KM
Katie Murray
Sep 10, 2026
Two nights, three days, and exactly the reset I was craving after a busy stretch running my own tech startup in London. This was my first ever Premier Inn stay, and it's set the bar (pun intended) considerably high.
The hotel itself is new, immaculately clean, and about as close to the seafront as you could possibly get. I paid a little extra for a Premier Plus sea-view room, and it was worth every penny and then some. Check-in was seamless - a touch-screen kiosk assigns your room key to a physical card in seconds, no queue, no friction. As a neurodivergent solo traveller, that kind of zero-effort, zero-performance check-in genuinely matters, and the security (needing your key card to access lifts and toilets from the main lobby) was reassuring too.
The room itself blew me away. Spotless, thoughtfully laid out, plenty of space to store luggage properly. A little purple accent light in the bathroom (on-brand and a nice touch), Baylis & Harding toiletries with a morning scent and a lavender one for bedtime, a genuinely incredible shower, and the bed - the cotton sheets alone nearly talked me into extending my stay. Still water and sparkling in the fridge, a Nespresso-style coffee machine with four pods provided (topped up generously by staff when I asked for more), and clear, sensible recycling signage by the bin. The seafront view from up high, gulls gliding past the window, the sound of the sea through the double glazing lulling me to sleep - genuinely stunning.
On staffing: I know from experience (having worked in hospitality and hotels myself) what it's like to be running short-staffed and still trying to hold a standard. One morning I came down to get food and found the place quietly stretched - Dave, the maintenance team member, was brilliant, calm energy throughout, and when I asked about food, duty manager Zak came straight out from handling another call to help, apologised that the kitchen wasn't staffed that morning, and generously offered me free pastries and cookies from what was available. Genuinely appreciated the honesty and the gesture, especially given how stretched he clearly was.
I ate out both evenings instead - highly recommend The Waverley for fish and chips (a short walk north up the seafront) and Primo for pizza, both excellent. Brought leftovers back to the room for a quiet night in with a film, which is a rare little luxury I don't get to enjoy often.
Zak deserves a special mention: I had a work meeting running 11am–1pm on checkout day, and when I went to ask about a late checkout the day before, he already knew what I needed before I'd finished the sentence and sorted it instantly! That kind of frictionless flexibility made a genuine difference to my stress levels while trying to focus on work. There was a small mix-up where the note about my late checkout hadn't reached housekeeping in time, so Monika (the cleaner) knocked partway through my meeting - completely understandable given how busy the team clearly was, and she was lovely and apologetic when we crossed paths afterwards. I made sure to thank her for her patience, since I was her last room of the day.
Quiet, spotless, thoughtfully run, and staffed by genuinely kind, hardworking people even when clearly stretched thin. Exactly what I needed, and exactly why I chose to get away in the first place. Thank you to the whole team.