Premier Inn Torquay Harbour

The hotel is well placed for the town centre and seafront. My room was spotless on arrival and I had no problems with it. We used the meal deal, and the food was excellent with plenty of choice. The staff were faultless. The car park could be tricky for anyone with limited mobility. It's above the hotel, and its lift wasn't working, so you have to use the stairs or walk down the slope to the entrance.

The hotel was fine and getting to the town centre was easy, but the parking directions need to be much clearer. When you arrive in the dark, the sign points upstairs for Premier Inn and Torbay Council without showing where one area ends and the other begins. We parked in the wrong place and got a parking notice. It only became clear where Premier Inn parking was when we came back out. There should be a detailed map at the entrance, not just inside the hotel, especially as we checked in online and never saw the reception map.

We went to the Riverdance stage show, which was fantastic, and would come back if visiting the theatre again. The theatre is a 10-minute walk away, and the hotel has great views across the bay. Check-in was quick, we had a nice meal in the restaurant, and breakfast was good though not extensive. The bar was average. Finding the place can be awkward, as it's behind the main road at the end of the harbour. If you're walking from the station, allow 20 minutes and head for Hoopers store, then it's five minutes from there. The car park is a problem, but it isn't the hotel's property.

The hotel's location near the harbour, attractions and high street is a plus. But this is a very poor example of what Premier Inns offer. The car park is a problem, Jo the manager and the staff were extremely rude, the breakfast wasn't fresh or topped up regularly, and room service was poor. I'd recommend the Hilton opposite or the other Premier Inn down the road. Avoid this one at all cost. We had young children, one in a pram, and someone in our party with mobility difficulties. On arrival, we learned the lift had been out of order for well over a year and that the council had no plans to fix it. Getting to and from the entrance means walking up and down a steep road, which is exhausting and dangerous. The receptionist suggested parking by the car park entrance and paying through Horizon, saying she'd sort out the rest. We did, and thanked her, but two days later we had two parking tickets. Jo said there were 13 signs and we should have read them. When I explained what reception had told us, she said they shouldn't have said that, but we'd learned a lesson and should read the signs next time. We asked to have the room serviced every other day. At 6pm one evening it still hadn't been done, and staff knocked at 7pm just as the kids were going to bed. We quickly swapped towels and they took the rubbish. The next time was much the same: it wasn't serviced by 5pm, so we went out for food. When we returned at 7:30pm, the bins had been emptied, but the old towels had just been folded and put back. The beds hadn't been changed or made, and the floor hadn't been vacuumed. Breakfast was old and dry. The scrambled egg wasn't replenished once while we were there, and the bread was stale.