When searching for a hotel the price is important to me and I usually opt for a budget hotel. Why? Well, providing the room is clean and it has a shower then I am a happy traveller. I would rather spend the extra money on the holiday itself.
Which? Holiday, a subscription-only holiday magazine have revealed the results of their undercover investigation of 16 rooms in hotel chains in London and Manchester and well it’s pretty nasty reading for those of us using budget hotels.
≫ The mattress in a room was so badly soiled that mould had begun to grow
≫ Urine and faeces were found round the edge of the toilet seat
≫ High levels of dust under the bed
≫ Dirty hand-prints and ground-in dirt were found on the walls
≫ Blood stains were found on duvets
No standard of hygiene
As Which? Holiday have highlighted, there does not seem to be one single accepted standard for hygiene in hotels across the UK. I have to agree and it has to change because it should not matter how much you pay for a hotel room, it should be clean.
From my experiences, UK hotels have one of the worst reputations for uncleanliness. I’ve stayed in budget hotels around Europe and the world and have being impressed with the care put into the upkeep of the room.
Would you agree?
Cheap and cheerful budget hotels
I remember staying in a hotel in London, which had a 6ft crack up the wall on the staircase. Thankfully I was only there for two nights as it was more hygienic not to have a shower for two days than actually use the bathroom facilities.
Thankfully, this was a one-off.
Even so, I opt for budget hotels because I spend very little time the room and need somewhere to sleep, and shower. It is very true that what you pay for, is what you get, but I am not sure that applies to London because I have paid £70 a night, and I would expect much better.
I am interested to read what and where were your worst hotel experiences.
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Gennaro | 6 January, 2009 at 3:22 am
And we are talking about the UK. One of the wealthiest countries in the world. You’s think this was about a developing country with few resources for the travel industry. Hopefully with a little negative attention the hotels that were named will change their ways.
I had okay experiences in the UK. I’m a little surprised, but not shocked.
Darren Cronian | 6 January, 2009 at 8:01 am
@ Gennaro
I’m not sure we are that wealthy nowadays, but your right, for one of Europe’s wealthiest countries we should be providing a better standard of hotel.
Rob | 6 January, 2009 at 9:39 am
It’s quite simple, there should be better licencing. If a hotel doesn’t make the grade on basic cleanliness they should not be allowed to be open to guests. Local authorities can shut down cafes and take aways that fail hygiene checks, why not do the same for all lodging.
Darren Cronian | 6 January, 2009 at 10:30 am
@ Rob
I completely agree! 100% I am playing devil advocate but who would administrate this – the government/local authorities?
Joanne | 6 January, 2009 at 10:39 am
I have had particularly grim experience in a Travelodge – toe nails on the floor, rats in the car park, you didnt even want to look under the bed. The hoover seemed to have only gone over the centre of the room, not round the edges.
They should be ashamed of themselves, regardless of what you pay for the room, this is a well known UK chain, if they cant afford proper cleaning then dont offer the rooms for sometimes as little as £9/£19.
Jack | 6 January, 2009 at 11:20 am
I don’t even stay in hotels in England anymore. They’re overpriced, under-serviced, and it’s usually cheaper to just go to another country!
Darren Cronian | 6 January, 2009 at 11:22 am
@ Joanne
Yikes that sounds awful. Travelodge did not come out too well didn’t come out too well in the report, but to put a little bit of perspective on the story, it was only a select 16 hotels in London and Manchester.
AnnaE | 6 January, 2009 at 2:05 pm
When traveling around Sweden, I try not to stay in budget hotels anymore – they are just too filthy. Yet the locals never complain for some reason, and foreign visitors are so happy if they spend only the equivalent of about 60 euro per night that they too keep their mouths shut.
And when you point out the grime in the shower to the management, they just shrug. But when I stayed in private houses/apartments (B&B or holiday rental type) they were normally immaculate.
Laura Singleton | 6 January, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I agree with all of the comments regarding hotels in the UK, very poor for the money you pay. We have stayed in some nice cosy B&B’s at the coast.
Tom Meyers | 6 January, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Interesting post, Darren. I’ve inspected more 100 budget hotels in London for our website over the years (and more than 1,000 around Europe) and I must admit that cheap B&Bs in London can be especially grim.
Which is why it’s extra-satisfying when you do find a pristine and affordable place. In certain cities, the hunt is simply harder.
Of course, even in lovely and cheap hotels, things can change quickly under new management. One B&B in London on Gower Street by the British Museum was a favorite of mine for years. When I checked in during a 2005 hotel visit, I found that the management had changed about a month before. It was heartbreaking to see the decline — they actually gave me a key to the room before it had been cleaned, and once “cleaned” the room was still filthy. I checked out immediately and was forced to find another hotel on the spot.
That said, I agree that budget hotels are the easiest way to save money on your overall trip budget. And when run correctly (by a cool proprietor, with local flair, etc.) they can also allow for a better understanding of the local culture.
Dom | 6 January, 2009 at 6:24 pm
I have travelled around Europe and England has the worst hotels, especially London.
Darren Cronian | 6 January, 2009 at 6:29 pm
@ AnnaE
Yes, I think we’ll see more people booking self catering holidays this year with the credit crunch. I’ve stayed in some horrible hotels in London. I was surprised though with the eTap hotel in London, cheap, and a basic room, but it was tidy.
Darren Cronian | 6 January, 2009 at 6:31 pm
@ Tom
It’s a shame that a hotel that you have become fond of can turn into a dive when someone new takes over. There does need to be some way to monitor the cleanliness of hotels, not sure who should be responsible – who would you complain to in the US if you were not satisfied with the hotel, and the hotel wasn’t interested?
Tom Meyers | 6 January, 2009 at 7:58 pm
If the same thing happened in the US (new and unprofessional management), I’m sure that guests would take it out on the hotel on hotel review websites like TripAdvisor.
You would also be able to report the hotel to the Better Business Bureau, but they wouldn’t have any real authority to do anything about it. If there was something illegal or unsafe about it, you’d be able to report it to the city’s department of health — but that would have to be a pretty extreme case.
In the end, most of these properties would probably just go out of business!
Darren Cronian | 6 January, 2009 at 8:46 pm
@ Tom
Yes, we use TripAdvisor too, but I think the local authority or government need to address the issue of safety and cleanliness in hotels. I wonder what the general opinion is of budget hotels in London by say American tourists. Maybe a poll you could have on Eurocheapo.com?
Tom Meyers | 6 January, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Darren, a poll on US impressions of London’s hotels is a fun idea. Thanks! I’ll run it by Pete.
Polling aside, I know that when I discuss European hotels with American tourists back from their first trip abroad, most express surprise/consternation about the size of the bedrooms and bathrooms.
Hotels (and roadside “motels”) in the US tend to offer big rooms, often with two double beds (this isn’t always the case in big cities). Bathrooms are usually large enough to fit a whole family in, and most are equipped with bathtubs. Thus, you can imagine how surprising it must be to walk into a tiny room with a water closet in London or Paris!
Tamara | 7 January, 2009 at 9:33 am
Surely you mean ‘Dirty hotels spoil budget weekend breaks’?
I don’t agree that it’s better to choose a budget hotel and spend more on the holiday – for me, the hotel is an integral part of the holiday, and if you choose a ludicrously cheap hotel, you usually end up in a ludicrously horrible one.
However, I don’t think that always has to be the case – I’ve stayed in some wonderful places that proved to be almost unbelievably bank account-friendly.
I think AnnaE has hit the nail on the head – it’s not the hotel itself that’s the problem, it’s staff. If staff are uninterested, indifferent (as they’re more likely to be in large impersonal chains) or if there aren’t enough of them, (which is more
likely to be the case in high guest-turnover inner-city profiteers), then the hotel will be dirty and unwelcoming. Perhaps the solution lies in better hospitality training rather than hygiene inspections?
Darren Cronian | 7 January, 2009 at 9:53 am
@ Tamara
Sorry, I played the headline to attract attention! I also had to remove the shamless plug – sorry. Having to become ruthless with moderating due to increasing advertising/spam in comments.
Back on-topic, I think it depends how much time you spend in your hotel room, when I am away, I spend very little time, but I would still prefer it to be clean and tidy, no matter how much I have paid.
One day I will try out one of those budget boutique hotels to see if I prefer comfort or price when searching for a hotel. You can find some bargains, that are in well run hotels, but these are becoming less rare in the UK especially.
Tamara | 7 January, 2009 at 10:03 am
No worries – I don’t mind being edited!
With the current economic climate I think we are going to see an adjustment of pricing anyway so those boutique hotels won’t seem such an extravagance.
Darren Cronian | 7 January, 2009 at 11:22 am
So, the price of boutique hotels could decrease? I think that’s a good thing. What’s your opinion of some sort of standard or “policing” of safety and cleanliness of hotels? Do you think this needs to happen, and who do you think is responsible? Or does this type of thing already go on. You hear of local authorities closing restaurants etc for bad cleanliness etc. but not hotels. Theres some pretty grotty hotels in our cities.
Nick | 7 January, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Darren
I have not stayed at a budget hotel in london, but do so in New York where I have to say same applies, is it something about mega cities (cost and size) that causes this?
Darren Cronian | 7 January, 2009 at 7:21 pm
@ Nick
Interesting, and good question. So many tourists, so many hotels, very hard to monitor dirty hotels, so they take the advantage. If you have booked a hotel, arrived and it’s a dive, how many of us would go and search elsewhere or put up and pay for the dive, when we are there for a weekend break.
Mark Pickering | 9 January, 2009 at 10:46 am
I booked 2 nights in a Premier Inn followed by 2 nights in a 4 star Devere hotel towards the end of last year expecting the Devere to be the highlight of our trip. It wasn’t, not that it was bad but the Premier Inn was fantastic! From the outside it was a bit dull and boring but the room was huge with a comfy kingsize bed. We joked about their good nights sleep guarantee and asking for our money back, but the bed was soooo comfy I could have stayed in it all day! It was the Premier Inn in Sterling Scotland if anyone is interested!?
Rooi Skoene | 9 January, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Why not just use backpackers or B&Bs instead of budget hotels?
Karen Bryan | 9 January, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Mark, I’ve stayed in many UK Travelodges, paying as little as £9 a night (on the advance booking saver rate) for an ensuite room and the majority have been clean, comfy and spacious.
Darren Cronian | 9 January, 2009 at 7:18 pm
@ Karen
I have never been able to find a Travelodge for £9, but that’s probably I tend to look for London hotels, during peak times. Have you stayed in any travelodges in London or Manchester because I think thats where the report of the hotels was taken.
Darren Cronian | 9 January, 2009 at 7:28 pm
@ Rooi
Backpacking hostels and B&B’s can just be as dirty as budget hotels in my experience.
Darren Cronian | 9 January, 2009 at 7:32 pm
@ Mark
Is that your opinion as a hotelier/in the hospitality industry or as a customer? I agree that just because it’s a four star hotel that you do not find dirty hotels.
Rooi_Skoene | 12 January, 2009 at 7:58 am
Ouch. What other options are there, Darren?
Mark Pickering | 12 January, 2009 at 9:31 am
@ Darren
Just my opinion as a customer. As I work in hospitality, I probably have a more critical eye than most – although I’m as susceptible to marketing and advertising as everyone else. I had in my mind that we could ‘put up with’ a basic Premier Inn for 2 nights if we knew we had 2 nights of luxury accommodation to come. Don’t get me wrong, the Devere hotel was a lovely building, in a great setting and fantastic food – but the actual accommodation was not as nice as the Premier Inn room. Just goes to show that star ratings aren’t everything!
Darren Cronian | 12 January, 2009 at 12:35 pm
@ Rooi
I think you need to “shop around” more nowadays to find well managed budget hotels, B&Bs and hostels. There out there, it’s just finding them amongt all of the badly run/dirty hotels.
Darren Cronian | 12 January, 2009 at 12:39 pm
@ Mark
Thanks for the response. Yes, let’s not get into hotel classifications, it’s another topic I have ranted on about a few times, especially in the hotel when you have star and diamond classifications for hotels. I think alot of the time it goes down on what you expect from a hotel. I stayed in a four star hotel last April, the room was nice enough, the hotel itself wasn’t up to four stars I don’t think.
Mark Pickering | 12 January, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Have you seen the latest comments from Christopher Rodrigues, chairman of VisitBritain?
He’s really helping the UK tourism industry isn’t he!?
Darren Cronian | 12 January, 2009 at 1:17 pm
@ Mark
What have they said now? I am not a big fanatic of Visit Britain for various reasons which I’ll not go into here.
Tamara | 12 January, 2009 at 2:08 pm
I am a firm believer that you can’t necessarily trust star ratings, diamond ratings or whatever-other-shape-you-care –to-invent ratings – these are generally just an indication of the facilities available at a hotel, and NOT what condition those facilities are kept in…
Darren Cronian | 12 January, 2009 at 2:21 pm
@ Tamara
Isn’t it time for a change then? It’s okay us saying the classification system is useless to evaluate the management/cleanliness of the hotel, then surely it needs looking at – especially in London with 2012.
Darren Cronian | 12 January, 2009 at 2:51 pm
We are slightly going off-topic here but this is the article Mark is relating to:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7817081.stm
Poor service ‘risks tourism jobs’
I have to agree with him though Mark, the hoteliers and htoel chains need to raise their game. I will write about this seperatly.
Mark Pickering | 12 January, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Apologies for mentioning star ratings… although I think you should do a post asking people if they think they should be changed – that’s sure to provoke plenty of comments and suggestions for how it should be done! =)
Any sorry for wandering of topic a bit …. slap on the wrists for Mark! =)
Robert Mayer | 15 January, 2009 at 11:22 pm
First of all, I just found you site and love it!
As a hotel manager I have to say that the classification of a hotel should represent the facilities and services provided, not the level of cleanliness. Sadly – an it is increasingly true with chain hotels specially in the budget factor – operators think that the decrease in the number of stars means increase the in amount of tolerated uncleanliness….
The housekeeping staff basically gets the same salary regardless of classification, therefore it is really up to management to make the difference.
It will be quiet interesting to see how the decreasing prices and increasing level of quality of the four star hotels will affect the budget market….
Rooi_Skoene | 21 January, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I agree with Tamara. Could it be PR companies that get their clients these ratings?
jeff solomon | 23 January, 2009 at 1:21 am
I manufacture and sell a travel sheet called Allersac to protect the user from all manner of allergens bedbugs etc. i started the company exactly because of the dirty hotel rooms i kept experiencing. No matter what the cost whether it was a $50.00 room or $300.00 room. Un-changed bedding, sticky tv remotes, smudged drinking glasses and who knows what on the carpets. This past holiday I stayed in a brand new Hilton Hotel suite, we got in late in the evening and when we turned down the bed to sleep it reeked of perfume, they had not even changed the sheets, how does a chambermaid ” forget ” to change the sheets ? This hotel was rated highly on a few sites, so much for ratings. Ratings don’t work because hotel chains are not consistent. I don’t blame the lazy housekeeping staff, what do you want for minimum wage. Do you expect to get intelligent, conscientious staff to perform housecleaning for minimum wage? I blame the management, it’s their job to ” mange ” their staff .
Natalie | 19 February, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I’ve stayed in the same Travelodge twice in London. The first experience was really bad but the second was a little better (we had already booked our second stay before seeing how bad it was the first time in case anyone wondered why we would re-book!). The first time the room smelt as soon as we walked in and we found out why when we opened the bathroom door and saw the mouldy shower. When I went to use the hot tap it was so hard to turn on and realised why as it drips unless you turn it off very very tightly. Unfortunately me and my sister weren’t quite strong enough to turn it enough to stop it dripping!! Also the service wasn’t great. We only stayed for one night but the next morning we were interrupted 3 times by the same cleaner. We kept telling her we were checking out today so please come back once we had left. We informed reception of this who said they should have known we were leaving that day and waited. We also informed them of what we found wrong with the room. On our second visit we were in the room next door but there was a massive differance!! A lot cleaner and no problems. Either way, I probably would go back if I was only staying for one night again as we did get it very cheap both times – as long as the bed was ok as we didn’t spend any time in the room apart from when we were sleeping.
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42 responses to “Budget hotels spoil dirty weekend breaks”