Premier Inn Cockermouth

Usual good standard of Premier Inn with a clean and comfortable room. The reception staff were pleasant and welcoming. We had a a drink in the Brewer’s Fayre in the evening and there seemed to be a decent choice of food. We had breakfast in the morning. Sadly, most of the food from the ‘hot’ selection was cold. The only eggs on offer were fried and the yolks were congealed. There was one lady on duty who was working very hard and seemed to be doing everything.

I booked six rooms for a group visiting town. I tried various ways of making the booking and all were hard work so in the end booked on my personal credit card; I intended to make the booking in corporate name and pay by bank transfer but it just wasn’t possible. I then tried to speak to the hotel to arrange check in but again this was hopeless. I spoke to a central desk who said it would all work automatically. Neurotically I didn’t trust that and it’s a good job I did. I went to the hotel to double check and they said the info I had had on the phone was wrong, I’d have to pay at the desk instead. There was a queue of epic proportions - a party of golfers were checking in - so I came back later - and discovered why there had been such a queue! It was impossible to check in and pay for all the rooms at once; I had to check in for each guest separately and pay for each room one at a time. It took half an hour and made me late for next meeting. There was only one person on check in doing everything (table bookings etc) So it’s a hopeless and laborious booking and check in process, it’s not possible to contact the hotel direct, their central desk gives wrong information and it takes far too long.

On check in, we upgraded to the meal deal package Check in was completed efficiently and we were allocated a room on ground floor near to reception area. It was a Friday night and receptionist suggested we book a table at restaurant as it was likely to be busy as they were experiencing staff shortages. We did this. Room itself was usual Premier Inn set up but did have a large screen wall mounted TV rather than some locations where it is almost a portable sized TV on the wall. Free WiFi was good. The hotel is twinned with Brewers Fayre pub/restaurant. We went to the bar and ordered some drinks around 6pm and you could see that the staff were struggling to cope. One barman(manager?) behind bar and only one waitress. We decided to eat early and ordered a pizza and gammon/ chips. These were brought to the table about 40 minutes after placing the order. Both were cold, poorly presented, tasteless and basically inedible. At this point (7.30 pm), the barman announced that the kitchens were now closed. There were still numerous guests arriving so they were not fed. Bearing in mind that this hotel is in a fairly remote location, this is totally unacceptable. I went to reception and reported my issue and was told to complain to barman as Premier Inn, who had sold me the food package, were a separate company to Brewers Fayre. I did complain and quite rightly got my evening meal deal money refunded. Room itself was usual Premier Inn standard and quite comfy. However, the guests in the room above had other ideas ! About 3am, for the next 4 hours, all you could hear was them pacing back and fore. Very heavy walkers, and the continual clump, clump clump from above was very annoying. I reported this to the manager the following morning on checking out. I was told that I should have reported it at the time. So, I should have got dressed in the middle of the night, gone to reception and reported it at 4am. And what would the night shift staff member have done ? Completely ridiculous response and this manager just didn’t want to know. Maybe, they should look at the lack of noise insulation between rooms. Breakfast, back at Brewers Fayre was highlight of trip. Nice, diligent staff and a really good quality breakfast. Would I stay here again ? Absolutely not.

The hotel side is super, the staff are lovely, rooms comfortable and clean. The let down is the inadequate evening staffing in the Brewer's Fayre combined restaurant. Unacceptable waiting times at the bar and for food. One member of bar staff on at peak times, completely swamped with queues and dirty glasses. The place warrants more staff, it was so busy. However, the breakfast service runs like clockwork!

The hotel is great as where the staff, however the staff next door in the brewers fayre were not, I will never be spending my money in Brewers Fayre again, they do not make you feel welcome and want to shut the bar early as they want to go home , they dont care about there customers, such a bad attitude, i am waiting to speak to someone higher up to raise my concerns, we were lied to by a member of staff telling us the bar shuts at 10pm every night, which is not true it shuts at 11pm, some people should not be in hospitality, I have stayed at this hotels about 6 times i think i will be looking at other hotels in the future, such a shame as the hotel staff are great

Comfortable bed and a good nights sleep. The room was clean. It is in a nice location. They ran out of food at breakfast and wouldn’t bring anymore out when we asked. I know the hotel was full but they should accommodate enough breakfast for everyone.