Guildford North (A3) hotel

I’ve stayed at many at many Premier Inns and this has got to be up there as one of the worst. I had booked a plus room but was told there was none left and the only thing left was a disabled room. Okay not a problem one night no problem. The lady on the desk was okay by the way. As soon as I walked in to the room I didn’t like it - it was freezing. It was warm outside but the A/C was cranked up so I turned that off immediately. At first glance my immediate thought was it was grubby but hey it was for one night I could live with it. Went down to the bar and ordered a pint and thought I would sit outside and peruse the menu for my meal. The outside furniture was grubby and the area wasn’t very pleasant to sit in. Then I noticed black ants crawling all over the seats and tables so I hurriedly drank my drink and went in to order food. I went in and stood at the waiting area for at least 5 minutes nobody approached me so I went to the bar and asked and she said that there should be somebody somewhere. Eventually a girl showed me to a table near to where the till is and they all congregate. I didn’t like the table it was in a dingy corner but I decided not to say anything. Whilst having a final look at the menu I quickly realised there was a bit of an insect problem inside as well there were flies everywhere the little annoying ones that fly around your face and silently end up in your drink. Then all few bigger ones started buzzing around. I managed to splat one with my menu on the wall as I was convinced that once my meal arrived it wouldn’t leave me alone. The girl took my order and I thought i need to move so I had a quick look round the rest of the restaurant and there wasn’t really anywhere unless I was prepared to be really close to somebody else. Why she had seated me in this dingy area that didn’t even feel like being part of the restaurant I have no idea. The food arrived and initially looked okay. However the fried eggs were watery and under cooked, the steak was tasteless clearly not seasoned and essentially inedible it was that tough so left most of it. My battle with the flies continued as I hastily eat my meal whilst having to endure the staff only a few feet away talking loudly about their own things not one person came over to ask me if my food was okay. Once finished back to my room did a bit of work and thought early night been along day and we can put this experience behind me or so I thought. Not sure what woke me up but at first it sounded like rain on the window outside so I lay there trying to figure out could it possibly be rain we are in the midst of a heatwave? The longer I listened the louder it got until it became more of a scratching sound. I laid there intently trying to make sense of what it could be. The noise was coming from the window area of the room. After a few minutes I realised it could only be one thing and it was definitely in the room. I whispered to myself ‘I can’t ……. Believe this’ I then flicked the light on and jumped out of bed. There was a chair in the corner next to the window but I couldn’t see anything so I walked to the window and pulled back the curtain as I did I swear I saw something tiny and black bolt from under the curtain and under the bed. I nearly died of shock. It was without doubt a mouse. Now I’m a bloke of a certain age that’s been around a bit so ordinarily a little mouse wouldn’t bother me but under the circumstances obviously I’m thinking i cant spend the rest of the night in here. I looked at my watch it was 11.30 what was I going to do? So I got fully dressed packed all my stuff and told myself I was going to reception to request another room and if they didn’t have one I was going to look for another hotel. So fully dressed I thought let me find this thing just to be 100% sure. So I gradually move the bed, lifted the mattress so I could lift the divan and searched the room - nothing. I started to question myself but I was 100% convinced on what I had seen. I searched everywhere even separating the divan as it was joined in the middle to see if it had got in there but again nothing. So the started trying to work out where it could have gone. There was only one place! In the bathroom the toilet had a wooden cistern behind it and there was a gap between the floor and the cistern just wide enough for a mouse to squeeze in to it had to be there. Because it was a disabled room the bathroom had a wooden sliding door which unfortunately had a gap at the bottom of it so I had to make sure my little friend wasn’t going to come back in to the room and surprise me again so I got a towel and stuffed it along the length of the gap at the base of the door then reluctantly climbed back in to bed. I later realised that the scratching I heard was consistent with something climbing the back of the curtains on the plastic lining. I bet with windows being left open due to the heatwave being on the ground floor and backing on to some woodland that a mouse had cloned through that window and was probably trying to get back out. Either that or they have a more inherent problem which would not be a surprise as the place needs a thorough deep clean and face lift. I thought do I report this when checking out but of course there was nobody there. A very dissatisfied never to return customer!

Great location. Quiet, clean rooms, air-conditioned with a comfortable bed. Great service from the breakfast staff. Slow check-in, due to a sudden influx of guests at the same time. Price was a little higher than expected as all hotels in the area were, due to demand for rooms from visitors to the Goodwood Festival of Speed (the Guildford cycle race the same day may also have been a factor).

Sitting in the beer garden, I look up to see fascia boards rotted away and hanging off the roof eaves. This about sums up Premier Inn North Guilford - tired and passed its best. Rooms at the Inn are dingy, lacking adequate daylight and maintenance, whilst the decor. is well overdue for upgrade. Not up to modern day standard. Hotel policy now appears not to provide room cleaning service unless guests specifically ask for it. With no-one at the desk during my morning's 10 minute wait, I left a note on the counter only to find upon my return that evening, the towels had been replaced (although one was already dirty) but there was no replacement of consumable items such as tea and coffee. Dirty cups were left and not replaced - oh and the bed was unmade too! Premier Inn has gradually hiked room prices over a period to the extent the tariffs are no longer in the budget range. Consequently guest feel more entitled to expect better attention to their needs and comfort. Nest door at the Beefeater, you can't order a meal after 8.45pm and the bar closes at 9.45pm!

I had a very disappointing stay at the Premier Inn North Guildford. Unfortunately, our room was in the annex building directly next to the entrance door. Our entire night’s sleep was repeatedly disturbed by an exit door that slammed shut every time someone used it. It was obvious that the door closer wasn’t working properly, as the door didn’t close gently—it slammed with an incredibly loud bang that echoed through the corridor. This happened throughout the night and into the early morning, making it almost impossible to get a decent night’s sleep. A hotel’s primary purpose is to provide guests with a comfortable place to rest, and on this occasion, Premier Inn failed badly. This is clearly a maintenance issue that should have been identified and repaired long before guests were affected. I expected much better from Premier Inn, especially given its “Good Night Guarantee.” Instead, we left feeling tired, frustrated, and disappointed. I would not recommend staying in the annex building until this issue has been resolved. Upon raising this complaint with the Premier Inn customer “don’t care” service this is message we got in return “ I'm sorry your sleep was disturbed. As this wasn't reported during the stay, the hotel wasn't given the opportunity to investigate or resolve the issue at the time. Under our Good Night Guarantee, concerns need to be raised while you're still in residence where possible. As a result, I'm unable to approve a refund on this occasion. I apologise for the disappointment caused” So we should have got out of bed at 3.00 am , changed into suitable clothing and walked 200 meters outside to the main reception to see what could be done to stop the door from slamming.

Great Location for Stoke Park and that's where the Good comments end. Grubby room in what felt like a dingy basement, I kept my shoes on as the carpets in the rooms and restaurant are filthy. The whole place is tired, tatty and as I've said grubby. Not the standard that I am used to staying with this chain. We specifically chose this hotel for its proximity to Stoke Park. Arriving back to the hotel at 10.00 pm on Sunday to find the bar closed, with no explanation, was the icing on the cake. Premier inn, either re-fit this hotel or sell it, its damaging your Brand.