Peterborough City Centre hotel

When we arrived there was no one on reception. Then a man without any uniform (just black tshirt) walked past said hello and went straight into the back office room, which felt a bit rude. When we asked if our room was available earlier he was abrupt and not very pleasant in his response. My partner had a free parking voucher on her university app which he hardly looked at and said no the car parks nothing to do with him and we had to pay (the extremely expensive prices I might add). When we returned later in the day we asked to use the toilet which a lady kindly let us use. When I visited the men’s there was puke in the sink and all up the mirror. I went and told her about it to which she just sighed and said that someone had told her told her about it already - why hadn’t she delt with it then??? When we arrived back at 3pm check in time, our room still wasn’t ready and were made to wait another 10/15 minutes. In the bar and on the staffs T-shirts there is plenty adverts to the 2 for £12 cocktails. When I asked staff what cocktails were included he told me he doesn’t have any and that branch doesn’t even do cocktails. Terrible service and not one you would expect at premier inn.

Avoid if You Value Transparency – Premier Inn Peterborough Central. Yes, the room was decent and yes, the bar staff were lovely. But all of that is completely overshadowed by the outright scam that is the parking charge. £17 to leave a car overnight in Peterborough — PETERBOROUGH! — is beyond laughable. It’s nearly 40% of the cost of the room itself (£45). Imagine booking what you think is a budget friendly hotel, only to be stung with a hidden extra that’s almost half the cost of your stay. That’s not hospitality, that’s daylight robbery. To make it worse, this isn’t made clear at booking. There was no warning, no obvious signage, no staff guidance. I arrived late with my family, exhausted, only to find I’d essentially been trapped into paying this extortionate fee. There was a tiny laminated A4 sheet about a “£2 discount,” but it was so badly placed it might as well have been invisible. Opposite the hotel? Cheaper parking options that nobody bothered to mention. Convenient for Premier Inn, terrible for guests. I don’t care if it’s a third-party car park — Premier Inn chooses to send its paying customers there without warning. That’s on them. It feels dishonest, exploitative, and leaves you wondering what other corners are being cut. The sad thing is that the staff I encountered in the bar were great, and the room did the job. But when your parking costs almost half the price of your stay, and you’re deliberately kept in the dark about it until you’re stuck, it ruins the entire experience. If you’re thinking of booking here: don’t. Unless you enjoy being fleeced the moment you arrive, look elsewhere.

Good room, AC was pretty good and bed fairly comfortable. Pillows a little hard for me personally but not a major problem.

The hotel is fine, clean throughout. The bed/pillows were comfortable and there was air-conditioning in the room which was helpful as it was very hot outside. There are plenty of plugs in the room, some with USB ports. There was a hairdryer, though they might want to clean the dust/hair filter to stop it conking out every 30 seconds. Once I had done that it worked continually fine. Didn't eat there, but it looked busy both breakfast and dinner times. Staff were helpful and pleasant which was good as the welcome kiosk wasn't working. Additional tea bags/coffee and milk sachets were available in reception, which was nice. Now the bad. Using the car park feels like you have run across the mafia who need you to launder money. £17 a day is quite steep when you are already paying for the accommodation. A reasonable charge is fine, but you can park for less in town for 24 hours. Why do they feel the need to fleece guests for something they 'have' to have. Are they penalising those who are holiday to force them to travel by train? If so, just put more rooms where the car park is and be done with it. Make everyone come on foot and stop the extortion of drivers - both electric and fossil fuel. I've not tried it on a motorbike, but I bet they will charge the same £17 (in 2025) as for a car. I might have eaten there too, but I needed to save my money for the parking!

Whilst I have not stayed at this hotel my family have for business. When I attempted to ring reception on 03330150102 staff simply ignore the phone for hours. There is no communication available with reception staff unless you stand at the desk in person. An automated voice message continually cut me off after hours of trying.