Salisbury North Bishopdown

Facilities were great, breakfast excellent, welcome rather cold

I feel a little mean leaving two stars. Please allow me to explain and I do hope that the management of the parent company of Premier Inn rad this. Firstly, the positives: The car parking is free and I find it particularly annoying to have to pay which is clearly profiteering from the hotel. 10/10 here. Check in was relatively painless although the machine did not work. The receptionist telling me that it is on the blink did not help since you would expect it to be fixed. I booked as a corporate booking and thought that the rate was a little steep although I do live up north so perhaps my expectation was a little out of kilter. The room is as expected and all of the room amenities were there including a kettle and coffee machine (lovely) and I did get my good night of sleep as promised. The desk was adequate to work at. However, I feel somewhat seen off through being sold a dinner package. There was some selling at the reception in respect of having to book in order to secure a table. I went into the restaurant at the appointed hour and it was very noisy due to a corporate Party shouting away due to the acoustics. This is really nothing to complain about since they were just doing their thing. I took a table close to the kitchen and ordered my two course special including chicken goujons and Bolognese rigatoni. So far so good. It was just awful! While the prices appear reasonable I had a view of the “ping cuisine” where everything is just brought in and heated up (perhaps the burgers are cooked) and the quality of the food was just enough to sustain a human being. There was just something about the chicken goujons highlighting that they were the cheapest product that could have been sourced by Premier Inn and the same goes for the pasta dish. If you want a better experience, then consider the garage within walking distance that has a Marks & Spencer food offering where you could bring something back to your room such that the whole experience would not be spoiled. Or Deliveroo.

Hotel accommodation, check-in and staff were all fine. The restaurant was very disappointing, both for dinner and breakfast. We have stayed at numerous Premier Inns for bed and breakfast, but this one was well below what we expected to see.

As always the room was comfortable and sleep was good, the staff were excellent, very helpful and friendly, especially Nicky who served us at dinner. The evening meal was very good too. A couple of negatives though, One of the main ceiling lights in room 30 doesn't work, the bathroom fan is also excessively loud compared to other premier inns we've stayed at. This morning the staff were again excellent but I'm afraid the cooked breakfast was cold, and oddly the coffee from the machine was only Luke warm.

Our group had 5 rooms booked, all of which were comfortable, clean with plenty of room. Staff were really friendly and helpful at check-in. Even though there was a queue they still explained meal deal options to us without us feeling rushed. We had a table of 13 booked for evening meal which again was great with the staff being really helpful. Gluten free options were explained and not an issue at all. Breakfast again was great with plenty of options available. Eggs were cooked fresh by the chef who was working hard to have fresh food options available. Gluten free toast or bread was available without hesitation. Staff attentive and available which was great. A lovely weekend stay, thank you!

The team at this Premiet Inn all seemed to be trying their best to please, from reception staff to the waiters and chefs. A cut above in my experience! Makes such a difference to have helpful friendly staff! Thank you. Bed was comfortable. We would prefer a walk in shower due to age and health difficulties without needing a more scarce and expensive disability room.