Premier Inn Stoke/Trentham Gardens

I was here alone for three work nights, and the location was spot on. There’s plenty to do, Trentham village is fab, and it even has a Thornton's!! The Purple Palace was standard, but my room had the new design, with the dark wood changed to light wood, which made it feel bigger. The reception staff were friendly. Being neurodivergent can make social situations awkward for me, so I usually find a corner in the restaurant, put my headphones on and watch Netflix. Shout-out to Charlie, Leanne and Dan in the restaurant. Their patience, people skills and understanding really impressed me. Those three deserve a bonus!!

We’ve stayed at this Premier Inn a couple of times. Sammi did an excellent job at breakfast, especially with how busy it was. She was right on top of things, and Sammy is always smart and pleasant. Rachel from housekeeping is lovely too, and clearly keeps our room clean and nice. We gave the service five stars, but there was one survey lad on reception who could use a customer service course. I’ll leave it at that.

The noise from above kept us awake for most of Saturday night. We stayed one night, on Saturday 13th December, and the banging started at 3am and was still going when we left at 9am. The manager came to our room, heard it, and said we could get a refund by contacting customer services. She said she’d note it on our booking. Customer services later said we didn’t qualify because we hadn’t reported it right away. The hotel was full, and the manager couldn’t work out where the noise came from, as there wasn’t even a room directly above ours. Since it began at 3am, we thought it might stop soon and didn’t want to get dressed and walk to reception. The manager had assured us we qualified. Sara on the Customer Service Line was dismissive and unhelpful, and frankly rude. She said the manager was wrong and we weren’t eligible because we hadn’t reported it at 3am. The "Good Night Guarantee" feels like a con. Premier Inn seems willing to avoid paying even when staff have witnessed or heard the problem.

Our stay was spot on apart from two things. The beer pumps and pipes behind the bar badly need cleaning. Also, the guy with glasses who works behind the bar and in the restaurant, the one who fist-bumps his colleagues, could use more customer service training.