A British couple have stayed in a budget roadside motel for more than 20 years because they love never having to do the laundry or cooking.
David Davidson, 79, and his wife, Jean, 70, first tried out a Travelodge hotel while visiting a sick aunt in 1985 - and were instantly hooked.
Their room - near Grantham, east central England - overlooks a car park, but is also within sight of a slip road that trucks rumble down day and night, jazzing up the view.
"We get great rates because we book well in advance and we even have our own personal housekeeper. All our bed linen is laundered, too. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?" said former Royal Navy sailor David Davidson.
The couple have spent around £100,000 (NT$6.7 million) renting rooms which cost them as little as £15 (NT1,000) a night.
The motel is renaming their room The Davidsons' Suite and mounting a plaque in the reception to mark their 10-year anniversary.
The couple, who initially lived in a Travelodge in nearby Newark before moving in 1997, have kept their old flat in Sheffield, northern England, and return every fortnight to collect the post.
The Davidsons exchange Christmas presents with the staff, dine out at a roadside eatery across the car park and watch the traffic go by.
His wife added: "We don't get hit with huge heating bills over the winter, and it's safer than a lot of places these days."
The ground floor suite is also more practical than their first floor apartment in Sheffield since Mrs. Davidson is wheelchair bound.
The couple do go for trips abroad - but stay in a Travelodge. (AFP)
英國有一對夫妻住在一家低價的路邊汽車旅館已超過二十年了，因為他們非常喜歡從來不用自己洗衣或下廚的生活。
七十九歲的大衛．戴維森與他七十歲的太太琴，一九八五年因為去探望他們生病的嬸嬸而第一次在Travelodge連鎖旅館過夜，他們幾乎是立刻就迷上那裡了。
這間旅館位於英格蘭中部偏東，鄰近格蘭瑟姆鎮。從他們的房間看出去是一個停車場，但因為也能看到一條從早到晚都有卡車隆隆行駛下高速公路的交流道，房間的景觀很生動活潑。
「因為我們事先訂好房間，所以得到很好的住房優惠，我們甚至有私人管家，所有的床單也都有人清洗。這實在是好到不能再好了，不是嗎？」大衛．戴維森說，他之前是一個英國皇家海軍水兵。
這對夫妻在住旅館的租金上已經花費約十萬英鎊（新台幣六百七十萬元）了，每晚平均花費十五英鎊（新台幣一千元）。
這間汽車旅館把他們住的這間房重新命名為戴維森夫婦套房，並在他們住宿滿十週年時，裱了一個紀念匾額放在大廳接待處。
這對夫妻起初住在靠近紐阿克市的Travelodge旅館，直到一九九七年他們才搬進現在這個地方。他們一直保留著他們在英格蘭北部雪菲爾市的公寓，每隔兩星期會回去收一次信。
戴維森夫婦會和旅館員工交換聖誕節禮物，到停車場對面一間路邊小飯館用餐，欣賞路上來來往往的車。
戴維森太太也說：「冬天的時候，我們不會接到金額龐大的暖氣費帳單，而且住在這裡也比住在其他很多地方安全多了。」
由於戴維森太太坐輪椅的關係，旅館的一樓套房也比他們在雪菲爾的二樓公寓方便得多了。
這對夫婦也會出國旅行，但是即使在國外，他們還是會選擇Travelodge旅館。
（法新社／翻譯：袁星塵）
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