We’re in London for a major family event. Seeking a hotel that could accommodate four couples for a “reasonable” price we settled on the Premier Inn in Southwark.
Here’s our Premier Inn London Southwark (Bankside) review:
Key data
Cost: £440.00 (£146.67 per night)
Fair cost: £110.00 per night
Breakfast Chargeable extra (£13.99 per person, per night)
Check-in: 3pm
Check-out: 12pm
Rating: 4 out of 5
How accurate are the website photos? Good
Would we recommend this hotel? Yes, with caveats
Looking for a Premier Inn discount code? Our guide shows you how to save up to 15% off your next Premier Inn stay.
Location and contact details
Located just beyond Southwark Bridge, The Premier Inn London Southwark (Bankside) all but backs onto the world-famous Borough Market.
Address:
34 Park Street
Bankside
London
SE1 9EF
Telephone: +44 0333 321 1274
Alternate phone: +44 20 7089 2580
Lowdown
A milestone family gathering means we’re in the big city to hang out together for a few days. London has never been cheap for accommodation and the closer you get to the city centre, the higher the prices climb. And unless you are spending megabucks for a suite, the size of rooms tends to be much smaller. too.
The Premier Inn London Southwark Bankside meets two specific needs. It is relatively centrally located (albeit south of the river) and the price is fair (but not cheap).
There are hundreds of hotels across London, many of which are certainly cheaper. However, most involve additional compromises like quality, size and cleanliness. Premier Inn is well known throughout the UK for providing a reliable place to stay at a reasonable price.
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Our personal experience
Now onto the Premier Inn London Southwark Bankside review itself:
Bedroom
Our room was located on the second floor looking out onto Park Street. Other members of our party had a partial view of the north bank skyline, including St Paul’s Cathedral, although this will eventually disappear as the nearby building work is completed.
The hotel has an elevator which is good news for disabled guests.
The room has a king size bed, a desk, a small amount of wardrobe hanging space and two bedside tables. For entertainment, there’s a wall-mounted flatscreen TV offering a range of free-to-air channels. There’s also an HDMI port embedded in the wall above the desk, suggesting you can plug your own devices into the TV if required.
The linen is clean and crisp, and the carpet is in very good condition. There’s also a kettle and coffee pod machine – something not found in the regular rooms.
The front of the room is taken up by a large window that looks out onto the carpark at the rear of the building. There is a reasonable pair of blackout curtains that you will probably want to keep closed round-the-clock to protect against prying eyes…
Bathroom
The bathroom is a good size with plenty of room – full-sized bath, sink and toilet. There are bottles of Baylis and Harding soap and shower gel secured to the walls.
The taps appear to have been fitted with some kind of water-saving device which makes filling the kettle quite slow. The shower has a large rainfall head – but the flow is pathetic. This may be the worst hotel shower we’ve ever had.
Worse still, after the first morning, the water never gets warmer than body temperature. Very disappointing.
Parking
Parking is available at the Premier Inn Southwark Bankside – but there are only four spaces and you cannot pre-book. You will be charged £15 per 24 hours. There are no reserved parking spaces for disabled guests. On two of the three nights we stayed, all of the spaces were free.
If you cannot get parked at the hotel, Premier Inn advises using the NCP London Bridge Car Park, Kipling St, SE1 3RU. This car park is a 0.6 miles / 14 minute walk from the hotel.
Top tip: Do not use the nearby on-street parking because the maximum permitted stay is just 2 hours.
Accessibility
There is a lift serving all three floors of the hotel and a handful of accessible rooms on the ground floor. Some of the corridors and doorways are quite narrow making for difficult driving conditions for wheelchair and scooter users.
There is also a door between reception and the rooms which wheelchair users will need someone to hold open.
Food
There is an onsite restaurant offering breakfast each morning. Breakfast costs £13 for continental style and £15 for cooked. You can purchase breakfast at reception or when booking online.
Cooked options include fried eggs, sausages, hash browns, bacon and black pudding. There’s also cereal, toast, fresh fruit, muffins and pancakes. Coffee fans will be relieved to hear there’s a bean-to-cup machine.
If you fancy something else, there are dozens of options available at Borough Market, a short walk away.
Other facilities
This is a basic hotel, so aside from a small bring-and-swap library in reception, it’s down to you to make your own entertainment. The historic Anchor pub next door is worth a visit (or two).
Linda’s comment
The cobbles at the main entrance of the hotel are awful for wheelchair users – and you can’t avoid them. I dreaded leaving and returning each time we went out.
Otherwise the hotel was very good.
Oddities and quirks
We definitely had a few odd experiences at the Premier Inn Bankside. There was the lack of hot water for starters. Then there was a lingering smell of damp that seemed to emanate from the air conditioner.
The couple staying in room 210 also had a blocked sink that the hotel team were unable to resolve during our stay. By way of apology, Adrian (the receptionist), comped breakfast for our entire party.
In fact, Adrian was brilliant. Friendly, charming and willing to engage in banter with every guest. Nothing was too much for this young man and he is a real credit to the Premier Inn brand.
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Other accommodation options
Premier Inn operate a couple of properties in Southwark – Tate Modern, Borough High St and Southwark Station – in addition to Bankside. But if you want a hotel near the River Thames in this specific area, choices are more limited.
Our pick would probably be the Ibis Styles London Southwark which we have considered for a London stay several times before.
Check the map above to see just how many other options are available.
What is the closest station?
London Bridge is the closest Underground station, served by the Jubilee and Northern lines. There is also a mainline train service to the same station.
The next closest station is Monument on the north bank of the Thames, served by the District and Circle lines. It is a 0.6 mile walk from the station to the Premier Inn London Southwark Bankside across London Bridge.
Premier Inn London Southwark Bankside review: Final rating
The Premier Inn London Southwark Bankside is an excellent choice for a stay in London. Yes, it is away from the magnetic West End and many of the top sights, but it is in the perfect location to explore another aspect of the city.
The room is extremely comfortable, the hotel is well placed, and the service is exceptional for a ‘budget’ chain. We’re all agreed – this has been a brilliant venue for a family get-together and we would all return if we needed an affordable hotel in London.
Final rating: 4 out of 5
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