but was removed that winter.
-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.
+During early 2022, the site received several refurbishments, bringing The Good Breakfast unit inside re-utilising the former Harry Ramsden's unit. The WHSmith store was refurbished, reopening on 25 March 2022 with its 'premium' upgrade including new ranges and a food to go area, which includes a new The Good Bakery hot food cabinet and f'real Milkshakes and Slush Puppie machines. The KFC unit also underwent a refurbishment and reopened on 1 April 2022.
 ==Alternatives==