Hotels are expected to provide a certain standard of service to paying guests – but one hotel chain has continued to disappoint for six years in a row.
Britannia Hotels has been named as the worst UK hotel chain in new research by Which? Travel.
The chain – which has 105 hotel – has ranked bottom place for the sixth consecutive year and received a very low customer score of 35 per cent.
Britannia’s poor customer service, shabby rooms and bad food have been complained about by nearly a quarter of guests.
It received one star in most categories and just two stars for average price paid, bed comfort and customer service.
A one-star rating signifies “a sub-standard hotel well below average in its category,” while two stars means “an adequate hotel that has room for improvement.”
The terms “old,” “shabby” and “outdated” were repeatedly used to describe the chain when guests were asked to describe how they found their stay with Britannia Hotels.
One guest went as far as to describe the hotel they stayed in as a “filthy hovel,” while another advised not to bother and to “find somewhere else.”
The hotel’s website promises to offer “character and style” but photos taken by a Which? investigator show crayon on the bedroom walls, stained carpets and grubby towels.
The communal areas were just as bad, with gaffer-taped rips in an armchair and some chewing gum stuck to a bannister.
A whopping 42 per cent of guests who stayed with Britannia had a problem with their stay.
In fact, nearly one in four guests had made an official complaint to the hotel compared to the average of less than one in 10 and only two per cent of people who had stayed at a Wetherspoon Hotel (which received a 71 per cent customer score).
Most complaints surrounding stays at Britannia related to poor customer service (41 per cent) and poor quality of rooms (41 per cent), followed by cleanliness (32 per cent) and quality of food (27 per cent).
To make matters worse, most guests (71 per cent) who made an official complaint to Britannia were dissatisfied with the outcome.
Express.co.uk has contacted Britannia Hotels for comment on their low ranking.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the best hotel chain in the UK was revealed to be Premier Inn.
Premier Inn garnered a 79 per cent customer score and won top place for the fourth year in a row.
Guests rated the chain five stars for cleanliness, the comfort of its beds and customer service. In fact, it was hard to find a guest review that did not describe their stay as “excellent.”
Simon Jones, Managing Director Premier Inn and Restaurants commented: “At Premier Inn we welcome thousands of guests through our doors every day and so we are delighted and overwhelmingly proud that Which? readers have chosen us as their number one for the fourth year running.
“Our thanks go to all the readers who rated us so highly, but also to the people who we wouldn’t be able to do this without, our thousands of team members across every one of our hotels and restaurants. Whether they are responsible for the spotless rooms, ensuring our beds are the most comfortable, cooking up one of our famous breakfasts, or just a friendly, welcoming smile at the end of a long day.”
Hilton: Garden Inn came in second place with a 77 per cent customer score and Fuller’s Hotels were in third with 75 per cent.
Rory Boland, Which? Travel editor, said: “Britannia has superb locations, fabulous buildings – but terrible hotels. Guests looking for a safe bet, with no nasty surprises, should opt for a no-nonsense option like Premier Inn.
“Anyone looking for a cheap and cheerful hotel could do worse than booking a stay at a Wetherspoon – complete with an added bonus of only a staircase separating you and your bed after a slap-up meal and a glass or two of wine.”
Guests have also been warned about the dangers of using the coffee machine in a hotel bedroom as they could make customers very sick indeed.
