Premier Inn Worcester City Centre

The room was comfortable, clean and really quiet, and the staff I spoke with were friendly and helpful. Breakfast was tasty, with a good buffet selection, and starting at 6.30 meant I could get in early. The cricket club location is great too, only a short walk from the city centre. I stayed here for nights recently.

The location’s lovely, with views across Worcester, the city centre just a few minutes away and loads of swans on the river. The cricket ground flooded. At breakfast, the fried eggs were the best I’ve had and the coffee was decent. I arrived in the evening and used self check-in, but it wouldn’t register my details. A young woman came out and helped programme the key card. My room was comfortable, though as a solo woman I’d have preferred not to be next to the fire escape. I was there a week and asked for a clean, but I don’t think the sheets were changed. They were creased and itchy. There was a limited menu for the first two days because there wasn’t a chef. Louise, who served, handled reception and worked the bar, was very friendly and looked after us well. The man behind the bar was great too. I didn’t get his name, but he helped us find food options outside the hotel and gave directions. He was generally friendly, and when I’d rushed off without my phone, he came after me with it. I appreciated that.

The hotel sits right by the river, so it’s easy to get into the centre. The food was pleasant and served piping hot, unlike at a lot of chains. Parking, though, isn’t provided by the hotel, and watch out when there’s cricket on. I’d booked weeks ahead with breakfast included, then got several emails from Premier Inn offering it free. Taking up the offer would have meant cancelling my booking and risking a higher price. Before paying on arrival, I asked if they could remove the breakfast charge in light of those emails. They said no. Better customer service would have meant taking it off the bill.

The rooms were clean and a reasonable size, and the hotel is well located, just as you’d expect from Premier. But service-wise, this was probably our worst Premier experience. Even self check-in caused trouble, and when a few people arrived at once, the delays were long because staffing was so minimal. We noticed the same strain in the evening, when the bar and restaurant area was very crowded. Breakfast was the worst managed I’ve experienced across hotels in the UK and elsewhere. Long waits for buffet food caused extensive queues, and by the time it arrived, it had gone cold. The communal areas made it clear the hotel was probably at capacity, and that’s where it seemed to struggle.