Never in my life have I been so disappointed, angry and dissatisfied with a Premier Inn stay.
After a long, exhausting, and stressful day of travelling, plus my flight being delayed by 2 hours, I eventually arrived at 3am to check-in, courteously ringing from abroad beforehand to let reception staff know I was going to be late, but was still coming.
Upon arrival, I specifically enquired about paying for a late check-out, as I regularly pay an additional £15 fee in your other branches to remain in the room until 2pm. The receptionist advised that a 2pm checkout was not available, but kindly stated that I could stay in the room until 12:30pm at no extra charge, which was greatly appreciated.
After finally settling into my room, I didn’t get to sleep until almost 4:30am. However, at approximately 11am I was abruptly woken by a member of your housekeeping staff who repeatedly and aggressively banged on my door, demanding to know when I would be checking out. I explained to this lady that reception had authorised a 12:30pm check-out for me, at which point she appeared visibly annoyed and stormed off, muttering obscenities under her breath.
Shortly afterwards, I went to get in the shower, and during this time I heard my external door open and then slam violently shut. I found this extremely concerning and wholly unacceptable from a safety and security perspective. I was in the bathroom with the door closed, and was unaware if someone was in my room or not which caused unnecessary anxiety and distress.
Then, to make matters worse, as I was getting dressed and preparing to leave, the same member of staff once again hammered on my door, demanding me to get out immediately before walking away and returning with the manager who informed me that there had been no communication between reception and housekeeping about the extended short half an hour stay.
What was particularly disappointing was that no apology was offered for either the breakdown in staff communication or for the wholly unnecessary, rude, aggressive and intrusive behaviour of the member of housekeeping staff, who, in my opinion shouldn’t be anywhere near a customer service role if that’s how she treats paying guests.
Furthermore, the attempted, unauthorised entry into my occupied room whilst I was in the shower raises serious concerns regarding guest privacy, safety and security. If staff are attempting to enter occupied rooms prior to check-out time, then this is a matter that requires immediate and urgent attention and investigation.
Having since read other reviews describing similar incidents, this seems to be an ongoing occurrence and not an isolated incident. Other reviewers have claimed that housekeeping have been knocking on at 9am, 10am and 11am respectively when the official check out time is at 12pm.
I stay in Premier Inn hotels regularly and have always found the service to be reliable and professional, but without question, this was the worst customer service experience I have ever encountered during any of my stays and it left a very negative impression at the end of what had otherwise been a lovely holiday, and has left me questioning whether I would ever pay to stay in one of your hotels again. I would definitely never stay here ever again and would advise others not to either.