Portsmouth City Centre hotel

The hotel is in need of some serious refurbishment in several areas and someone made responsible for inspecting the rooms before allowing them to be used by paying guests.

Stayed in a premier plus room on the 5th floor. Fantastic, no complaints, lovely staff and great breakfast. Can’t hear the trains or any road noise as there is secondary glazing (not sure if it’s everywhere in the hotel), only 1 lift working but that was manageable. Overall clean and tidy and would not hesitate staying here again in the future.

I've trusted Premier Inn for long while and many of my favourite places to stay is Premier Inn, yes the food is quite marginally overpriced and y'know there's a few marks here and there, but this particular hotel was a bit sub-standard for me and I probably should have read some of the reviews first before just booking. Pros - Was the cheapest by far on price of staying there, there was air-conditioning which for the hottest Summer we've had so far - ideal, fantastic. Bar was spacious, room was familiar and the layout pretty much IDENTIICAL to any double room we've stayed in previously. Short distance from the Cascades Shopping Centre, walking distance from Sainsburys, Tesco next to the building itself, train station next door with absolutely soundproof double glazing (so you can't hear a peep from the train, which you can see from your room) and superb walking distance from the hotel, to the Harbour, Dockyard, Cathedrals, Gunwharf Quays and even the Wetherspoons just in the Square. Staff were lovely, but the cons add up significantly - and it's such a pity, because it was bordering on a good review - which is now an average one. Cons - There was no flushing toilet for 24 hours in our room, which some individuals and families had also mentioned to staff with no sanitation facilities and some with no water in their room - which is a huge no in my book. Not even a mention of possibly moving us or the other family on the same floor - at all - we had to see what happens and see if they fix it. They did give us complimentary breakfast, but I can pay for my own breakfast elsewhere - but I do require a room that has sanitation, and hygiene facilities. I don't want to be filling up a glass / bucket of water to manually flush the toilet (or not in the case) because it goes beyond the line. Second con - one working lift - there are two lifts and one wasn't working and it looked like it wasn't going to be fixed at all, so now you may have to walk your luggage up the stairs, or just wait half an hour for the lift and you have to hope that no-one is in the lift, so that you can get in and they can get out. The down button on the lift does not work if you're not on the first floor, if you're on the 4th floor, you have to press the up button first trying to go downstairs, as the down button doesn't work on the 4th Floor. We told the Manager that the button doesn't work and she didn't know. Third - Price for food is waaaaaaay overpriced, and you could be waiting a while until you are served in the group to get food - there is only one chef and it seems like one cooker because if you order things in groups, you will be waiting sometime for it. I waited about 40 minutes for a Beer Battered Fish and Chips and it was a haddock piece with breadcrumbs on it, with chips, but with the smallest amount of mushy peas. My husband had the Katsu Curry, and it had some lovely rice, but random nuggets of chicken (kids nuggets) with a katsu sauce on it, That was £35 with a drink. Why is it £35?! Also we ordered after a table of four people had ordered 15 minutes before us and we got our food first - and they were waiting another 30 mins. Fourth - The breakfast is again overpriced - and you're waiting for the food to come out - so if three or four families are coming down for breakfast with an empty stomach and you want sausages, eggs, beans, bacon, hash browns etc, you'll be waiting a bit to get them, and when they are ready, it's all hands on deck! You're racing with other individuals who want breakfast like you do, at 8.30am, bleary eyed and wanting to chow down on that breakfast and you've got half an egg and half a quarter of a hash brown to whet your appetite - and the food's gone. Again only one chef doing everything it seems - but it may need to be fastened up a little as people are queuing up for breakfast and it's far from ready - which for hungry families - is a little disappointing, especially when you want to get the day started, And fifth - Well this probably isn't one, but if you're expecting draft beers, there's none - it's all bottled and canned and there's no draft, and no pints either, so it maybe slightly less than you'd maybe expecting - you want to go somewhere else for a drink or if you're happy with a few small bottles, then that's fine as well. Overall, I don't think, we would stay here again, lovely location and great for being nearby to lots of amenities and the staff were great - but there was too many problems when we stayed and for other families too and that's not ideal for people who want to visit Portsmouth and (they've never been) and want to explore, or they just want to revisit places again and visit friends and family. It's just not leading a great example - different season, different day - but hope that this Premier Inn will improve with time.

Prem Plus room. Dirty mugs, no hand soap, card switch for electrics faulty & toilets not flushing just some of the issues

Booked into the room but toilet took over an hour to refill Reported to reception only to be told it’s an ongoing issue. Ended up getting a pint glass and using tap water to flush the toilet It’s not what you should have to do paying their prices On check out two days later problem not even addresses let alone fixed… wonder what Lenny Henry would say