About Premier Inns?

[KimberleyClark]

They’ve gone downhill IMO. Stayed in the one in Bodmin on the way to and from Cornwall. The first room we had the curtains were full of holes which we only noticed on waking up, on the way back, different room, one curtain was hanging almost half off the rail so couldn’t be closed. Nothing to drink water out of except the glass tea mugs. We stayed in one in Bromsgrove a few months back and the lift was out of order the whole time. I had a medium size suitcase and we were on the second floor. And they no longer do cooked breakfast buffet, you have to order it which I don’t like as I prefer to choose my own. And the continental breakkfast selection was very poor.

We stay in Premier Inns several times per year and never had issues. We stayed in West Sussex in January and will be staying in London in October. Yes, some of the hotels you do need to order the cooked breakfast as opposed to picking your own buffet style. I also ask for glasses and an extra mug (as there's 3 of us in a family room). Generally, I find them good value for money, clean and you know what you're getting.

Just ask in the bar for one? (and/or a wine glass). If service is as it is in Ealing Broadway and Cheltenham, they'll happily oblige.

We’ve been loyal Premier Inn customers for years and they’ve definitely gone down hill, no question. No room cleaning unless you request it (which really irritates me - I want to go out for the day and come back to find clean mugs, glasses, restocked tea and coffee, etc), no water glasses. The last room we stayed in (in Edinburgh) was really run down with damaged furniture. And their WiFi is always shit. Their Premier Plus rooms are ok if you can afford them, but their standard rooms are not worth the price they’re charging any more. Their service is really poor.

I stayed in three last year and they’ve were all ok but my 4th stop was a travel lodge….now that was horrible
I complained and got an instant refund

The Wembley Stadium Premier Inn is lovely. It's a lot nicer than the one at Wembley Park.

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross and they aren’t always that cheap either , particularly in citys and especially weekends- we tend to stay at the copthorne Tara if in London in the week for work (it’s in Kensington ) often cheaper than the premier inns, bigger rooms, nice foyer , good restaurant, bar, smells lovely , lots of airline staff- I don’t automatically go for PIs these days, especially in citys and at weekends,

Agree that they have gone downhill. You can usually get better quality at >£100 a night.

Avoid the St Neot's / Huntingdon ones (of which there are about 4). However, as a solo female traveller, they do provide a level of security.

They usually only have one pillow each on the bed but two more in or top of the wardrobe.

I've literally ( as in, ten minutes ago!!) booked the PI Hub at St James Park for a couple of weeks time. It looks quite acceptable, and hopefully that bit of London won't be too bad on a Sunday morning.

We have stayed in premier inns for 14 plus years to visit family in Scotland and in the last couple of years I’ve stayed solo in London for work. Without a shadow of a doubt they have gone down in quality. Lots of the pubs attached have closed, the rooms and buildings in general are tired and the staff are just not as pleasant as they used to be. To be fair the staff are also more stretched but that also seems to lead to rudeness. We certainly experienced that at the Cumbernauld hotel over the weekend.

That's good to hear as I'm staying in one of the Manchester ones this weekend!

We were in the Chichester PI about three weeks ago and it was really clean and comfortable.

@Latenightreader we always use the one near Piccadilly station. Very clean, the staff are lovely and its got a really good bar . The food is good too 😁

Quality does vary. I find the picture and info on the Premier Inn page is usually a good indicator.

It depends so much what you're using them for. There's a time for splashing out and there's a time for watching the pennies.

Earlier this year I had an early flight from Gatwick and thought I would save myself the time and traffic jams by booking a stay at the PI in East Croydon and travelling on to the airport by train. The room itself was fine but the local area was quite unpleasant with security guards on the supermarket downstairs and a fair few rough sleepers at East Croydon station in the morning.

The PI Hub at Edinburgh Haymarket was ideal for our purposes at Christmas as we were visiting family and out all day long. Admittedly really quite small rooms but with everything you need. The PI at Lauriston Place, also in Edinburgh, was older and had more character and bigger rooms, some with a view out to the hills.

Sevenoaks was fine, handy for the station but a bit of a walk to the centre of town for restaurants/bars.

Stayed at one on the outskirts of Cambridge when we went to a show. Can't remember the name unfortunately. It seemed relatively new, on the edge of a housing estate but with a good bus service into the city. Lots of parking too.

I know the accepted wisdom is that Travelodge is not as good but I'm happy with either.

I just find it fascinating how these hotel chains so clearly demonstrate market forces. As soon as DD had a date for her graduation I went online to both PI and TL for a room for the night before the ceremony. They were going for around £350! I've booked an Airbnb!

However this time the pub was obviously not in use and looking a bit dilapidated and the non buffet breakfast was being served in a poky dining room in the hotel itself.

They're in the middle of a massive building project. Loads of the adjacent Brewers Fayre, Beefeaters and Chef & Brewers are being converted into extra rooms (or knocked down and rebuilt).

The original plan was that they'd close individually when they were ready to rebuild them, but last year the decision was changed and swathes were closed and will be closed until their turn for refurb and conversion.

Part of the reason is that they are massively struggling for staff.

I used to use the PI in Kings Cross loads, especially before getting the Euorstar but they've outpriced themselves. It used to cost (pre-covid) £75/ £100 p/n for a family room now you won't get change from £200 / £250 p/n for a double for single usage.

You can get better deals on London hotels by using something like booking.com, often those hotels have better facilities like gyms / swim pools.

Sounds they have not revamped it in 7 years.

i remember having a 4th floor room. There was a lift from reception to 3rd floor then had to go up pokey lift to the 4th floor. The stairs between 3rd and 4th floor were bad (not good on stairs due to vision issues)

The one in our town is excellent. Sunday morning it's full of locals having breakfast, great atmosphere and lovely food. Kids eat free

I stayed there for work a few months ago. The room was a bit odd: seemingly underground with no window (and therefore no mobile phone reception), no hairdryer or kettle and the bed was up against a wall. However, spotlessly clean with a decent breakfast and close to interesting spots like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben etc.

No idea what it'd be like on a Sunday but it's in a great location.

I really hope it's not the Exeter St David's one.

We stayed there shortly after it opened as my brother was getting married. It was a busy weekend as it was the uni open day. The only room I could get only had a double bed, me and two kids. Kids slept in the bed and I slept on the floor.

In the middle of the night woken up by a male member of staff bringing a women into the room. I scared them shitless as they did not expect a woman to be asleep on the floor. I went into full mama bear mode, leapt up instantly and chased them down the hallway.

Got up in the morning and left early. They refused to take my money and we had a night free there.

We stayed in one in Bristol this weekend. The power kept surging so people kept getting stuck in the lift, towels weren't clean, breakfast was like rubber and gloopy, fruit was fizzy, the woman behind reception spoke so little English that she could not understand when I asked if I could buy a bottle of water. It was unbelievable really!

We got bitten by bedbugs in one in Cornwall last year. It’s put me off staying in any hotel at the moment.

Just spent four nights in Edinburgh Waverley and had no complaints at all. They only clean on request now but we requested a clean and new towels etc and it was done with no problem. The staff were very helpful and friendly and the breakfast was good.

Agree it's variable and that Euston is ropey. If that's the area you need, the St Pancras one is about three minutes further down the same road and is a lot nicer.

It’s a Hub though which is why you found the room odd. I think if you book one without realising what it is it might be a bit of surprise.