Guests looking for a hotel will struggle to find anywhere for under £100 a night, as a consumer champion reveals the highest (and lowest) rated places to stay.
Based on cleanliness, customer service, bed comfort, how well description matched the reality and value for money, the most-fancied hotel chain is Hotel Indigo, according to the 5,000 Which? respondents.
Joining the boutique chain at the top of the tree was Premier Inn’s Hub, which was also awarded a customer score of 77 and ‘recommended provider status.’
Hotel Indigo’s impressive historic buildings and quirky decor proved to be popular, but its cost was a stumbling block – a trend among venues across the UK.
Meanwhile, at the wrong end of the scale was Britannia, which propped up the charts for the eleventh consecutive year – scoring a lowly 48% with respondents. Its bathrooms, bedrooms and quality of wi-fi and bedrooms all notched just a one-star rating.
Travelodge was the highest-profile company to receive a less-than-average score – dropping to second bottom in the table. One guest described the hotel as having ‘an NHS hospital aesthetic’ while another said it was ‘dated and tired’. An average night’s stay will set you back £79 there too.
The study also found 78% of all the hotels the consumer champion rated had overnight stays costing well over £100 per night, with Office for National Statistics figures showing the average cost has surged by 13% in a year.
‘Take time to research your options carefully’
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said: “With prices at many hotels rising further this year, finding good value, budget accommodation is increasingly difficult.”
He added: “When you’re booking your next trip, make sure to take time to research your options carefully, and read reviews from a range of sources to see what other guests thought of their stay.”
Following the ratings, a spokesperson for Travelodge replied: “Last year we welcomed over 21 million business and leisure guests to our hotels. 90% of our Travelodge UK hotels are rated 4* or above on TripAdvisor and our new breakfast menu at our onsite Bar Cafes has been rated excellent value for money by over 70% of our customers.
“Travelodge is investing significantly in our UK portfolio to deliver a high-quality, premium look and feel hotel design and a great value for money proposition to our customers.
“This hotel refit programme is Travelodge’s most significant brand transformation to date and is well underway across the country, with approximately £45 million being invested this year to update our hotels. We take our guest feedback very seriously and are sorry to hear that the Which? reviewers did not receive our normal high-quality service.”
Britannia did not respond to a request for comment from the consumer champion.
