Premier Inn Search For Junior Hotel Inspectors By 13th June To Win Free Hotel Stays

Premier Inn is searching for five straight-talking youngsters to take on the role of Junior Hotel Inspector this summer.

The UK's best-loved hotel chain (according to Which? in 2015), the company is bravely asking children across the country to share their refreshingly honest opinions by applying for the title of Junior Hotel Inspector for a chance to join the Premier Inn review team.

Premier Inn has over 700 budget hotels and more than 60,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland.

All bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, a king-size Hypnos bed, TV with Freeview and free Wi-Fi.

A bar and restaurant is situated either on-site or next door to each hotel, offering a wide range of food choices for either breakfast (Full English please!) or a tasty dinner.

Premier Inn want to offer families the best experience during their stay and, with nine out of ten hotels achieving a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence from adults' reviews this year, it's now the turn of the kids to have their say too.

The Junior Hotel Inspector role will guarantee that the Premier Inn experience is enjoyed by all guests – no matter their age!

Children aged between five and 12 across the UK are being invited to apply for the role via the Premier Inn website – www.premierinn.com/juniorhotelinspectors – with an application process in place to find out why they would make a good inspector.

Caitlin & Ieuan would bring their own unique perspective to the UK Hotel Industry

Five junior inspectors and their parents will then be selected to spend the night at a Premier Inn hotel and use a specially-designed Junior Hotel Inspector's kit to deliver feedback on various elements of their stay. Inspection categories will include the dinner and breakfast menus, mattress bounce factor, staff friendliness and quality of hide and seek spots.

Each inspector's feedback will be consolidated and introduced into the Premier Inn review process to help improve its family offering.

With applications open until Monday 13th June 2016, parents and children can head to www.premierinn.com/juniorhotelinspectors to be in with the chance of being appointed to the new role. The newly selected inspectors will also win an additional two-night stay with their family at a UK hotel of their choice this summer.

A shortlist of applicants will then be requested to share a short video review of their home before the final five inspectors are selected.

The Premier Inn hotel review will then take place from Saturday 2nd – Sunday 3rd July 2016 – please ensure availability before applying – with the process captured through photography and video.

Children must be aged five – 12 and parental permission is required. Full terms and conditions can be found at www.premierinn.com/juniorhotelinspectors.

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The Reluctant Hotel Inspector - The Grange City 5* Hotel - London

Back in London for business again, the Inspector chose a hotel close to his client meeting and booked a room for one night at the 5* Grange City Hotel.

Grange City Hotel, London

The hotel overlooks the Tower of London and Tower Hill Underground Station is approx 2 minutes walk away.Fenchurch Street railway station and Tower Gateway DLR station are less than 5 minutes walk. Car parking is either on street by a parking meter or there is a car park on Tower Hill which has 110 car park spaces.

For history buffs, the hotel site incorporates the last remaining section of London's Roman Wall which stands undamaged.  The hotel is close to the Tower of London, Petticoat Lane Market and St Katharine Dock.

The hotel has 307 guest bedrooms, several bars and restaurants and a state of the art health & fitness club with a private gym, virtual golf simulator, a spa and a 25m swimming pool. One floor is dedicated to meeting space for conferences and events and there is a private club lounge for business guests. The hotel offers free WIFI in all bedrooms and public areas within the hotel. The bedrooms also have a high speed broadband connection if required.

The Inspector had an executive double room on the 2nd floor at a cost of £274 for one night (excluding breakfast). The room was extremely large with double bed, TV and desk and a separate lounge and office space. The room was nice and quiet.

The Extremely Spacious Executive Double Bedroom

The bathroom contained a bath, toilet, washbasin and a walk in shower. All spotless.

Dinner in the hotel''s main restaurant was a sirloin steak with mushrooms and tomatoes, plus a side of vegetables and fries.The bill came to around the £50 but the Inspector found the meal well cooked but average. The steak was served on a mound of vegetables, the majority of which was potato rendering the extra flies surplus to requirements - a point not mentioned on the menu or by the waiting staff.

This was the Inspector's first time at the Grange City Hotel London but he enjoyed his stay and this hotel is one on his shortlist when visiting the metropolis.

Coopers Row
London
EC3N 2BQ
Tel: +44 (0) 7863 3700

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The Reluctant Hotel Inspector: Doubletree By Hilton Tower of London Hotel

Back in London for business again, the Inspector booked a room for one night at the 4 star Doubletree By Hilton Tower of London Hotel, largely because it is just walking distance from the City. The hotel is a 5 minute walk from London Bridge Tube Station and is situated in the heart of the Financial District, and close to the River Thames.

Doubletree By Hilton Tower of London Hotel

Doubletree By Hilton Tower of London Hotel by night

For tourists, the hotel is also ideally situated for St Paul's Cathedral, the Tate Modern, HMS Belfast, The Tower of London and The Shard, as well, of course, as Tower Bridge itself.

Rooms are stylish and modern with "deluxe rooms" featuring complimentary WIFI, an IMac / PC Entertainment System with Skype. Walk in power showers and wall to ceiling mirrors are also included, as are a work desk and high level sound proofing.

Complimentary WiFi access is available in all public areas and the executive lounge and there is a fully equipped "Fitness Room".

The Inspector had a double room on the 8th floor at a cost of £289 for one night (excluding breakfast). The room was very comfortable and the desk space allocated perfectly adequate. It was also quiet with no noise from outside traffic.

A very comfortable double bedded room

Compact and Bijoux Bathroom

The bathroom contained a toilet and a walk in shower. There was a combined TV / iMac in the room which the Inspector found unusual, but not a problem as he is not a big TV watcher.

The hotel offers the "City Cafe Restaurant" which offers modern European cuisine, and the Lobby Bar but the Inspector opted to eat in "The Sky Lounge" which offers fabulous views of the Tower Bridge and 360 degree views across the London skyline.

The view from the "Sky Lounge"

Lamb Kebabs in the restaurant

The bill came to around the £35 mark with the Inspector finding his favourite Peroni expensive at £6 for a small bottle (the price of a pint of draft Peroni at the Sloe Bar, Paddington is much less, at £4.70). The lamb kebabs, however, were delicious.

This was the Inspector's first time at the Doubletree By Hilton Tower of London Hotel, but the hotel is within easy walking distance for lots of his customers in the City so he would certainly consider returning.

7 Pepys Street
London
EC3N 4AF
Tel 44-207-7091000

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Review: Lunch at The 4* Guoman Grosvenor Hotel, Buckingham Palace Road, London

Earlier this year, I was the lucky winner of lunch for two at the fabulous 4 star Grosvenor Hotel in London. As you know, I adore hotels so the train trip from Cardiff wasn't going to stop me making the most of the opportunity and my sister's birthday at the end of September seemed to be the perfect time to make the trip.

The Grosvenor Hotel, Victoria was built in 1862 by the Victorian railway pioneers. It is Grade II listed and has been restored to its former glory by a multi million pound refurbishment. It is located within walking distance of Buckingham Palace and is just a hop from Victoria Tube Station.

After a 3 hour train journey which involved engineering works, a stressed buffet steward who had run out of everything bar lukewarm coffee and whiskey miniatures by Swindon and feeling hideously out of place by not having our own stash of Carling at 8:30 am, we were only too ready to be transported back to the Golden Age of the Railway.

As we entered the lobby we were struck by the gleaming Victorian splendour of the hotel lobby and took a moment to absorb some of the hotel's history.

The approach to The Brasserie

The hotel has links to one of London's raciest residents in Victorian times. In 1870 the notorious courtesan, Cora Pearl made a rare visit to London and booked into the hotel. The story goes that Cora, who entertained only the highest echelons of society, including, allegedly, royalty, had booked a suite but was promptly asked to leave when details of her 'occupation' became known.

For the hotel's 150th anniversary last year, the suite in which she was due to stay (The Cora Pearl Suite) was refurbished in partnership with historian Katie Hickman (also author of the book "Courtesans"). The suite features an amazing two foot high oil painting of Cora and contains such girlie delights as glass chandeliers, feather trimmed lamps and a very large dressing table.

Being ladies of immaculate repute, my sister and I were obviously ushered swiftly in to The Brasserie by a team of very friendly staff. We opted for the special prix fixe menu which is available between noon and 6 pm lovingly created by Executive Chef Robert Prendergast and his team.

 The Brasserie

The wine list came in the form of an old fashioned newspaper from Victorian days, complete with advertisements from the day.

I managed to remember to order a bottle of nicely dry Rosé whilst we ordered our lunch.

To start we chose "Warm Crottin Goat's Cheese Salad with Poached Pear, Radish and Glazed Beets"

The glazed beets added a sweet counterpoint to the strong tang of the goat's cheese, which made for a surprisingly light and refreshing first course.

For our main course we chose "Pan Fried Sea Trout with Basil Gnocchi, Brown Shrimp and Grilled Chicory with Rosemary Anchovy Dressing".

Pan Fried Trout

It made a real change to see trout on the menu, instead of the ubiquitous salmon and the basil gnocchi, in particular were delicious.  

Being complete troopers when it comes to nutrition, we made sure we chose a healthy dessert with fruit so a lovely "Blueberry and Ricotta Cheesecake with Vanilla Mascarpone Cream" fitted the bill.

We had our coffee in the lounge, amidst the merriment of an on-going baby shower and eyeing up the mounds of pretty cakes on three tier cake stands. Since my sister already has three children and I have two, we decided any possible reason for joining the party would be spurious at best.

I would have been happy to sit and doze but my sister was brandishing her camera and it was time to say goodbye and explore the many landmarks I hadn't yet seen.  

My lovely sister, Sarah

Don't be fooled.  This smile means "we are now off on a 3 hour photography session on foot "

Big thanks to The Brasserie staff at The Grosvenor who were really friendly and helpful and made my prize really special. We had a great time and discovered a fabulous place for lunch, should I ever tempt my sister back on the First Great Western Swansea to Paddington mobile bar.

The Grosvenor Hotel

101 Buckingham Palace Road

London SW1W 0SJ

Tel: 0871 376 9038

The Brasserie

Reservations:  020 7858 6249

Mon - Sun 12:00 - 22:30

Modern British and European Cuisine

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The Reluctant Hotel Inspector: Apex London Wall Hotel

Billed as "a 4-star boutique hotel in central London", the Apex London Wall Hotel is situated near to the Bank of England and the Guildhall. It lies in the heart of the finance and business district and is surrounded by London landmarks such as St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London and The Gherkin.

The Apex London Wall Hotel (www.apexhotels.co.uk)

The Apex London Wall Hotel has 89 rooms and suites with free WiFi internet access and local calls. The rooms have complimentary water and tea/coffee making facilities. Bathrooms have a bath, walk-in shower and luxury Elemis toiletries.The hotel has a restaurant and bar, private dining room and a gym.

The Inspector had an accessible double room on the third floor at a cost of £330 for one night including breakfast - (not sampled again since the Inspector met a client elsewhere for breakfast).

The accessible bathroom with walk-in shower

The room was very quiet, although the Inspector turned off the in-room air conditioning at night. There was no noise from outside as the hotel is situated up a quiet side street just off London Wall.

The Inspector dined at the Off The Wall restaurant which served up a perfectly respectable steak at around £18. The restaurant, which seats 45, is close to London Wall itself and has floor-to-ceiling windows which allow natural light to pour in. In summer, the windows can be opened fully for outdoor dining.

Sirloin Steak & Chips with a tomato & basil side salad

In summary, the Inspector found the Apex London Wall Hotel to be an excellent choice for the business traveller. He has stayed there several times before and is looking forward to returning.

Apex London Wall
7-9 Copthall Avenue
London EC2R 7NJ
tel: 0845 365 0000
+44 (0)131 441 0440

Note: the Reluctant Hotel Inspector lives with me and, since I adore hotels, has to submit to my endless questioning which, I figure, you might find interesting too.

Disclosure:  this is a completely independent review and no payment was received for this post.

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The Reluctant Hotel Inspector - Hotel ibis London Euston St Pancras

Late September and the fashion pack are present in full force in London for London Fashion Week. Much to the Inspector's annoyance, the price of a four night stay in one of the hotels he would usually use whilst working away from home has rocketed to over £2,000. If there's one thing he hates, it's paying through the nose so it was time to try an economy hotel.

Hotel ibis London Euston St. Pancras

Billed as "an economy London hotel close to Euston Station in central London", the Hotel ibis London Euston St Pancras is, as you might guess from the name, handily situated just metres from Euston Station and a 10-minute walk from St Pancras International Station and the Eurostar terminal. Oxford Street and Covent Garden are about a 20 minute walk away or a short trip on the Tube.

The hotel has 380 rooms, all with coffee/tea making facilities and a hair dryer.The front desk is open 24 hours.There is a restaurant and a bar /lounge (although these were practically one and the same in terms of layout). Room service is available, as are laundry facilities.

The Inspector had a twin bedded room on the first floor at a cost of £753 for four nights - approximately £177 per night including breakfast (which, due to meeting times, the Inspector did not unfortunately get to sample!).

The room was clean, comfortable and perfectly serviceable. The bathroom (a shower in a bath) was adequate.

The room stayed in was close to the lifts, however the noise was minimal.There was a little noise from the nearby railway station but the Inspector sleeps heavily and rarely has any trouble falling asleep quickly.

Now, the Inspector's criteria for assessing a hotel's suitability for business use are quite different from my own search for luxury and pampering. He is not concerned with towel softness or branded freebies in the bathroom; he will not lose sleep over lack of chocolates on the pillow or a mini bar.

If I had been staying, I would have hotfooted it over to view the architectural wonder of St Pancras International railway station which is still one of the greatest Victorian buildings in London. I would also have had a peak at the St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel which opened in Spring 2011. And it would be rude not to visit Searcys Champagne Bar which has the longest champagne bar in Europe.

I would take a taxi to Covent Garden to people watch and peruse shops such as Aspinal with its gorgeous handbags or The Tea House where you can buy 70 different types of tea. But the Inspector had time for none of this.

His concerns are more practical. Some of the Inspector's bugbears when working away from home include

• desks which are too small or insufficient leg room at the designated work space
• uncomfortable chairs
• poor lighting
• patchy WIFI provision

but the Hotel ibis London Euston St. Pancras scored quite well on these.The chair provided was quite hard. WIFI access was complimentary, however at low speed. High speed internet access is available for a fee. Low speed was perfectly serviceable, however, the Inspector did have problems downloading documents at one point.

Although he did not use them, the hotel has 4 meeting rooms with internet access and parking for 100 cars.

In summary, the Inspector found the Hotel ibis London Euston St Pancras perfectly adequate, clean, comfortable and fit for the purposes of a business traveller.

ibis London Euston St. Pancras
3 Cardington Street
London NW1 2LW
tel: 0207 3047712
H0921@accor.com

Note: the Reluctant Hotel Inspector lives with me and, since I adore hotels, has to submit to my endless questioning which, I figure, you might find interesting too.

Disclosure:  this is a completely independent review and no payment was received for this post.

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