UK's best and worst hotels revealed by Which? and some are filthy

28 October 2023 , 11:55

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UK's best and worst hotels revealed by Which? and some are filthy (Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The UK's best and worst hotels revealed by Which? and some are downright filthy.

Huge hotel chain Britannia came bottom of the listing and had the dubious honour of being named the worst among larger hotel groups. It has taken this title for the 11th year in a row was at the foot of survey carried out annually by the consumer champion quizzed more than 5000 people in a questionnaire who gave their scores for 28 large hotel chains.

They were also asked their opinion on nine small hotel chains in 10 areas and were quizzed on their thoughts on bed comfort the breakfast, offered and the hotel's customer service and how it matched the description provided. The value for money given by each outlet was also measured. This gave an overall customer score where they were asked about satisfaction whether they would recommend the stopover.

Britannia, with an average room price £82 a room per night, picked up a rating of just one-star rating for its bedrooms (Birmingham Mail)

It resulted in Britannia, with an average room price £82 a room per night picking up a rating of just one-star rating for its bedrooms, bathrooms, Wi-Fi quality. It scored just two stars in all other categories including cleanliness. Guests were also encouraged to leave a comment and one customer responded with the comment: "Awful… so filthy that we cleaned the whole accommodation ourselves".

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Boutique operator Hotel Indigo and Hub by Premier Inn, by contrast, both secured wins in a tie for first place. They each won Which? Recommended Provider status after securing a customer satisfaction score of 77%. Hotel Indigo impressed with its "stylish" boutique offering and total of 18 UK hotels Which? found were housed in historic buildings, Plaudits were also earned for its "unusual" and "quirky" decoration the character of accommodation. This meant it picked up five and four-star ratings which fell to three stars on value for money.

Travelodge secured a mediocre joint 15th place in the analysis (Getty Images)

Hub by Premier Inn just pipped its parent brand into second place with 75%. The boutique hotel chain which has outlets in Edinburgh and London, was found to have "excellent city-centre locations and facilities, but with compact rooms - some completely windowless". Ahead of Britannia, with joint scores of 56% were Travelodge and Mercure which secured a mediocre joint 15th place. Mercure received praise for its conveniently located hotels and ‘excellent service’ but only secured two and three-star ratings. Travelodge, meanwhile, scored low on value for money with just two stars for a cheap £79 a night on average.

Mercure received praise for its conveniently located hotels and ‘excellent service’ but only secured two and three-star ratings (Ayrshire Post)

Britannia was ranked bottom and came 16th in the Which? analysis. With more than 60 hotels across the UK many have incredible histories and heritage. But the consumer champion said Britannia hotels now have a faint glimpse of "faded elegance"'. The watchdog also described outlets as being "like something out of the sixties" and one said they would never stay there again.

Graeme Murray