Premier Inn Peterborough North hotel — Hotel in Great Britain

Like many, I have a preconceived idea of what a Premier Inn is - budget. But having stayed there for the first time (in a long time, at least), my view has changed significantly.

On arrival there were some obvious ways in which costs were being saved. Soap dispensers replaced complimentary toiletries, and breakfast was an additional £8.75. There was no proper wardrobe and the room was small (but comfortable). There was no air conditioning, but there was a fan included.

However, I must say that Premier Inn really did their best to make it a good experience. Their 24-hour reception service was pointed out as I arrived, and it was clear that they had really made an effort to ensure a good night's sleep. There was a choice between firm and soft pillows in my room, and a sheet if I preferred that to my duvet - which I did. Everything was fairly new and clean, and while basic, they did those basics very well.

The hotel is next to a fairly major road, but they say it's insulated against noise. Although I was on the non-road side, I did not hear any traffic at all, with the exception of something backing up nearby at 7am, briefly. I was rather impressed. The amount of light coming through the curtains was also minimal.

I had heard a lot about the beds from the adverts and was rather eager to try them out, as I am a light sleeper and sometimes have trouble in hotels. The bed felt rather hard and I could feel the springs a bit. I did get a really solid night's sleep, though I was more tired than usual - so it is hard to make a concrete judgement - but it was one of my better hotel night sleeps.

The shower had a few odd temperature fluctuations, but nothing serious, and the breakfast was in the next-door pub - but done very well, with a buffet continental breakfast and additional ordered cooked food (which really was unlimited - I was offered a second plate once I'd finished my first). The food was average and no more.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by my stay. I don't know if all Premier Inns are of this quality, but it was very good and the important bit - the night's sleep - was great. The reason I give it four stars is that in the end at £105 it wasn't actually that much cheaper than some of the...

My wife and I and our 14 year old son stayed here on 26th/27th March to celebrate our sons 14th birthday. We checked in at 3pm to the usually exceptionally clean and comfortable family room. We dined out at a steakhouse in the centre of Peterborough which was also enjoyable returning back to our room about 8pm. It was then we discovered our upstairs neighbour was engaging in some form of half marathon. Thumping and banging back and forward. Back and forward. How can people be so oblivious to the noise they are creating for people below, or do they just not care? This was still going on when we retired to bed. At 2315 my son said 'that's it I'm going to sleep in the bathroom, it might be quieter' At that point I had enough. I stormed to the reception to complain to find no-one at the reception. I banged on the reception door and doors marked private to no avail and returned to my room at 2330. In the morning after the banging and thumping resumed at 0500 I complained to the reception. Going for breakfast at 1000 I was asked by the restaurant supervisor Kevin, did we sleep well? and I explained what had gone on. Kevin, give him his due, was not happy we had been kept awake and apologised repeatedly and said he would look into it. Whilst dining Kevin returned and offered us complimentary breakfast or we could escalate our complaint to Premier Inn HQ. I can only thank Kevin again for the professional way in which he dealt with our complaint choosing not to say 'Nothing to do with me' but trying to resolve our complaint as we have used Premier Inn for over 16 years all over the UK and always found them First Class. Thanks again Kevin. You are a credit to...

The two main reasons for this poor rating are: 1 - there is no air con - which I should have realised when booking, but I've never known a hotel to be as uncomfortably hot. There is a fan in the room, but the cord isn't long enough to put right in front of the window so that just blows warm air about. 2 - the extraction fan in the bathroom doesn't work which makes the bathroom a miserable experience after a bath/shower too... I had a bath and shower the first night, and because of the heat I had to drink constantly, so woke several times for the loo - the bathroom was like a sauna - literally - hot and steamy - which couldn't have helped with the temperature situation. The cynic in me believes the extractor fans have been switched off to stop people trying to use them to help cool the rooms...

I overheard a party of other guests commenting on their extractor fans not working over breakfast too

Other reasons for the low rating - The cold water just isn't that cold, so trying to have a cold shower to cool down, or just drinking cold water, it's always quite warm regardless of how long it was running. PLUS - when trying to have a cold shower the temperature was fluctuating, so it kept going from (barely) cool to quite hot, then back to cool again. There's no excuse for this.

I was here for two nights, but if it wasn't for the fact I was exhausted after an event and wouldn't have been fit to drive home, I would have gone home and given up the second night.

This would be a reasonable hotel in cooler weather, but desperately needs air con in the summer. As a result I would definitely rule this out next time I'm in the area...