Pickering Hotel

Fairly average,expensive for average room, room looking a bit tired but our stay was OK will probably get a cottage in future

really good premier inn... good location.. everything you would expect & clean... staff are fantastic too which really helps.

We booked a number of rooms for a large family gathering, celebrating the birthday of the Matriarch! Though a busy (Bank Holiday) weekend several staff members were exceptional, notably Luke and Andrea. But I'm afraid I'm falling out of love with Premier Inns generally. The chain seems to be falling into the same traps as long-gone franchises. Previously 'you knew exactly what to expect' was a fair assessment, but here we had a non-working TV, a ludicrous situation (in every room) where the water temperature decided for itself, even the cold tap running boiling hot for several minutes at a time. I suspect the eco-obsession of every major corporate is the likely culprit. And small things; I don't expect to pay well over £100 per night, without food, to reuse damp towels. Yes, I know I can ask but that's not my idea of service.

This hotel is another one that used to be great, but like the whole chain and the Whitbread group products in general, it's rapidly going downhill. On to the room.... Firstly, the temperature control on the bath tap barely moved, thankfully the water temperature coming out was bearable, but this is not acceptable in a room that cost as much as this to stay. What was totally unacceptable though, was the air conditioning unit. Firstly I had to reset it twice to get it to go to cooling mode, the room was stifling when I arrived. When it started, there was barely anything emitting from the vent. Being an engineer and quite resourceful, I decided to raise the panel in the ceiling to see what condition the filter was in. It was DISGUSTING! It was so clogged up with dust that literally no air could pass through it, choking the whole system to the point that no air was blowing. I removed it, cleaned it in the bath, and after that it worked perfectly. I have to ask why on earth there isn't regular checks of these by maintenance staff?! This is a health hazard if nothing else. Breakfast was, once again, very poor. The food on the hot buffet had clearly been out for ages, everything was dried up and looking pretty pathetic, from the sausages and bacon (which was swimming in grease), to the sorry looking fried eggs, and scrambled eggs that had been there so long they'd gone hard and dry on the top. Premier Inn's used to be such good value, but now they are shocking! Heard yesterday that Whitbread are cutting 3000 jobs, it's no surprise to me really with the state of the hotels. This stay cost £124 for one night, midweek, outside of school holidays. I could have stayed in a Travelodge for a better experience for less than half this. If you don't improve, the whole chain is going to decline to the point of no return. Do better.

We arrived sat afternoon I accidentally left my room card in my room with family I asked the woman on reception to open the corridor in which she refused I even asked if she would walk with me to my room she refused again ! I get its security but come on ! I had only been checked in 20 minutes. So I asked a lady who politely opened the for me ( a customer ) the women on reception had a disgusting attitude we will not return - just as well we had a lovely lad serving us for our tea that made the experience a bit better