Premier Travel Inn, Rotherham

We stayed here for a total of 3 nights, with breakfast and evening meals. We paid a total of around £200 for 3 adults and a toddler. This was in 2010.

I live quite a distance from my family in a completely different county, so I don't get to see them all that often. We decided to go up and visit for a few days, and as we didn't want to put an extra strain on the family (and it also meant we could step away if my son felt overwhelmed at any point as he had only met them twice at this point) we decided to stay in a hotel close by. We chose premier inn purely because it was the cheapest and in an area I knew. I have anxiety issues so this was really important for me, however it turned out not to be a big issue anyway as I was fine the entire time we were there.

Arrival

On arriving at the Premier Inn, it looks pretty basic. It's next to a main road, but I knew this before booking so it wasn't an issue, especially as we used taxi's while we were there so didn't have to cross the road at all. There are no fences to stop little ones going onto the road, but there is a two door system to stop them escaping from the hotel, though obviously this isn't foolproof. Again, it wasn't an issue for us as our son didn't go anywhere without us anyway, and when going to meals there is a hall inside to take you straight to the pub/restaurant without going outside. On arriving we changed it from room only to add meals as we realised there was a supermarket next door, but the rooms didn't have a fridge or anything (having only stayed in a hotel abroad which always had a fridge in, I didn't know what to expect from a UK hotel so this was my fault entirely!). The person on reception was really polite and cheerful, the decor was basic but clean and it's the people that make a hotel worth it or not rather than surroundings (unless of course it's filthy, which it wasn't). Our request was sorted out within minutes and they showed us where our room was so we didn't have to find it by ourselves. We had rooms on different levels, but it was to be expected as we had booked a disabled room for my partner's mum as she has mobility problems.

What are the rooms like?

It says everything is premier but the price, and as far as the rooms go they weren't lying. We had a family room, it consisted of a large double bed, a single bed, and in our case a travel cot plus a bathroom complete with a shower and hot water that didn't leak (I haven't always been this lucky when staying in a hotel!). There was also a wardrobe for storing clothes and a dressing table, complete with tea/coffee making facilities, a tv and a hairdryer with space for a laptop if you wanted to take one. (There is also the option to purchase internet time at the reception). The colour scheme is purple and white in every room, the windows open on a latch and not very far - I assume this is for safety given that the single bed was next to the window. As it's next to the main road the noise gets abit of getting used to however, having lived further down the road (literally!) as a child this wasn't an issue for me as it was like being back home again!

Comfort

The beds were really comfy, and easy to snuggle down into, the duvets were lightweight so not too heavy and you could ask for extra sheets and pillows if you needed them - this was handy for us as the weather was so warm we ended up kicking the duvet off and just having a sheet over us. The sheets are made from cotton so breathable and helped to keep us cool. There is also a fan in the room but we didn't find this until the last night we were there as it was hidden in the wardrobe! The TV was a god-send, at the time our son was almost 2, and due to the change in his routine woke up at 6am! Cbeebies came in very handy and we didn't have to pay to watch it either! The only problem we did have with the room was the travel cot. A corner had snapped off and been cellotaped, it wasn't about to fall aapart but they had no spare cots. Luckily the double bed was big enough for three! We didn't put him in the single bed as it was higher than his bed at home so we thought it was better to be safe than sorry! Though a starfished one and a half year old made the bed even hotter when he eventually fell asleep. Halls and the reception were paced that weekend with him in the sling to get him to go to sleep as he wasn't happy being away from home for the first time. Though this wasn't always a bad thing as some of the pacing was done outside in the cool air!

Cleanliness

Our rooms were tidied everyday, the beds made, the towels changed and the bathroom cleaned. The tea bags etc were refilled, the dressing table was cleaned and the bins emptied. Heck one of us forgot to put the lid on the toothpaste and it was back on when we came back! The room felt fresh when we came back from a day of seeing families and friends. The pub/restaurant was great, the tables were cleaned as soon as one became available so there was never a long wait, even when a wedding reception was held there.

The best bit for us, was being able to have a shower everyday. At home we didn't have a shower (we have one now thankfully!) only a bath so it was nice to be able to get clean within a few minutes rather than the half an hour to an hour that it took at home. The fact that the shower and bath were cleaned everyday made it even nicer.

Service

The staff were very polite and friendly. If you needed anything all you had to do was ask and if they could they would sort it out for you. When we had our meals they bent over backwards to make sure we had anything we needed and little man flirted with the female staff and charmed them completely! He absolutely loved all the attention he got and they were brilliant with him. They even made sure his food had cooled down a little bit before bringing it to us so he didn't feel left out that we were eating and he wasn't when the first evening he had been particularly unimpressed that he couldn't eat at the same time and made his feelings known very loudly! Much to mummy's and daddy's embarrassment :). They brought him paper and crayons to keep him entertained while we waited for food to arrive, though more often than not if he saw one of the staff he recognised he would start babbling to them as they walked past and they always made time for him.

Facilities

The facilities were great, again the only problem we did have was the travel cot but it was worked around though the fact that all the cots had been given out wasn't ideal. But given that he wanted to sleep either on us or next to us it wasn't a huge issue in the end anyway, he only spent one night in the cot when we went for a drink in the adjoining pub with a friend. (Ironically he slept through that night and woke up at 8am the next morning!) We had one meal by the windows and the view was amazing looking straight out into the countryside as the hotel is on a hill and it was breathtaking, reminding me of the hours I used to spend looking out of my bedroom window as a child staring in wonder. In the morning there was a continental breakfast and a cooked breakfast option. The cooked breakfast arrived piping hot and was absolutely delicious. On one of the mornings we had the continental option and that was delicious too. There was toaster that you put the toast in one end and it came out of the other, it came out hot and toasted well, though a little bit burnt which I wasn't so keen on. The juice was nice, as was the tea and coffee. There was a simple selection of cereals and jams etc, as well as crossiants. For dinner we ordered from the menu. The vegetarian option which I had was delicious and had options which I would never have thought of cooking myself. Though the options were limited, and had we stayed another day I would have been repeating options. The only problem we had was that the only option that was really available for our son to drink, were fruit shoots. this is because at this point he hadn't learnt to drink from an open cup, only sippy cups and bottles with sports caps. For a few days this isn't too much of a problem but had we stayed longer it would have been, and I'm sure this is what affected his sleep as his body wasn't used to so many additives. Now fruit shoot isn't a bad drink, and we do give it to him on occasion, but he actually prefers to drink water (he will turn his nose up at squash if I give it to him as a treat and ask for water!).

The kettle worked efficiently and the cups of tea were nice. The TV worked fine and there was no crackly signal or anything. The internet had a good connectionand there was no lag which you can sometimes get when other people are using it in hotels. The water ran hot and had a good water pressure so it didn't just trickle out when you got in the shower and the toilets worked well (so no nasty surprises - yeuch!). The fan cooled the room down but didn't have a good rotation so we could only really have it going in one direction. The wardrobes did what they were supposed to and didn't fall apart at any point so I'm assuming that's a good sign! The lights worked well though they were a bit bright at times, so we tended to use the lamps instead because of the little guy sleeping (when he did sleep!) thankfully we didn't need them on much as we were in bed by 11!

Value for money

It's cheap and cheerful, the beds are comfy so you'll get a good nights sleep (as long as it's not hot outside). The food is nice, if limited but at the end of the day for most people it will just be a place to sleep and it fits the bill great for that. For what we paid it was good value (the total price I have stated included train tickets to actually get to Rotherham - which were about £50 - £60 for us as it takes about 3 hours to get there with all the train changes). Though there were a few niggles, it was never anything major and we would be quite happy to go again, and as for recommending? I have recommended it before, so that would be a definite yes from me :).