Premier Inn Market Harborough hotel — Hotel in Harborough

There the nothing major wrong with the place. Just lots of little issues and signs of under staffing or poor management.

The hotel is tired and dates, but they keep it clean and things worked. Although, not being so would be questionable. The staff are pleasant enough, they just look stressed and overwhelmed really.

We had a booking for 2x nights, on the second morning. The room keys stopped working at noon. The housekeeper let me in, and apparently this is a common problem. All of our parties rooms had this. So, we all had to go and 'recharge' our keys. Luckily we found this out before we went to the wedding and didn't come back late and have to all wait at midnight for it to be done. We've had this before at premier inn elsewhere, so I feel it’s a company wide game/issue.

The rooms are standard premier inn rooms, our window opened, which is good, but others complained about the noise. I imagine the rooms get very hot though, as they have no air conditioning. There was a pedestal fan on our room though.

Parking is fine, and plentiful although someone has parked in the path to reception. Blocking access. We just squeezed around the car, but anybody with accessibility issues wouldn't be able to access. The path isn't clearly marked as one. But this example show's how anybody using the disabled bays, wouldn't be able to get out of their car. We reported this to reception, but they shrugged their shoulders and said there was nothing they could do, which really just reflected how everything was

The restaurant was quite a good metaphor of how poor it is. We had a meal and breakfast. Everything is table service, and really really slow. The evening meal was slow and we ate and drank a lot less because of it. Then at 9:45pm, they presented the bill and told us they were closing. It was a Friday night. Other groups took their drinks with them (encouraged by the staff). Headed for the all night garage to get more booze and then partied in their room. It didn’t affect us, but walking by it, it was loud. There was also a lot of weed being smoked outside, although, the offer to join them was by far the politest offer of drugs I’ve ever had. Again, didn’t bother me. But families may consider these two issues.

We had breakfast in the morning at 10am for an 11am close. This was the only slot we could book although others said they walked down and got a table without issue. At 10am, it was basically empty but still took 10 mins before they seated us. They seated us, and walked away not explaining where the coffee was, the drinks etc. Then it was 10 mins more before they came to order. It took 15 more minutes for our food (my order was also wrong, I didn't bother saying anything). So, we started eating 35 mins after walking in. 10 mins later, at 10:45, were being told that they are packing up and rushed us out. For the continental part of the breakfast, there was a single choice of pastry, cereal and some very sad looking fruit. There were no plates either, only bowls. Likewise, there was initially no glasses for juice. There was no water either. We could have asked, but given the above, we didn't bother. There's a fast food outlet across the road, I'd probably just go there for breakfast next time

As I say, nothing is a major red flag. Just so many little things that all add up. It really feels like they're understaffed and poorly managed. Would I stay there again? Probably not, I'd take my...

Although based in a service area with a fuel station, Macdonald's and M&S express I didn't find it to be noisy. There was plenty of free parking, you have to put your car details in a tablet to get the free parking for your stay. Upon arrival at reception there was someone checking in so I had to wait, not an issue, however the person checking people in seemed to have left their welcoming personality at home. Not a good first impression. When it was my turn, there was no welcoming smile just a "robot" taking details, confirming name and how long I was staying then getting you to write your nationality, car reg and a signature on what I think was something similar to a till receipt before passing you the key card to your room and telling you which way to go, "through the door and upstairs" in my case. Going through the said door and up the stairs, potential to be noisy when people have elephant feet, and through another door which takes you to the corridor of rooms. The door banged shut behind me, no slow closer on that then, another potentially noise issue for those unfortunate enough to have a room close by which was actually me! So I had the joy of listening to that banging closed every time someone went through it, no one's fault but the hotels, for not having a slow closer on it. The room was a regular Premier inn room, clean and tidy. I put the TV on in the evening and the top channel was "Babe station", this leaves me wondering what the hotel is actually used for apart from people travelling, not a nice thought, I then had to scroll through all the channels to find what I wanted to watch. Nothing is in numerical order as you would expect channels to be it seemed to start in the middle. I did however enjoy a lovely shower and a great night's sleep after everyone had stopped going through the door at the top of the stairs. As I was leaving the next morning the receptionist was a different person who had brought their welcoming personality to work with them, so it was different than when I arrived. I didn't use the restaurant next door so I can't comment on that. Would I stay there again, only if it was the cheapest option...

This was our first stay at this Premier Inn, though we have stayed at many of the chain's hotels before.

All booking was straightforward and we arrived as planned after 3:00pm for a check-in. We had a good welcome and found our way along the first floor corridors to our room.

The room was basic but comfortable with everything you need for a stay. All fittings were in great condition and, as usual, there was a basic supply of tea bags, coffee sachets and milks.

The bathroom was clean and bright with a modern enclosed shower, loo and washbasin and a supply of towels. There was a hairdryer near to the mirror (tick from my wife) and plenty enough hangers for a short stay. Everything worked. Nothing was broken or showed any real signs of wear.

The room is heated by a simple electric heater. Switching this on at the wall starts the wall-mounted heating controls. Set the room temperature you want and the heater does the rest.

We noticed that there are grills for an air conditioning unit but no separate controls. Not sure whether this is fitted or just controlled centrally somehow. A large fan was available in the room and the window could be opened a little to air it out. Aircon wasn't an issue, we were just curious.

The Table Table restaurant did us well for an evening meal, with excellent service and nice, simple food. Breakfast was also good. We tend to go for the Continental which is great value and just like our normal start to the day.

Checkout was straightforward. Plenty of parking and easy access from the A6. A simple journey into Leicester from here too.

All in all we thought 5-stars. Thanks to all the staff we encountered at this Premier Inn....