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opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 18:18 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by Glenn E.
Kari and I are considering the new Premier Inn on Holborn (opens early August) for our stay prior to the 2014 Port Harvest Tour. The main attraction is convenience to TBH, but it is also central to most of the sightseeing we plan to do.

Does anyone have experience with the chain?

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 18:18 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by djewesbury
Basic, clean, comfortable, cheap.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 18:27 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by DRT
djewesbury wrote:Basic, clean, comfortable, cheap.
That sums it up nicely.

Bear in mind that this is a budget hotel chain so facilities within the hotel will be very limited.

How many nights are you staying?

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 19:59 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by Glenn E.
DRT wrote:
djewesbury wrote:Basic, clean, comfortable, cheap.
That sums it up nicely.

Bear in mind that this is a budget hotel chain so facilities within the hotel will be very limited.

How many nights are you staying?
5 nights total, from Saturday through Wednesday. Thursday we fly to Porto.

We don't generally make much use of hotel facilities anyway. As long as each room has its own bathroom with shower, we'll be fine. The lack of a breakfast room or exercise room, for example, wouldn't bother us at all.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 20:01 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by djewesbury
Glenn E. wrote:
DRT wrote:
djewesbury wrote:Basic, clean, comfortable, cheap.
That sums it up nicely.

Bear in mind that this is a budget hotel chain so facilities within the hotel will be very limited.

How many nights are you staying?
5 nights total, from Saturday through Wednesday. Thursday we fly to Porto.

We don't generally make much use of hotel facilities anyway. As long as each room has its own bathroom with shower, we'll be fine. The lack of a breakfast room or exercise room, for example, wouldn't bother us at all.
In which case you're fine. They usually have a breakfast available in a connected venue at a slightly inflated price. But around there you can find nice coffee and a pastry (etc) pretty easily.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 20:08 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by Glenn E.
One requirement: air conditioning. Is that a safe assumption in central London?

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 20:17 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by flash_uk
Glenn E. wrote:One requirement: air conditioning. Is that a safe assumption in central London?
Yes, usually. Though the more important factors being, is it quiet aircon, and are the window glazings soundproof.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 21:58 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by PhilW
Glenn E. wrote:One requirement: air conditioning. Is that a safe assumption in central London?
Certainly not always present in the budget hotels.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 22:40 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by djewesbury
It should tell you on the booking site. Premier Inns are usually air conditioned.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 22:41 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by djewesbury
And if it's new then it will be. And it will presumably be quiet too.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 23:18 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by DRT
I wouldn't worry too much about air conditioning in London in mid September. It will probably be raining and more than likely quite cold.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 23:19 Mon 14 Jul 2014
by djewesbury
Yes. Heating is what you'll need.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 04:52 Tue 15 Jul 2014
by Glenn E.
Is humidity a problem? I often use AC just to regulate humidity, but if that isn't a problem then we probably have nothing to worry about.

opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 07:33 Tue 15 Jul 2014
by djewesbury
Humidity in London in September? In London? Glenn, is this a wind-up?

More seriously, even if it's warm it won't be too humid. We don't have the stormy climate, at least generally not in September. If we have an Indian summer it'll be dry.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 19:11 Tue 15 Jul 2014
by Glenn E.
Sounds like we're leaning more and more toward the Premier Inn. Now if they'd only finish building it.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 08:22 Sat 19 Jul 2014
by RonnieRoots
If you are still considering alternatives, I can recommend these in London:
- Think Apartments: studio, 1 or 2 bedroom apartments, so have the advantage of a small kitchen, where you can prepare breakfast or a meal if you don't want to dine out. Several locations and affordable. I stayed at their Bermondsey location, which was fine.
- Ibis: always reliable budget accomodation.
- bermondsey Square hotel: designer hotel on Bermondsey square. ok rates at times, but sometimes expensive. I like the area it's in, but it may not be quitw where you want to be
- CitizenM: budget hotel with designer twist. It may or may not be your thing, I quite like the concept

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 10:55 Sat 19 Jul 2014
by jdaw1
SushiNorth did that in London. PM him.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 20:57 Sat 19 Jul 2014
by SushiNorth
jdaw1 wrote:SushiNorth did that in London. PM him.
I highly recommend Marlin -- they did right by us, and provided a 1 BR w/ a nice kitchen. They also have studios, if you are looking for something smaller. We enjoyed the London Bridge location, as it was a stones throw from Borough Market. So we ate well at the market, then toured around London (well, she did, I worked).

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 21:08 Sat 19 Jul 2014
by DRT
SushiNorth wrote:Marlin … a nice kitchen … a stones throw from Borough Market
… and a man who loves cooking meat.

What could go wrong?

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 21:12 Sat 19 Jul 2014
by SushiNorth
DRT wrote:
SushiNorth wrote:Marlin … a nice kitchen … a stones throw from Borough Market
… and a man who loves cooking meat.
What could go wrong?
They had something quite wonderful at Borough Market that we rarely get in the states -- small game. Pheasants, quail, rabbit, etc.

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 22:15 Sat 19 Jul 2014
by DRT
SushiNorth wrote:
DRT wrote:
SushiNorth wrote:Marlin … a nice kitchen … a stones throw from Borough Market
… and a man who loves cooking meat.
What could go wrong?
They had something quite wonderful at Borough Market that we rarely get in the states -- small game. Pheasants, quail, rabbit, etc.
Glenn, pack your BBQ :wink:

Re: opinions on Premier Inns?

Posted: 06:05 Mon 21 Jul 2014
by Glenn E.
DRT wrote:
SushiNorth wrote:
DRT wrote:
SushiNorth wrote:Marlin … a nice kitchen … a stones throw from Borough Market
… and a man who loves cooking meat.
What could go wrong?
They had something quite wonderful at Borough Market that we rarely get in the states -- small game. Pheasants, quail, rabbit, etc.
Glenn, pack your BBQ :wink:
That may be a problem. ~23" diameter, ~48" height.

Would use it as a checked bag, but afraid that sniffer dog might "alert" on it due to bbq residue.