Premier Inn Livingston (M8, Jct3)

Stayed in Premier Inns many times so no hesitation in booking a one night stay, with the Meal Deal option. Some 10 days before arriving advised by hotel that food/drink no longer available and the £57.98 already paid would be refunded in 3 to 5 working days. On checking in at hotel staff not very helpful. Could not find booking and after finding it stated unable to refund money until we checked out. 18 working days have elapsed and still no money. Hotel state they are unable to do it on their system and have passed the problem on. Not good enough by a long shot.

I booked this Premier Inn mainly for its location near to Edinburgh Airport, but I was very disappointed during my recent stay. It didn’t help that the restaurant and bar had closed permanently a week before my visit – other than a couple of American fast food takeaways, there is nowhere else to go in the motorway-adjacent business park, and nowhere to eat without a significant car journey. Speaking of which, the car park spaces felt very tight, so don’t come here if you’ve got a wide SUV. My room was extremely shabby with peeling woodwork, scraped walls and discoloured paintwork. It was also strangely sparse, with empty spaces where I can only assume furniture once stood. Small wobbly tables served as bedside units, and there were no plug sockets on the side of the room with the bed on it. (There were three single power sockets serving the whole room, two of them in use for appliances like the hairdryer, and no USB ports.) The WiFi struggled even to load email, the temperature control had a cover missing and batteries on display, and when I tried to make a cup of tea, the stench of chlorine from the water was overpowering. The bathroom was so stark that it felt like the aftermath of a repossession. The laminate floor was lumpy, there was a brown mark on a hand towel (best not to speculate) and the shaving point was a 1980s strip light with a pull toggle and a plastic panel hanging off. Oher than the flatscreen TV, there was nothing to suggest familiarity with the 21st century. Despite being horribly dated and in poor condition, the room was clean and I did sleep well on the standard-issue Premier Inn bed. If you’re only needing somewhere to sleep for a few hours before an early-morning flight, this Premier Inn is tolerable, but it’s a bleak place to be. Whitbread should either refurbish every visible surface or close it down, like they did with the restaurant.

Arrived Friday 18th to be informed the kitchen was closed and I had been apparently sent an email but I certainly had not !! Went up to room and it was absolutely freezing, warmed up eventually, bathroom remained cold, the room was very tired fitting with the rest of the place unfortunately, the toilet was discoloured and horrible smell when running water in the sink, pubic hair in the bath and plug didn’t stay in, cobwebs on light nearest the window,, absolutely no pictures on walls, bed we just rolled into each other so not comfortable, corridor floors were very creaky so heard all movement, we were on the second floor and outer lift doors looked dirty and window sill in stair well was filthy, not sure what kind of guests they are trying to attract but we certainly won’t be returning, expecting people to stay in this is not acceptable, place needs closed and brought up to standard, would not recommend !