I’ll sleep soundly if you can tell me: which hotel is best?
Q I saw that you commented on the Which? survey about hotel chains and defended the Britannia hotel chain. Assuming you use chain hotels, which is your favourite and least favourite chain – and why?
A Readers of Which? magazine do not, in my experience, comprise a perfect reflection of society. They tend to be
consumers who are more, if I may, Waitrose than Aldi. The annual Which? airline survey, for example, shows they are not particularly well disposed towards Ryanair despite it being Europe’s biggest budget airline, the world’s safest carrier and often the lowest-cost provider.
The hotel survey is an annual assessment of hotel chains “taking into account overall satisfaction and likeliness to recommend”. Among nearly 5,000 Which? readers, Premier Inn is at the top, ahead of Sofitel and Crowne Plaza. In its customary position at the foot of the table, for a 10th straight year, is Britannia. From my experience, there is plenty of room for improvement at the chain’s properties. But the basics of clean and safe rooms are respected.
I think Britannia deserves some credit for two commendable aspects: the outstanding properties in its stable, particularly the Adelphi in Liverpool and the Scarborough Grand, as well as extraordinary good value. Last night three people could have stayed in a family at the spectacular Scarborough Grand for a grand total of £35. In travel it’s good to have a choice, and – if I may – the 173 Which? readers who rated Britannia so poorly might want to choose somewhere else next time.
Like the 1,659 Which? readers in the survey, I rate Premier Inn highly. The chain does the basics well and maintains consistently high standards. I find Hampton by Hilton, Holiday Inn Express, Ibis and Travelodge also excellent. Apex and easyHotel are smaller chains and I do not use them so frequently, but my experiences have all been good. Evidently, I am easily pleased – but I think overall the UK consumer has an excellent and competitive range of options.
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