Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my f...
Sheesh - seems like ages since I've been here. So many changes, business up and running - bred my first litter of labs - moved house - guess I had better work on catching up now!
Member since:20.03.2001
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In my early days of travelling a lot, I used to swear by using Travel Inns, but rising prices, lack of telephone facilities, a wealth of larger chains offering ridiculously cheap prices and unsuitable locations left me wanting and hence I started to spread my net further afield.
Over the last 18 months, I have used numerous hotel chains including:
And whilst they all have good points, most of them also have not so good points, whether it be poor service, small rooms, lack of adequate facilities, poor food or drinks that requiring the instigation of a 2nd mortgage, as whilst accommodation, food and travel are recoverable expenses, drinkies are not.
WHO ARE PREMIER LODGE? They are a national chain owned by Scottish and Newcastle Breweries; they currently have 134 outlets the length and breadth of the UK, with another 15 opening in the not too distant future. They currently operate in 99 locations, with their prime concentration of outlets, at present, around the North West (they have 13 outlets in Manchester alone) and London with prices for room only ranging from £44 up to £72 depending, I would guess, on likely demand the prices of staying in and around where the outlet is based.
I understand there are plans to build one on the edge of Swansea city centre in the not too distant future, this will be their second outlet in Wales and a welcome addition for those seeking affordable accommodation in the area for those who prefer not
to take advantage of the many affordable, but very basic bed and breakfasts and home to a number of chain brands not particularly regarded as cheap, hardly surprising considering that Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas are regular visitors to the Marriott, apparently the most used location of their entire chain, and more recently Morgan’s hotel, where a pint and a half will apparently set you back a cool £11, did someone tell them this is Swansea not Mayfair or Park Lane?
SO WHAT DO YOU GET FOR YOUR MONEY? If you are travelling on business and expecting a swimming pool, sauna and gymnasium that you won’t have time to use, then expect to be disappointed; however, if you want a comfortable nights sleep, the most amazing power shower I have encountered, good food, generally good locations and the chance to check your e-mails, then Premier Lodge might just be for you.
Their strap-line is “Spend the night, not a fortune” and they back this up with:
• Very comfortable 6ft beds at most of their outlets (soon to be all) • En-suite bathroom with bath and power shower • Desk area • Remote control colour TV with the standard terrestrial fayre and a handful of Sky Channels and radio channels • Cupboard and storage area • Hair Dryer
Some of their outlets do not yet have all these facilities as they have yet to be upgraded – these are clearly marked in their brochures with a ‘U’
All Premier Lodges are ‘attached’ to a public house and restaurant, this could be:
• Barest • Henrys Table • Old Orleans • Millers Kitchen • Millers Pub and Restaurant • The Outside Inn • The Country Carvery • Chef & Brewer • Homespreads
BOOKING This can be done on-line (www.premierlodge.com), and I have to say, when the site is operational (it is temperamental), it is very efficient. You receive a confirmation e-mail immediately showing your booking reference, the dates of your stay, total cost, and information such as cancellation methods; the deadline is typically 4pm on the date of arrival.
Their website is easy to use, and each outlet clearly shows 4 tourist attractions close by, you can select a specific outlet for booking, or search an area, the results which show you the outlets and the distance from your chosen city.
You can also book through central reservations on 08702 01 02 03 – but only between 8 till 8 Monday to Friday and 10 til 4 weekends, or alternatively direct with the hotel, the number can be found on the actual hotel description on the website, or you can pick up a brochure at any one of their outlets.
Cancellations can be done on-line for bookings made that way, you will require the confirmation number, Premier Lodge number and an e-mail address to which the confirmtion will be sent.
Cancellation for rooms booked by other means and any other amendments, unlike the Holiday Inn chain, cannot be made on-line, with Premier Lodge you need to contact the Lodge of your choice directly; this will be courtesy of one of those blasted national rate ‘0870’ numbers – this is something that really galls me. Why they can’t use a standard number, I fail to understand, this means that even when booking a local outlet for visitors, you will end up paying the national rate; I guess their argument might be that you can book and cancel on-line should you wish.
Premier Lodge do have family rooms that accommodate up to 2 adults and 2 children under 16, and kids under 12 can eat breakfast for free, however, these are not available at every outlet and numbers are limited, so you will need to be specific about your requirements at the time of booking.
CORPORATE ACCOUNTS Premier Lodge do operate corporate accounts, using a similar system to credit cards whereby everything is just swiped and invoiced to the company at the end of the month. In addition, to be fair to the company, when travelling with a colleague who was not comfortable with paying up front, and after confusion over a corporate credit card booking, they simply invoiced the company.
CHECK-IN Check in to your room is allowed from 1400 hours on the day of arrival, and you must vacate your room by 1100 hours at the latest on your day of departure - I wish, for me more often than not it is between 8am and 9am.
TELEPHONE CALLS I mention this separately as the system differs from outlet to outlet; at Manchester, the phones are operated through an independent company, and you will need to use a debit/credit card, or you can purchase pre-paid cards from the hotel reception, calls aren’t cheap and this will bring your calls down to about 12p per minute, there is no dispensation for freephone numbers.
In contrast, in Huddersfield, calls were charged in the normal manner of most hotels, and were very reasonably priced, 6p per minute local charge per minute off peak, and 4.5p per minute at weekends, naturally, national, mobile and international are considerably more, but still cheaper than the extortionate rates charged at the Copthorne. And the good news for all those with a freephone internet calls, 0800, 0808 and 0500 numbers are FREE.
EXTRAS All rooms are well equipped with tea and coffee, although brand varies between outlets, personally I keep a stock of gold-blend in my suitcase. Water, chocolate, crisps and soft-drinks can be purchased from a vending machine in reception.
BREAKFAST The products on offer for breakfast have been identical in the two outlets I have used, however the delivery method does vary, in Manchester GMEX 2 (200 rooms) it was help yourself buffet from continental and cooked, in Huddersfield (40 rooms), it was a freshly cooked plated and very tasty meal incorporating mushrooms, hash browns, bacon, sausage, beans and eggs, scrambled, poached or fried.
The continental option of cereals, juice, yoghurt and fruit is DIY.
The continental option is £4.25 and the full breakfast £6.25 (rising to £6.95 at some London outlets)
SO DO THEY REPRESENT GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY? When staying at hotels, this is a loaded question; I have had fantastic deals at a number of national chains, including Clarion hotels, whereby using www.lastminute.com we managed to get two suites for £45 bed, breakfast and evening meal, with open access to all the leisure facilities should I have had time to use them, that is good value for money, and therefore I guess what I am trying to say is a lot of it is about perception, your reason for travelling and what else is available. A forthcoming trip to Preston has seen me secure a nights B&B at a Swallow hotel with full use of the leisure facilities (I might actually get time for a change) for a mere £50, Premier lodge nor Travel Inn can beat that on this occasion.
I travel to the Manchester area a lot, and when there are no events going on, accommodation there is ridiculously cheap and plentiful; however, a lot of the hotels in the city do not have their own parking facilities, requiring somewhere in the region of £15 per 24 hour parking, whilst this is both just about stomachable and recoverable on expenses, if I am travelling alone, walking through unmanned multi-storey car-parks late at night is not something I relish, therefore Premier Lodge’s GMEX 2 outlet is a regular for me as it has on-site free parking, (I have already produced an op on this in a separate category), however, if I was travelling with my other half then an executive room at the Jarvis Piccadilly would be more to my taste, they incidentally have limited parking on site and extortionate rack rates, normally reserving offers for 2 or more nights at weekends.
Be aware that not all Premier Lodge outlets have on site parking.
My most recent use of the Premier Lodge was on a 3 day visit to Huddersfield, where extensive searching on the web established that there is a serious dearth of available hotel chains there, and whilst there were a number of hotels in the city, nightly rates were well above my subsistence levels coupled with the fact that many of them had no parking, there are no travel inns in the area, and then I remembered Premier Lodge, they have one existing outlet in the area at Ainley Top, with another one about to open imminently.
Ainley Top Premier Lodge is next to the Nags Head Country Carvery. The outlet has 40 rooms spread over 2 floors offering an equal mix of smoking and non-smoking rooms. The lodge does have ground floor rooms and there is no lift, so if you are disabled, remember to specifically request a ground floor room.
Check-in was swift and very friendly, and you are given the option to pay for your room up front, or take a swipe of your credit card to allow you to charge extras such as telephone calls and food to your room.
A taxi into the city centre from Ainley top costs around £5 plus tip.
SO WOULD I USE THEM AGAIN? As I said earlier, much depends on what else is available, these days I tend to stick to hotel chains simply because they are tried and tested, and if the Premier Lodge offered the most cost effective option, then very simply, yes, without a shadow of a doubt.
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Advantages: Near the venue we were travelling to, comfortable bed Disadvantages: People entering the room without permission and opening the window, not told about building works
mental_infestation 28.10.2005 (28.10.2005)
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Review of Premier Lodge, GMEX 2
Advantages: Near the venue we were travelling to, comfortable bed Disadvantages: People entering the room without permission and opening the window, not told about building works
mental_infestation 28.10.2005 (28.10.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Premier Lodge, GMEX 2
Jun 8th, 2003
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