Britannia is the UK’s worst hotel chain in 2021, according to a new survey by consumer group Which?
The group, which has 61 hotels in 36 regions of the UK, was at the bottom of the rankings for the ninth year in a row.
More than half (51%) of the chain’s guests said they had encountered a problem during their stay at a Britannia hotel in Which?’s survey of 2,600 hotel stays.
The most common complaint was about cleanliness. One guest said, “It was awful. The room was dirty. The bathroom was dirty. The carpet was awful, stains everywhere.”
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Many Britannia hotels are located in historic buildings, such as the Adelphi in Liverpool, which has hosted Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Frank Sinatra, but the maintenance of the buildings was another common problem raised by guests.
One guest said his hotel was “run down” and another said his Britannia was “old, worn and in dire need of refurbishment”. Yet another complained of “small and basic rooms” with “no soap or shampoo” and “rubbish bags outside the main entrance”.
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Which? members rated 24 large and six small hotel chains in ten categories, including cleanliness, customer service, bed comfort, common areas, value for money and whether the chain’s description matches reality.
Britannia scored 49% overall in the survey. While this was the lowest score in the rankings, it was the chain’s best result in years, after receiving slightly improved ratings in the bed comfort and value for money ratings.
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: “Year after year, guests are disappointed by Britannia’s run-down hotels and often dirty rooms. This year the chain’s rating improved slightly – but not enough to push it off the bottom of our rankings.
“Until the company further improves its performance, we recommend guests look elsewhere.”
Mercure came in second to last with 52%. While some guests enjoyed the central location of Mercure hotels, many noted that standards had dropped. One guest commented: “Mercure is not as smart as it used to be – there are some poor quality hotels in their portfolio. However, they can offer good value for money.”
Third from last was Macdonald with 59%, followed by Ibis Budget (60%), Jurys Inn (62%) and Best Western (62%).
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Premier Inn received the highest rating of any major hotel chain at 79%. The hotel received five stars for cleanliness, COVID-19 safety measures and bed comfort, with customers praising the king-size beds and the choice of firm or soft pillows.
The survey also found that room price is not necessarily a good indicator of quality. The average price for a room at Britannia hotels was £99 – 50% more than at Premier Inn, where the average price was £66 ($89.11).
The best small chain was the Hotel du Vin, which received the highest overall score of 80%.
The Hotel du Vin impressed guests with its sparkling clean rooms and powerful monsoon showers for an average of £150 a night.
Pub operators also performed well: the large hotel chain Wetherspoon (JDW.L) achieved 74% and the small chain Young’s 73%.
The best hotel chains in the UK according to Which?:
1. Premier Inn (79%)
2. Crowne Plaza (78%)
3. Sofitel (77%)
4. Radisson Blu (74%)
5. Wetherspoon Hotels (74%)
6. Hilton (70%)
7. Holiday Inn (69%)
8. Old English Inns/Hotels (69%)
9.Ibis (68%)
10. Novotel (68%)
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