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Home » Britannia Named Worst UK Hotel Chain For 11th Consecutive Year

Britannia Named Worst UK Hotel Chain For 11th Consecutive Year

Britannia has been named as the worst hotel chain in the UK for the 11th year in a row.

The Cheshire-headquartered company, which reported record profits earlier this year, again came bottom in the annual Which? rankings with score of just 48%. It was also given a one star rating for its bedrooms, bathrooms and quality of the wi-fi, and scored no higher than two stars in any of the remaining categories – including cleanliness.

One respondent said their hotel was “awful… so filthy that we cleaned the whole accommodation ourselves”. Another lamented their stay was “like something out of the sixties”, while another guest concluded they’d “never stay in a Britannia again”.

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Earlier this year, BusinessLive reported that the chain racked up record profits during its latest financial period. Britannia Hotels posted pre-tax profits of £33.3m for the 12 months to March 31, 2022, after falling to a loss of £9.5m in the prior year.

Accounts filed with Companies House also showed the business achieved a turnover of £117.8m, up from £38.3m. The chain’s average number of employees during the financial year increased from 1,765 to 1,818 having been slashed by almost 1,000 in the prior 12 months.

Britannia Metropole Hotel in Blackpool, Lancashire. Photo by James Maloney/LancsLive In the latest Which? rankings, Travelodge and Mercure placed just ahead of Britannia with joint scores of 56%. Though some customers praised Mercure for its conveniently located hotels and “excellent service”, it nonetheless secured a run of two and three star ratings, including two stars for the quality of its bedrooms, bathrooms, and communal areas, with customers criticising the chain’s “dingy”, and “tired” feel. With respondents reporting they paid £106 a night on average, it scored just two stars for value for money.

Travelodge similarly fell down on its value for money offer, scoring just two stars despite being among the cheapest brands in the survey, at £79 a night on average. Across the remaining categories it received a mixed bag of one, two and three star ratings – including two stars for its bedrooms, bathrooms, and breakfast, and just one star for Wi-Fi.

One guest described their room as having “an NHS hospital aesthetic” while another described the hotel as “dated and tired”. Others were more positive though, reporting they had a “good overall experience”.

Its ratings come in sharp contrast to budget competitor Days Inn, which despite also having an average price per night of £79, found itself higher up the charts with a middling customer score of 65% – and four stars for value for money. Customers described it as “cheap and cheerful” with “clean and quiet” rooms.

The Britannia Hotel, Portland Street, Manchester (Image: MEN) In the small chains category, Brend Collection, Coaching Inn Group and Inn Collection Group all achieved Which? Recommended Provider Status.

Sharing the joint top spot in the large chains category with a customer score of 77% are boutique chain Hotel Indigo, owned by IHG, and Premier Inn’s satellite brand, Hub by Premier Inn, both of which were awarded the Which? Recommended Provider status.

Hotel Indigo stood out to respondents for its “stylish” boutique offering, with many of its 18 UK hotels housed in historic buildings. Customers praised the chain’s “unusual” and “quirky” décor, noting the unique character and atmosphere of the brand’s accommodation. It scored a clutch of five and four star ratings – dropping to three stars only on value for money.

Meanwhile, Hub by Premier Inn narrowly eclipsed its parent brand Premier Inn, which came a close second place, with a score of 75%. Premier Inn also secured Which? Recommended Provider status, and was rated five stars for its bed comfort, and four stars for its bedrooms, customer service, cleanliness, value for money and how well descriptions matched the reality.

In third place was budget pub chain Wetherspoons with a customer score of 73%. With respondents reporting they paid £84 a night on average, it is among the cheaper options in the survey – and scored four stars for value for money.

It scored three stars for bed comfort, cleanliness, customer service and how well description matched the reality. In contrast, rival pub chain Old English/Greene King Inns found itself in the bottom three with a score of 60 per cent – despite a higher reported room cost, at £103 a night on average.