Premier Travel Inn, Newport > Reviews (1)

At the same time that we booked the ferry crossing to the Isle of Wight, we booked the Hotel reservations as well. We knew what we wanted, somewhere on the cusp of a town, but a central location on the Island that allowed us to travel anywhere we desired without having to cross the whole island to get there.

Looking on the Internet we found a number of places, but as we required a car park that was on-site and not 400 yards away then the decision was clear. We booked three nights at the Premier Travel Inn at Newport. Parking was simple was simple as there is a massive car park in front of the building, but the key selling point was the fact that the location was exactly what we wanted. Situated in Medina Quay the PremierTravel Inn is besides the River Medina and is approximately a half mile from Newport town centre, or about a 10 minute walk. It has its own restaurant next door, Table Table, which all guests can use for Breakfast and Dinner as well as a few beers in the evening.

The Premier TravelInn has a total of 70 rooms with the cost varying from £63 on a weekday to £60 per night from a Friday to Sunday.

With a driving time of just 10 minutes from Fishbourne where we arrived by ferry we were very impressed with the tranquillity of the surroundings and realised throughout our stay that this was probably the best location that we could have chosen. I say this because the Travelodge didn't have a car park and was located in Newport town centre which meant we have to leave the car some distance away.

Upon check-in at the Travel Inn, we were asked about Breakfast and would we like to order for the next three mornings. At £7.50 per person for a eat as much as you want I thought this was good value for money, especially as this meant that we could eat later in the day and also start the morning with a decent meal. This consisted of Cereal, Fruit, Yoghurt and the obligatory Eggs, Bacon and Sausage. Scrumptious and filling and good value for money as most Café's charge the same for just the fry up these days.

We also used the restaurant in the evening as well and found the food server to be a good quality with excellent service provided throughout our stay. The prices were also what you would expect and where no dearer than other places such as TGI Fridays, however I found that the food had more taste. Overall a three course meal for two with two rounds of drinks came to £55.

The room itself was spacious, we had a room on the second floor and even though it wasn't facing the river side itself, it had a decent view across the playing fields. Premier Travel Inn has changed considerably in the last few years with the advertsing campaign fronmted ny Lenny Henry and I have found them to have upped their game with regards to the quality they now give guests. My only complaint was the pillows. Why oh why do they have to be so thin, okay at home I have the pillows that give extra support to the neck, but these were thin as anything and had to be folded in half to get some decent level of slumber!

Also as I have a memory foam bed it was a bit of change to have just a normal bed to lie on, although it was eventually comfortable it was a slight distraction when trying to get off to sleep.

Other than that the room is a pretty much the same as elsewhere, the bathroom has a power shower with a number of settings with a bottle of Lux bolted to the wall. The TV's have now been upgraded to Freeview as well, so there are a whole host of channels to watch or listen to the Radio in the evening. Somehow we managed to get a family room and this meant that additional beds could be drawn from underneath the double bed as well as the sofa being used as a bed. This meant that the room could cope with 4 or 5 quite easily.

The road that the Travel Inn is situated on is clearly signposted from the main road and is easy to find as the buildings next to the Travel Inn are mainly shipyards. However there are two Museums that are literally with a stones throw of the Inn itself. There are the Classic Boat Museum and the Bus Museum; the Bus Museum will take approximately two minutes to reach from Reception!! But please be aware that these are only open on certain days of the week, so it's worth enquiring if you plan to visit.

We were rudely awakened on the second night; it was a warm evening so we decided to leave the windows open as much as possible to allow some air in the room. At 3.50 in the morning we heard a helicopter circling above the hotel and were starting to get worried as to what was happening, so looking out the window imagine the surprise of seeing a Wessex Sea-king landing outside the hotel just behind the car park in a field!! Not only did it keep the engines running for a full 15 minutes, but also caused quite a stir on take off due to the noise it made when lifting off.

All became clear the following morning; the field is used by the Coastguard to transport any patients from the Hospital to the mainland. The reason why the Coastguard cannot land nearer the Hospital is because the Hospital is opposite the well known Prison and that is a complete no fly zone. So the nearest point they can land is the field at Medina Quay. I was told that this only happens two to three times a year, but this would explain why there were Police and Ambulances present as well. So it is something to be aware off, funny thing is at the time half the Inn were looking out there windows and some even went to take a photo of the Copter itself and I have to admit that seeing this thing land and take off at close range was truly impressive to see as dawn was breaking over the Island.

Having stayed in a number of Travel Inn's in the last few years I was impressed with the presentation and standards of this one. The staff were friendly and approachable in both the Hotel and the Restaurant. The room was clean and bright. For us it was the location itself that was the primary factor in deciding to stay here, the towns of Ryde and Cowes were 15 minutes away; the Needles were about half an hour drive.

For us this was perfect as we were out exploring and not having to worry that the car was parked in an unsecure car park away from the place we were staying as it would have been if we had stayed in the Travelodge. All in all I would say that this place delivers and the quality of service I received was exceptional.

The three night stay cost £189 with a further £45 for Breakfast for two people, I didn't consider that bad at all as the size of the Breakfast meant that lunch was a cup of Coffee somewhere while we were out. Everything apart from Breakfast can be booked on-line with a prompt delivery service of confirmation to your personal mailbox.

This is our place of choice and a place we will be using when we go back again and also a place that I fully recommend.