Premier Inn Alnwick

Whilst the building and the room were nice, and the hotel was decently located on the edge of town, the service was poor. It felt like a hotel run by teenagers. The front door features a 'pride' poster. If only the staff had taken pride in their work. Perhaps it is difficult to recruit in Alnwick. We checked in using our QR code at the terminals in reception, then went to the bar to meet our friends. This is where it all started to go wrong. There was nobody about. We stood at the bar. Then stood some more. Other guests arrived, similarly hoping to buy a drink. This was late afternoon on a sunny Thursday: surely a time for a hotel to prioritise bar service? Not at the Premier Inn Alnwick. One staff member stood at the check in desk, where she spent more than ten minutes checking in a single couple. She could clearly see the small and growing crowd of people standing at the bar. We were not ten metres away from her. Did she acknowledge us, or say, "I'll be right with you", or "I'll call a colleague to help you"? No. Some time passed. A staff member walked out of the kitchen and behind the bar. At last! we thought. No, hopes dashed again. She scurried towards the tap and filled a plastic glass with water. Then she turned to us and said, "I can't serve you, I work in the kitchen". Did she offer to find somebody to serve us? No! Eventually (the group of strangers at the bar had bonded quite well by this time over their shared experience of Premier Inn ineptitude, and the staff member at check-in can't have failed to hear the laughter) I approached the check in desk and asked whether anyone was available to sell us a drink from the bar. The girl at the desk appeared to be flustered and said, "I'll try to find somebody". She briefly looked behind a door in reception, then went back to the check in desk and ignored us. The worst thing was, all it would have taken was a smile, a pre-emptive apology for the wait and the offer to find somebody to, er, work on the bar before guests had to approach her. Isn't that hospitality 101? Be welcoming and polite to guests. Eventually, after the extended check-in, she wandered over to the bar and informed us that she was 'stressed' and that it wasn't her fault that we had to wait. Who does that in a professional hospitality setting? We eventually got a drink after a very long wait. Do Premier Inn want guests to use the bar, or not? The evidence suggests the latter. The girl who eventually served us said that she was going to have a break because of her stress, and would ask the hotel manager to find somebody to work on the bar. I said, "well, when you find him, I'd like a word with him please". She clearly didn't pass that on (teenage behaviour again...perhaps her stress levels couldn't take it). We were sitting in reception and a man who was clearly the manager breezed past us several times, ignoring us. How anyone could preside over that level of chaos without embarrassment I can't imagine. It's clear tha

Comfortable room . Clean and well provided with refreshments . Friendly approachable staff . Good buffet breakfast with good variety of options . We had an evening meal the first night and restaurant was very busy and service a bit slow . Our chicken curry was lukewarm . Parking available on site . Good position for visiting Alnwick if you have transport . It’s on an industrial estate

New build hotel on the outskirts of the town. Nothing else within walking distance. Really poor design and build. Dining room too small for number of guests. Only one checking in desk so long 3pm checking in queue. Staff were average/ok but constrained by corporate decisions and procedures.