Premier Inn : An easy way to find a good place to stay (Premier Inn in General)

Member Name: englishrose

Product:	Premier Inn in General
Date:	13/03/09 (117 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 500 hotels around the UK. Great prices. You know what to expect.

Disadvantages: You are greeted by giant Lenny Henry cardboard cut-outs in reception, lol

Premier Inn is the name of a budget hotel chain, with 500 branches across Britain. It used to be called Travel Inn, then Premier Travel Inn ... now simply Premier Inn.

I have stayed in lots of different branches of Premier Inn in the last few years, and I have always found the prices low and the quality high.

They have a really good, user-friendly website, and I always book online. You create an account for yourself, then follow the easy steps to choose which branch you want to stay at, and on what date. You give your payment details online, but don't actually pay until you arrive.

I have always just printed off the details and handed them in at reception when checking in, and I have never had any problems this way.

Prices start from £50.00 per night, and here's the good news: This price is per room, not per person. There is a full money-back guarantee, if you don't have a good night's sleep you can ask for a refund.( I will talk about this more later, when I review branches individually.)

Most of the hotels are purpose built and have their own free parking.

The rooms are all the same: A standard family room will have a large double bed, and sofabeds that sleep 2-3 children or teenagers. I haven't slept on the sofabeds myself, but my children have, and they seemed happy with it. The main beds are really soft and comfortable, with cool cotton bedding and nice thick duvets.

The rooms are all ensuite, and the bathrooms have the standard toilet, washbasin with vanity unit, shaving point and mirror, and a power shower over the bath. There are even supplies of Lux shower gel.

Towels and bedding are all included, and the rooms all have colour TV with a few Freeview channels, hairdryer, and tea and coffee making facilities. There are wardrobes and a desk with chair.

It is now standard that in each room there is a telephone and internet connection point. You have your own thermostat so you can choose your own temperature in the room.

Meals are not provided by Premier Inn, and not included in the price of the room, however most Premier Inn's are situated next door to a Brewers Fayre restaurant or Costa Coffee, where you can purchase breakfast if you like it:

The breakfasts are great value for money, especially if you have children with you: If you order breakfast and pay for it when you check in, 2 children eat free with every breakfast purchased.

We always take up this offer, and it is really good value: It's buffet style, eat as much as you like, or you can order a traditional cooked breakfast.

Branches of Premier Inn that I have tried and tested:


***Bristol South***


I stayed at the Bristol South Premier Inn approximately 3 years ago, just for one night. It was just me and my elder daughter. I remember this one being situated right next to a dual-carriageway, and so it was quite noisy if you had the window open.

Everything was as it should be, check-in friendly and hassle-free, the room clean. We had breakfast in the adjoining pub, lovely.


***Margate***


This was again, one night only, and was right on the seafront road. This was a good nights sleep, as it was actually quite quiet in our room, despite all the buzz going on outside on the promenade. Again, ate in the adjoining restaurant with sea view, very nice. Our visit was just over a year ago.


***Kendal (killington lake)***


This one is situated in a motorway service area, just off the M6 Southbound, but amazingly, the location was really, really nice. It's down a service road, so you haven't got motorway noise, and our room overlooked the lake. Food was available in the service station next door, and the breakfast was served in the Costa Coffee shop there. Again, it overlooked the lake, and was really enjoyable. We were in the heart of the Lake District here, and it showed. This visit was in April 2008.

The room was for four of us this time, and was the standard Premier Inn room with an extra area through an archway for the children to sleep in: This one actually provided proper beds for them, excellent.


***Aldershot***


Myself and my daughter have stayed here about 3 times. This one is joined to the Willems Park Brewers Fayre, which is quite a large one, with full restaurant and children's play area.

Free parking, great service, as usual. This hotel is an 'in town' location so it gets quite busy.

This is also next door to a Tesco superstore in case you need anything!


***Reading***


We stayed here as a family of four when we were visiting Legoland a few years back, this one is situated in the town centre area. We wanted somewhere as close to Legoland as possible: This isn't the closest, but the website has a facility where you can enter the name of an attraction and it tells you which hotel has rooms on the night you want.

Again, very happy with this visit.


***Hampstead (London)***


Stayed here for one night approximately 2 years ago. This seemed very different to all the others, probably due to its' location.

Firstly, I had to pay £15 extra simply to park my car in the hotel's car park overnight - Why couldn't they issue me with a guest pass to put in my windscreen , instead of charging extra? Also, I had not been warned about this extra charge.

Secondly, the hotel room was unbearably hot and I couldn't do anything about it: The window would only open a sliver, and the thermostat switch wouldn't move.

Thirdly, I had asked for a family room but when I was shown to my room, I had been given a double room: no other rooms were available so I had to share the bed with my daughter for the night, when we were both sweating constantly - neither of us slept.

I have no complaints about the integral restaurant , which served good food in a friendly manner, and was actually a really nice environment. Also, the location of this hotel is great for exploring Hampstead area, and London in general - right on a main road so very close to public transport.

I did complain to Premier Inn after we got home, explaining the situation, and to be fair, they did refund my payment for the night, which was over £80.00.



So, my overall verdict on the Premier Inn hotel chain: I always turn to them first if I need to book a place to stay.

Most experiences have been excellent quality and good value for money, with only one exception. Even then, they did put it right afterwards, which seems fair enough - they have honoured the guarantee, which is why I have still given Premier Inn four stars as a chain overall .

Summary: Wherever you are headed, there will be a Premier Inn near you.