Premier Inn Loughton/Buckhurst Hill hotel — Hotel in Epping Forest

We stayed at premier inn Buckhurst Hill over the valentines weekend, 5 of us total including a 2 month old baby. On arrival, there was nobody at the desk so we rang the bell a few times over about 20 minutes. Sonia apologised profusely and kindly explained she had been making two beds. It was only arriving back at the front desk realised her pagers battery had died.

We went up to our room and unfortunately there were some defects with it. The netted curtain rail had fallen off the wall, the unit with the sink in the bathroom had hairs on it from a previous person staying, the toilet seat was broken, the extractor fan wasn’t working and it had water stains running down the entirety of the walls where the shower had been used over a period of time with no extraction fan working.

It was really late by the time we had settled and it would have been more hassle to move that night after realising the defects, especially with the baby and baby items.

In the morning, Sonia wasn’t on the desk and instead we had Nihal and Farouk. We paid for our breakfast and sat down. I caught one of the gentlemen at the desk and explained the issues we were having, he assured me he would go up to the room and check which he did. We then had a sincere apology from him and he comped our breakfast for the rest of our stay but explained that the hotel was fully booked for that evening and would get our room moved for our final night stay, which he did.

The food at breakfast was always on top form, Rosie in the kitchen knew exactly what she was doing and to cook everything to order (as the venue isn’t big enough for a hot food counter on top of the continental) is a feat.

The hotel staff were fantastic. Sonia was there for everything we required, even just a passing chat and a giggle on our way in/out. Nihal and Farouk got issues sorted quickly and professionally and Rosie whipped up a storm in the kitchen. Nothing was too much trouble for any of them and whilst being friendly they still maintained their professional appearance.

Thank you to everyone on the team but especially Sonia who...

Tech problems: I couldn’t log in to the wifi and none of the staff could find the issue. My mother could, though. Heating panel didn’t work in room unless someone was actually standing and holding the buttons, so we had an uncomfortable night’s sleep. Bathroom fan didn’t work, so very steamy bathroom after showering.

Cleaning: Shower had many long black hairs in it. There was rubbish under our bed from previous guests.

Upkeep: Our room had torn fabric on the bed frame. Other rooms we were shown had either saggy/overused mattresses or a really loud industrial air con extractor outside the window.

Breakfast: Breakfast took 45 mins to arrive, despite only five people in dining room - one already eating and two working on laptops, and not interested in food or drink. So just me and mum. We ordered hot food immediately. The only plates that came out agead of us seemed to go into the staff office. Good to know guests are a priority.

In the end, it didn’t matter, as when breakfast came, it was cold and inedible. When we showed what we had been served to a manager, his retort was that we had wasted bread by making toast and not eating it - due to constantly being told our breakfast would be ready in two minutes, making some toast, then our toast going cold and hard!

We decided to leave and find breakfast elsewhere…as we came down from the room with our luggage, what topped the experience off was seeing the chef serve off-menu, lovely looking bespoke breakfasts to the managers.

This hotel really does not live up to the Premier Standard that they like to advertise in TV, and we have written to Premier Inn with our detailed feedback after a very disappointing (and not cheap - £165 for one Tuesday...

A Ray of Sunshine at Premier Inn – Thank You, Sonia/Sofia!

After one of the longest, most exhausting weeks I’ve had in a while, I checked into Premier Inn hoping for a quiet place to rest my head — what I didn’t expect was to be greeted by someone as genuinely warm, kind, and uplifting as Sonia/Sofia.

From the moment I walked in, Sonia’s/Sofia's radiant presence completely shifted my mood. She greeted me with a smile that felt like sunshine, and her energy was so comforting and sincere, it instantly put me at ease. It’s rare to come across someone who can light up a room just by being in it, but Sonia/Sofia does exactly that — effortlessly.

She was not only professional and efficient with check-in, but also incredibly thoughtful, taking the time to ask how I was doing and noticing I looked a bit drained. Her kindness wasn’t just surface-level — it was genuine, and in that moment, it meant everything.

Sonia/Sofia is the kind of person who transforms a simple hotel stay into a truly memorable experience. She brings heart to hospitality, and I honestly can’t thank her enough for being the bright spot I didn’t know I needed. Premier Inn, you’ve got a real star on your team!

Thank you, Sonia/Sofia— you made all the...