If you spot a red double decker bus with a sign reading ‘Trafalgar Square’, don’t hesitate. Going aboard might turn into the ride of your life. And not only because you can enjoy a cozy, luxurious sleep wrapped up in Egyptian cotton sheets without having a snappy bus driver telling you it’s time to get off.
A couple from Beamish, County Durham has taken a vintage double-decker bus from the 1960s, added in some snazzy features, and refurbished it into a glamorous B&B!
The B&B Double Decker Bus – A Ride Off the Beaten Track
The Story of the Makeover
Photo Credit: DailyMail
The antiquated Routemaster bus was stationed at the Equestrian Centre in Northumberland for a long time. They were using it as a sitting area and the bus was probably doing its final rounds towards the scrapyard when Susan Moiser, 53 and her husband Philip, 54, saved the wreck for £5,000 and, for an additional £100,000, gave it a total makeover.
Maybe not so total considering many of its old-school features have been left intact, including some of the seats, the windows, the stop bells, the exterior signage, and the steering wheel.
Photo Credit: DailyMail
However, the additions are breathtakingly spectacular. The couple hired an interior designer to turn the old double decker bus into a sumptuous suite. It comes complete with a private garden and a hot tub.
They stripped the relic of its old covering and removed the rust. In addition, they fitted a new, top-notch plumbing and electric system.
Photo Credit: DailyMail
The bottom deck reformed into a large, swanky bathroom, with a bathtub, a flat-screen TV, and mood-lighting. However, the top deck promises a surreal sleep in a red velvet covered bedroom where you can snuggle in a comfy bed layered with Egyptian cotton sheets.
The ultra-luxurious living space is complete with a dining area. On arrival, the hosts will treat you to canapes and prosecco. More pampering is on offer, like champagne on request, afternoon tea, or breakfast in bed.
Photo Credit: DailyMail
Photo Credit: DailyMail
The Highs of Sleeping in a Double-Decker Bus
The couple says the idea came to them when they saw a similar double decker bus used as an office room. Moreover, the duo from Beamish are no strangers to the accommodation and tourism industry.
They’ve been running an inn for nine-and-a-half years. Their daughter was the one to encourage them to purchase their own project bus and relaunch their business.
Susan Moiser runs with excitement: ‘The reaction has been phenomenal, absolutely amazing. The bus causes a great deal of excitement. It is really different so people are interested in it.’
She says the vehicle made the rounds on the World Cup celebration route in 1966. Now, the double decker bus is a local sensation, hosting parties and wedding celebrations.
Most tourists book the ‘Trafalgar’ for one night only. Fit for two adults, the experience will set you back £220 per night through the week and £250 a night on the weekend.
Susan admits to one downside of the high-end establishment – its size. ‘I think people must have been smaller in the old days.’
Still, who can resist entering that black entrance door – the design, by the way, is a copy-paste rendition of the famous one at No.10 Downing Street – into a luxurious double decker bus for the off the beaten track B&B experience in London.
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