Chelmsford (Boreham) hotel

Review The Premier Inn, Boreham, Chelmsford, Essex Looking back, perhaps the biggest challenge when staying at The Premier Inn in Boreham was negotiating the three roundabouts when leaving the A12 to reach the entrance to the hotel in Main Street, Boreham. Traffic was fast/challenging and so too were the road signs that were numerous and confusing for first timers. On Main Street there’s a sign board directing you to the hotel (and another to the Grange public house which shares the same site/car park). The car park is large (and contains six charging points for EVs). Once in the car park, however, everything about the hotel worked like ‘clockwork’ …. there’s location, friendly staff, a clean room with comfortable bed/facilities, an elevator to the second/third floors and an attractive/convenient café on the ground floor next to reception. These highlights feature in many of the reviews (and result in an overall value hovering around 4 – ‘Excellent/Good’). Our review will be much the same. What more can you ask. There are also a handful of negative reviews on file - reference to rowdy late-night-comers keeping the rest of the corridor awake, issues of dirty towels, reference to the slow WiFi available, etc. Fortunately, we faced none of those issues. Park in the large carpark within the L-shaped design of the hotel and the entrance is to one end of the building. You need to negotiate 3-4 steps up from the pavement to reach the entrance door into reception. There is a slope alternative, but access is not immediately clear to those parking out front – it is better to park around the side of the building to gain access. The woman behind the reception counter was classic – friendly, informative, helpful (two or one e-keys?) and had us processed in <5 minutes. She pointed out the café, elevator and the use of the e-key for accessing the main door should we be out late at night. We had a couple of heavy suitcases, and the elevator was a cinch. You also need the e-key to gain access to the corridors/rooms. Ours was room 128 which overlooked the car park. Later that evening you could count the cars parked - around 30 - so the place was comfortably empty. The room was sufficiently spacious for two – large bed/duvet with headboard to the wall and facing the TV mounted on the wall opposite and above a long desk/bench. At one end was an electric kettle and a small selection of teas/coffees/sugars/sweeteners in a plastic box. There was a heater mounted on the external wall above and to one side of the window. It may have doubled as an air/con, but we did not explore it further – setting the air/blow for 19 degC to bring the bedroom temperature down. The bed was really comfortable. We had a great night’s sleep. The ensuite shower/bath unit/washbasin/toilet was in one corner of the room. Lots of hot water. You need to step up and over a fairly high-sided bath to gain access to the shower head. Then there’s no wall-mounted hand hold at the shower end of the wall, although there is one at the other end of the bath. There was no separate anti-slip mat for use in the bath – only shallow raised stud-markings set in the base of the bath where you stand to shower. The shower unit may challenge some guests - older, less agile, less confident, disabled, etc. people. We had a couple of hours available before catching the train in Central Chelmsford the following mid-morning, so plentiful time in which to enjoy the café in the hotel …. except, there was no light ‘coffee & brioche/cornetto/croissant option’ at reasonable prices. On offer were two ‘all you can eat’ options: 1. Full English (i.e. cooked) breakfast for GBS10.99/person and 2. Full (non-cooked alternatives) cereals, toasts, croissants, spreads/condiments, etc. for GBS8.99/person. Instead, we opted to drive into Chelmsford, park near to the station and find a café nearby and enjoy the pleasure of coffee/brioche on the pavement in the morning sun. Three of us sat outside a 19thC. building next to the rail bridge that had once been a public house. We had the outside seating to ourselves. We paid GBS15.00 for the pleasure of an hour’s exchange ‘putting the world at rights’ before the train arrived. Premier Inn downsides? Well, apart from a handful of relatively small issues already mentioned, there was that first/unfortunate image presented to guests stopping over – delipidated images/peeling paint/unkempt paintwork around the entrance porch/framework/door and, equally, the carpet of cigarette dog-ends (empty packets too) that littered the gardens everywhere within a couple of metres of the entrance door. You can’t smoke within the buildings but, clearly, the smoking zone begins a few centimetres outside the front door. New sign boards? And, where’s that vacuum cleaner when you need it? Peter Steele 17July25

This is the nicest premier inn we stay in, mainly due to the professional and friendly staff. We visit a few times each year and have never had a bad experience. We stayed 2 nights this time and were welcomed by Ann on reception who was friendly and efficient. We had breakfast both mornings. The first morning chef Jo and Jasmine looked after us, the second morning chef Dom and Jasmine. Food was delicious and Jasmine was so cheerful and welcoming to everyone, making a lovely atmosphere in the breakfast area. All guests left with a smile. The housekeeping staff always greeted you with a smile and were very helpful. We have stayed in 4 star hotels around the country and some of the staff aren't nearly as helpful and pleasant as the team at Boreham! We slept well both nights, room was clean and comfortable. Excellent value for money and a good location with free parking which is always a bonus. Highly recommend a stay here. We will be back!

Huge thanks to the staff, the receptionist was ever so kind to us. For example calling me to let me know we had left our baby blanket in the room, and upgrading our breakfast free of charge when there was an issue.😊 the staff at breakfast were also very friendly and helpful. I could hear the guests in the room above me stomping around at night time but I am a light sleeper so I wouldn't generalise this hotel as "noisy". Thanks for a good stay and great food!

Great hotel, big rooms, comfy beds, very clean, amazing breakfast and lovely staff. Very happy customer! I will definitely return!

The hotel was in a perfect location for visiting family as well as getting to some Nature reserves we like. There is plenty of free parking and EV charging, if needed. Although there is no restaurant or bar in the hotel building, there is a large pub next door where breakfast can be served and a good choice of food in the evening. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful, which is always appreciated after a long journey. There room we had was large, clean and comfortable for our 5 night stay.