Premier Inn Whitstable hotel — Hotel in Canterbury

You know what you're getting with a Premier Inn and this is a really good version. My only gripe is that it is located just a little bit far away from the local villages, town centre and seafront. For the traveller uninterested in such things, the location 2 minutes from the bypass to the the M2 or Watling Street or A2 or whatever it's called these days, is a location for keeps - even if the Beefeater restaurant next door (and therefore 90 second walk breakfast venue) is sold off by the brewery without even being offered to the chain. My apologies to the chap behind the desk for my not saying hello when I used my key to open the front door after hours, I didn't see you until I was already past. My apologies. I can't report on the standard or selection offered by the vending machine in it's little alcove in the lobby. By the time I'd walked the two miles of corridor to my room and taken my shoes and trousers off, I definitely wasn't going back to see how much a can of coke was. Curtains were properly blackout-lined and the seperate curtain rails that overlap in the centre are a real quality of life issue that is welcomed by the seasoned traveller and appreciated by the sleeper requiring darkness. I didn't turn the TV on, I did have a cup of tea - needed 2 'creamers' to not look like mud. The little towels are superfluous and not nice anyway. The big towel was excellent. Maybe not quite as nice as my favourite ones at home but certainly big enough for a big person and thick enough to dry both me and the bathroom floor! Water pressure, temperature and flow from the shower head were all excellent. Key card in the slot on the desk in the lobby as you leave. Easy peasy.

Everything you need, maybe a couple of things you don't. A Disney vacation resort this is not but the price reflects as much - although the price for Saturday nights is creeping up fairly quickly, I assume all the bells and whistles were in the lobby vending machine...

Arrived here at 9.30 p.m. after a nightmare 8 hour drive from Devon to be told by reception that 'the bar closed 45 minutes ago'. We had bottled water that was warm after the journey and only wanted a glass of ice, but the indifferent guy on reception was not interested in helping. No restaurant next door which was not clear on the website or when confirming the booking. The room was very hot with limited window opening and no a/c; all the fan did was move hot air around. We have stayed on business in dozens of Premier Inns and have never seen quilts like these; very heavy and far too hot for August; more like a quilt cover filled with horse-hair army blankets which weighed a ton. We took the quilt out and slept under the cotton cover with the window open and the sound of the traffic on the Thanet Way thundering past. An awful nights sleep which was slightly turned around by the exceptional service received in the breakfast restaurant the next morning by a staff member who went over and above. Also a mention to the housekeeping staff we saw along the corridor in the morning who were all very smiley and happy. In common with several posters who have stayed in many P.I's, we too cannot believe how the chain has gone downhill; we are old enough to remember the days of £29 per night and cannot see in any shape or form how Whitbread can justify £110 for a hot room with a rubbish quilt and no restaurant or bar facilities. We live on Exmouth Marina in Devon where you can Air B&B a 2 bed / 2 bath apartment with living room and kitchen for £120 a night; it is no small wonder this industry is booming while chain hotels get worse. This may well be our last stay in any Premier Inn as nothing ever seems to change. Best avoided if you can find an available...

Easy to find, simple check in, clean rooms, the fan was disgusting, caked in dust, but everything else was clean and I especially liked the fact the extra pillows were in a sealed bag to guarantee cleanliness. However, the breakfast was disgusting. We sat down, and ordered drinks, we then had to flag down a server to put in a food order, we asked for hash browns, bacon, beans and eggs, my husband asked for similiar using the purals of each item we asked for. Including toast. After 10mins our toast came, my husband had one burnt piece, almost black and one nomall, and I had 1 toasted and 1 not toasted at all, not even warm. 35mins after our toast came out (we're at about the 50min mark now) our food came out, as you can see from the attached photo, we only received 1 of each item despite using the purals of the words, to then be told we should have said how many of each we wanted. No where does it say this, we decided to just try and enjoy our breakfast, my husbands sosage wasn't cooked, as you can see from the photo, the beans and eggs were lukewarm at best and had a sour after taste, it looked honestly pathetic, the manager then came to say we could order breakfast again if we weren't happy with the amount but to wait 35mins again for something foul and undercooked, we chose to decline. They were clearly understaffed which effected the service and quality of food, would never ever recommend breakfast here and its definitely not unlimited as it claims to be and...