Premier Inn Basildon (Festival Park)

Staff were very welcoming, the decoration was very tired and dated, my room smelt dirty, the carpet had stains, the walls had dents / marks, the bathroom was terrible, silicon coming away, mould in a couple of places on the silicon, skirting board and wooden panelling had started to split / expand owing to the damp environment - no extra pillows, no AC which i was aware of when booking, had a desk fan which had not been cleaned in a long time. only served breakfast at the hotel, there was a local public house 1 minute walk, but was nothing to do with hotel, I would not stay here again,

We've stayed at this hotel numerous times - not out of any desire to return, but simply because there's little other choice in the area. On arrival, rather than the standard practice of just confirming the name on the booking, we were quizzed with multiple questions. No big deal, but once the receptionist confirmed he was looking at our reservation, it made you wonder why the extra questions were needed at all. We were then assigned the room furthest from reception and closest to the A127 - easily the noisiest in the hotel. When we asked to change, he simply pointed at the screen and said, "System says no." Only after some coaxing did he try again, and we eventually got a room change. Premier Inn has introduced what feels like a cost-cutting measure dressed up as a policy: guests now have to specifically ask if they don't want to keep damp towels or come back to an unmade room. When we asked for ours to be freshened up, we were told this only applies to guests staying six nights or more, so ours might not be included. This directly contradicts the hotel's own signage (see photo). On top of that, the rooms were unbearably hot, even with the little desk fan running on full - and this wasn't even during a heatwave. The rooms themselves are shabby, and the whole hotel and its surroundings have a neglected, run-down feel. All in all, a horrible experience.

location and car park was perfect (not that I drive) but where the good stops. We arrived late in the evening and got huffed at when checking in. Wasn't given any guide to get to the room (it wasn't very well signposted). When we got into the room it was covered in dust and cobwebs as if the room hadn't been used in ages. The front of the desk had all the paint ripped off, the chair covered in chips and stains, the bedside table dusty. The bathroom wasn't in the best condition, went to turn the shower on and the connection between the pipe and the shower head was broken and flooded the bathroom (not the bath). They don't have mixer taps in the bathroom. I usually stay at a different one about 30 minutes away but there was no transport late in the evening. For the same chain I was shocked how different this one was!! Overall not entirely happy with this hotel.