Premier Inn Southend On Sea

I wanted to tell you how fantastic the staff at Premier Inn Southend are. My wife, children and I stayed for a long weekend as a treat, and everyone we met was professional and accommodating. I have a young baby and an eight-year-old son who’s autistic and can sometimes be a nuisance to people he’s just met, so I especially want to thank Kevin. My son got chatting to him downstairs while my wife was with the baby. First, he asked Kevin how to get to Southend airport. Kevin knew the way and offered to draw him a map, clearly understanding his autism, though my wife said that wasn’t needed as Daddy knew the way. Early the next morning my wife and the children went downstairs so she could vape outside. My son found Kevin filling up the breakfast area and asked what time he could have something to eat. Kevin kindly said he could sort him out with breakfast right then if Mum was happy with that. She said yes, as he’s always hungry, and Kevin said he’d do it when they came back in. When they returned, my son called out for Kevin, who came straight over and asked what he’d like in his little takeaway bag. He offered him choices and let him decide for himself. That was a really caring and empathetic thing to do. Kevin stood out, though all the staff were great. I’ll be recommending the hotel to all my friends and telling them how brilliant the team is.

The noise next door turned the night into a mess. The TV and music were blaring, with screeching sounds continuing well past 11:30pm, even though quiet hours start at 11. We reported it at reception and were told someone would go up in five minutes, but after 40 minutes nothing had changed. We went down again, then were offered a room in a quieter part of the hotel. Being asked to pack up and move at nearly 1am was miserable, and we were disappointed by how staff handled it. We'd come down after a long, late five-hour drive from lytham and had hoped for a proper rest at the Premier Inn. Instead, our breakfast booking had been cancelled and refunded without anyone contacting us. I spent over an hour on the phone trying to find out why, and was told the restaurant was being renovated and couldn't serve food. Nobody offered any alternative, not even cereal or pastries. The parking situation was another surprise. The booking website didn't mention that building work had closed access to the on-site car park. We only found that out in a follow-up email after booking, and road parking cost us £13 for the night.

Damon was so friendly and helpful on the night shift. He made check-in and check-out simple, and went out of his way to sort out a few questions I had. The room was clean and comfortable, just as usual, and our one-night stay at Premier Inn eastern esplanade was great. Thanks to Damon for making everything so easy 😊.

Paying over £100 a night and finding no toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo or shower gel was awful. Even budget hostels manage the basics. None of the USB sockets in our room worked, and possibly none in the hotel did, so guests can't even charge a phone in 2026. That's unacceptable. The customer service made it worse. Staff were shockingly unprofessional, and we were directly told there was no phone charger available, even though staff clearly had chargers and refused to help. It felt like they were there to take payment, not care about guests. This came across as negligence, dishonesty and contempt for paying customers. I'm asking for a full refund for the poor service, missing basic facilities and the way we were treated. I can't understand how this place gets a 3-star rating when 1-star hotels and hostels offer much better service and honesty.