Premier Inn Harrogate Town Centre

The staff were friendly, and we did sleep well. The location was good too, with a car park next door, though it cost us £20. After a lovely night at York Layerthorpe, this hotel felt in need of an update. Paint was peeling, there was a smell of smoke, and the toilet kept running. They moved us, which was helpful, but the first room shouldn’t have been offered.

The staff I saw were friendly and helpful, but there weren’t many around. There were piles of dirty linen in the corridor, and the room felt tired and needed a facelift. The carpet hadn’t been vacuumed, nor had the corridor outside. The bathroom ceiling light didn’t work, so the only lights were behind the basin. There was just one set of towels, and I had to go to reception for more. The room information said there’d be a hairdryer, but there wasn’t one, and there was no menu or other information in the room. Dinner was another disappointment. The restaurant had an extremely limited evening menu, and after sitting down, we waited and waited to be served. With no staff in sight, we gave up and went into town to eat. Parking was £20 for 24 hours, and you’d think Premier Inn might have arranged a discount. All in all, a huge letdown. I’ll choose Travelodge next time.

The room we were moved to was better, but it had no hot water and black mould all over the bathroom ceiling. The first room was generally unclean and almost impossible to stay in because of a strong smell of damp and stale drains. When I checked it, the toilet seat came off. I won’t be back.

The staff were working incredibly hard and did a great job, so I can’t blame them. Management should have planned for the crowds: I come every year for a busy event, and the traffic arrives at the same time. For a budget hotel next to the venue, they need enough people on shift. Waiting over 90 minutes for a meal and finding large parts of the menu unavailable, including coleslaw, is disappointing. There are plenty of other places nearby, and management would be better off staffing this properly instead of letting it run like an overwhelmed BnB. The room itself is what you expect from a Premier Inn, standard and fine. The problem is how the place is run. There was one person covering the restaurant and bar in the evening and a single chef in the kitchen. There was one check-in desk, while the self-check-in seemed permanently out of order.