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Britannia and Mercure have been ranked the UK’s worst hotel chains after being rated poorly for categories such as cleanliness, bathrooms and value for money.
It is the ninth consecutive year that Britannia has come bottom of the pile in the annual survey by consumer group Which?.
The chain has 61 hotels across Britain, including Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel and Scarborough’s Grand Hotel.
It received an average customer score of only 49%.
More than half (51%) of Britannia guests surveyed said they ran into a problem during their stay, with cleanliness being the most common issue.
The chain was rated one star out of five for bathrooms, and two stars for seven other categories such as cleanliness, customer service and value for money.
One customer said: “It was terrible. The room was dirty. The bathroom was dirty. The carpet was terrible, stains everywhere.”
Others complained about hotels being “run into the ground” and “in need of a drastic makeover”.
The average price paid of those surveyed for a one-night stay was £99.
Mercure’s average customer score was only slightly better at 52%, with many guests observing that its standards have fallen.
One consumer said the chain’s hotels are “not as smart as they used to be” and it has “some poor quality properties”.
It was rated just two stars for cleanliness, rooms, bathrooms, communal areas and value for money.
Mercure guests surveyed paid an average of £114 for one night.
Premier Inn with an average price per night of £66, was the best performing large hotel chain with a customer score of 79%.
It was topped by the best small chain, Hotel du Vin, which scored 80%.
Its guests paid an average of £150 for one night.
The research features 24 large hotel chains and six small ones.
A total of 2,371 members of the public and Which? members who stayed in a UK hotel in the 15 months to October 2021 were surveyed.
This included 57 who had visited a Britannia hotel and 73 who had spent the night at a Mercure property.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “Year after year, guests are let down by Britannia’s run-down hotels and often dirty rooms.
“This year saw some slight improvements to the chain’s score – but not enough to drag it off the bottom of our rankings.
“Until the company ups its game further we would urge guests to look elsewhere.
“The impressive, budget-friendly Premier Inn is our pick of the large chains, and Hotel du Vin offers high quality stays in interesting locations.”
A spokesman for Mercure said: “We are surprised to see our position in this survey.
“It does not reflect the high standard of guest experience which we strive for, and we will take action to address these comments.
“The experience and wellbeing of our guests at each and every property is our highest priority.”
It added that it was ranked “amongst the top mid-scale brands” in the latest annual hotel guest survey by research consultancy BDRC.
“The chain has 61 hotels across Britain, including Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel and Scarborough’s Grand Hotel.”
I feel dirty just reading that. What kind of people are staying at Scarborough’s Grand Hotel?
As bad as they sound, I’d prefer to hear the best ones so I know where I *should* be booking
In over a decade of 90% working on the road, Mercure remains the only hotel brand I’ve ever just outright abandoned. I’ve stayed in some right shitholes, but always just filed it in the “Don’t go back” category, but I stayed in a Mercure and it was just the worst place I’ve ever been.
I couldn’t even get a refund because I couldn’t track down somebody to speak to, so in the end I gave up,packed my bags, left my key on the empty reception desk and just left.
Never stayed in a Brittania, but a mate did for an evening of drinking and we started in his room and it was also fucking dire
A lot of Britannia hotels are survivors of a different age and the chain seemed to want to attract a nostalgic customer. That’s fine until the pensioners they targeted actually spend less every year, even if there’s more of them than ever.
One day someone with good intentions will buy Scarborough’s Grand, and the whole town will be so much happier for it.
Oh god, the Liverpool Adelphi was notorious when I was at uni there and that was twenty fuckin years ago *shudder*
We have a Britannia in Coventry. Its reputation is awful, and unfortunately, the actual physical building is a blot on the city centre too. That’s some achievement in Coventry. It’s not some beautiful Victorian building but an example of brutalist architecture. Not only should the hotel close, but the whole building needs to be demolished. I’m not sure what powers the local council have to get rid of it, should they choose to do so. That’s unlikely as it’s now partially filled with asylum seekers etc now. I recently had a significant birthday party, and some guests booked a room there. It was absolutely disgusting, and they ran away first thing in the morning, not bothering with the breakfast they’d paid for. My mate has been a civilian contractor in war zones in the Middle East, including Afghanistan, and he said it’s the worst hotel he’s ever stayed in. How it hasn’t been shut by environmental health is anyone’s guess. The owners of this chain should be ashamed of themselves, they’re utter shitheads. They don’t just ruin tourists’ visits, they ruin the urban landscape too. The Britannia is right next to our two cathedrals, which are Coventry’s main attractions.
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For those who rather not visit the site, article contents:
Britannia and Mercure have been ranked the UK’s worst hotel chains after being rated poorly for categories such as cleanliness, bathrooms and value for money.
It is the ninth consecutive year that Britannia has come bottom of the pile in the annual survey by consumer group Which?.
The chain has 61 hotels across Britain, including Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel and Scarborough’s Grand Hotel.
It received an average customer score of only 49%.
More than half (51%) of Britannia guests surveyed said they ran into a problem during their stay, with cleanliness being the most common issue.
The chain was rated one star out of five for bathrooms, and two stars for seven other categories such as cleanliness, customer service and value for money.
One customer said: “It was terrible. The room was dirty. The bathroom was dirty. The carpet was terrible, stains everywhere.”
Others complained about hotels being “run into the ground” and “in need of a drastic makeover”.
The average price paid of those surveyed for a one-night stay was £99.
Mercure’s average customer score was only slightly better at 52%, with many guests observing that its standards have fallen.
One consumer said the chain’s hotels are “not as smart as they used to be” and it has “some poor quality properties”.
It was rated just two stars for cleanliness, rooms, bathrooms, communal areas and value for money.
Mercure guests surveyed paid an average of £114 for one night.
Premier Inn with an average price per night of £66, was the best performing large hotel chain with a customer score of 79%.
It was topped by the best small chain, Hotel du Vin, which scored 80%.
Its guests paid an average of £150 for one night.
The research features 24 large hotel chains and six small ones.
A total of 2,371 members of the public and Which? members who stayed in a UK hotel in the 15 months to October 2021 were surveyed.
This included 57 who had visited a Britannia hotel and 73 who had spent the night at a Mercure property.
Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: “Year after year, guests are let down by Britannia’s run-down hotels and often dirty rooms.
“This year saw some slight improvements to the chain’s score – but not enough to drag it off the bottom of our rankings.
“Until the company ups its game further we would urge guests to look elsewhere.
“The impressive, budget-friendly Premier Inn is our pick of the large chains, and Hotel du Vin offers high quality stays in interesting locations.”
A spokesman for Mercure said: “We are surprised to see our position in this survey.
“It does not reflect the high standard of guest experience which we strive for, and we will take action to address these comments.
“The experience and wellbeing of our guests at each and every property is our highest priority.”
It added that it was ranked “amongst the top mid-scale brands” in the latest annual hotel guest survey by research consultancy BDRC.
“The chain has 61 hotels across Britain, including Liverpool’s Adelphi Hotel and Scarborough’s Grand Hotel.”
I feel dirty just reading that. What kind of people are staying at Scarborough’s Grand Hotel?
As bad as they sound, I’d prefer to hear the best ones so I know where I *should* be booking
In over a decade of 90% working on the road, Mercure remains the only hotel brand I’ve ever just outright abandoned. I’ve stayed in some right shitholes, but always just filed it in the “Don’t go back” category, but I stayed in a Mercure and it was just the worst place I’ve ever been.
I couldn’t even get a refund because I couldn’t track down somebody to speak to, so in the end I gave up,packed my bags, left my key on the empty reception desk and just left.
Never stayed in a Brittania, but a mate did for an evening of drinking and we started in his room and it was also fucking dire
A lot of Britannia hotels are survivors of a different age and the chain seemed to want to attract a nostalgic customer. That’s fine until the pensioners they targeted actually spend less every year, even if there’s more of them than ever.
One day someone with good intentions will buy Scarborough’s Grand, and the whole town will be so much happier for it.
Oh god, the Liverpool Adelphi was notorious when I was at uni there and that was twenty fuckin years ago *shudder*
We have a Britannia in Coventry. Its reputation is awful, and unfortunately, the actual physical building is a blot on the city centre too. That’s some achievement in Coventry. It’s not some beautiful Victorian building but an example of brutalist architecture. Not only should the hotel close, but the whole building needs to be demolished. I’m not sure what powers the local council have to get rid of it, should they choose to do so. That’s unlikely as it’s now partially filled with asylum seekers etc now. I recently had a significant birthday party, and some guests booked a room there. It was absolutely disgusting, and they ran away first thing in the morning, not bothering with the breakfast they’d paid for. My mate has been a civilian contractor in war zones in the Middle East, including Afghanistan, and he said it’s the worst hotel he’s ever stayed in. How it hasn’t been shut by environmental health is anyone’s guess. The owners of this chain should be ashamed of themselves, they’re utter shitheads. They don’t just ruin tourists’ visits, they ruin the urban landscape too. The Britannia is right next to our two cathedrals, which are Coventry’s main attractions.