Premier Inn Southport Central

The bed was good, and the bedroom itself was okay, though basic and without power sockets by the bed. Nearby there’s a Spoons, an excellent Indian and a Morrisons, and the location is central. The bathroom in room 122 was a small plastic walled space with no heating. Its fan didn’t work, and the shower was either scalding or cool, with no comfortable middle setting. If you’re here in winter, leaving the bathroom door open when you’re not using it helps keep it warm. Find a better option!

I’ve stayed at quite a few premium inn's and they’ve always been great, but this was a shock. I won’t be back. The location was good and the bedding spotless, but the room was small for four and in tired condition, with grubby walls, peeling paint and black, swollen silicone. There was hair in the bath, dirty taps and overflow drain plug, and no chain on the plug, so it was hard to pull out. The room was hot, had no air conditioning or mini fridge, and the bed and pillows were hard. The USB socket by the bed didn’t work, and there was no regular socket to charge a phone. Delivery lorries beeping outside woke us at 7am, then at about 8am it sounded like a little elephant running around overhead. The doors didn’t block noise from people walking and talking outside. At reception, the man ignored us while typing, asked how many nights we were staying, gave us a parking code to enter on a screen, then went back to typing. Eventually he said he’d be with us in a minute. It felt like a long wait. We left our cases in the room and went straight to dinner. When we returned, I found an eight inch line of poo on the bathroom wall, with some on the toilet seat and toilet paper dispenser. I reported it at reception. The man asked when we’d checked in. I said about an hour earlier and that we’d gone straight to dinner. It seemed as though he thought I’d done it, so I asked for cleaning supplies and an antibacterial wipe to clean it myself. We went to the cleaning cupboard. I thought he’d give me a wipe, but he said he only had a bottle of cleaning solution and a cloth. He then said he’d handle it. When he came to the room, I think he realised we’d only just arrived because we’d only started unpacking. He apologised and offered to take one breakfast off the bill. Breakfast was cold on all three mornings because items were missing and we had to wait. It was half term, and the hotel’s buy one breakfast, kids eat free offer was available to non guests too. It was so busy they couldn’t keep up. We had to queue separately for coffee, toast and hot food. We were seated in the kids’ play area, which was very noisy. I asked to move but there was nowhere else. On the third day I asked for a poached egg so it would be hot. It arrived hot, but was like a hard boiled egg. I felt like I was eating in a children’s play cafe, stepping over coats and shoes to get my food. They should have an area for hotel guests.

The rooms are clean, with plenty of storage, a decent TV and a table and chairs, though they’re a little dated. Tea and coffee are available in good supply if you ask. The restaurant is good.

I turned up without a booking after one of the most stressful days I can remember. I was exhausted and almost in tears. The staff couldn’t have been kinder or more thoughtful. They got me booked in and settled quickly and gracefully, and I was extremely grateful. My room at the back of the hotel was quiet, well equipped and clean. Many thanks to the staff.