Portsmouth Port Solent hotel

Initial check-in was very positive and the room was clean and tidy. I had dinner at the hotel on two nights — the first night was great, both the food and service were excellent. Unfortunately, the second night was a complete let-down. I arrived back at the hotel at 7:15pm whilst away on a work trip, so I hadn’t been able to predict exactly what time I’d be back to book a dinner table in advance. I was told I couldn’t come down at 7:30pm and would need to wait until 7:45pm for dinner, which was fine. However, when I arrived, it took over five minutes for anyone to acknowledge me and seat me, despite the restaurant not being particularly busy. Once seated, I was then left for over 25 minutes without anyone taking a drink or food order, to the point where I had to call someone over myself. Even then, I was left waiting another five minutes before my order was actually taken, with no apology for the delay. Had dinner not already been included as part of my booking, I would have walked out and gone elsewhere to eat. The food itself arrived in good time, but after my dinner plate was cleared, around ten minutes later I was asked whether I had ordered a pudding and what it was — despite having already ordered it earlier with my meal. It was frustrating and gave the impression of very poor communication between staff. The following morning, the restaurant was supposed to open at 6:30am but did not appear to actually open until closer to 6:40am. The coffee machine had no coffee beans and there was no out-of-service sign displayed. It was only after I asked about it that I was told there were no beans available, and I then had to prompt staff to provide coffee sachets instead so I could at least have a coffee before work. The staff member dealing with breakfast and customer queries throughout the morning also came across as dismissive and unhelpful, which only added to the frustration. I also needed to settle my dinner bill from the previous evening and was told I would need to wait for another colleague to arrive because the staff member on duty did not know how to use the till. I explained that I needed to leave for work and could not wait, and was told that otherwise there would simply be “a black mark against my name” for not paying — despite the fact I was actively trying to pay and the issue was not on my side. The tone and attitude during this interaction were unnecessarily poor. In the end, she phoned her colleague who talked her through how to process the payment. Overall, the restaurant service and customer service training appeared extremely poor and inconsistent, especially compared to the positive experience on the first evening. Sadly, based on this experience, I would not stay here again.

a very nice hotel, but it's a bit out of the way for many things. Ideal if you only want the one night before going on a cruise. The staff are a amazing and so helpful. The room was nice and the bed very comfortable with a nice bathroom and good shower. The bar is good on the evenings and breakfast is really good with plenty of choice

Awful check-in experience late at night. Took 1 hour to check in as the night manager Caroline was in the linen room with a non-premier inn employee. My stay was terrible and ruined my night sleep.

The WiFi in the newer rooms is good (compared to normal), but the room was absolutely freezing (11 degrees Celsius) despite no air con on. The shower didn’t drain, so risked flooding the bathroom if we didn’t give it 5-6 minutes to drain (after 2 minutes of showering). Sadly, no one around on reception to complain to.

As Premier Inn continue to make staffing cuts, customers are now widely expected to check themselves in and to print off their own room cards. Premier Inns are operating with minimum staff levels, meaning that the breakfast service is generally incomplete and partially unavailable, and if you are ordering a meal in the evening, you should expect to wait an hour to even place your order. All in all Premier Inn places profit far and away above service. We used to stay in Premier Inns ten to fifteen nights a year, but the service has become so poor as a result of staff shortages, that we have started booking elsewhere.