Budget hotels slated for 'unclean' rooms

Published on Monday 5 January 2009 21:05

GUESTS staying at budget hotel chains have been greeted by mouldy mattresses, stained duvets and dirty toilets, according to an investigation.

Ibis performed "particularly badly" according to the inspectors from Which? Holiday magazine.

Mould was growing on a mattress in its hotel on Charles Street, Manchester, while a duvet at the Portland Street Ibis, also in Manchester, had a stain that was suspected to be blood.

The most unclean toilet in the report was found at the Ibis Euston, in London.

Travelodge was also criticised in the report, with three hotels in London – Grafton Place, Gray's Inn Road and King's Cross Road – and two in Manchester – Blackfriars Street and Great Ancoats Street – being visited by a researcher and microbiological technical consultant, both pretending to be ordinary guests.

The inspectors said the bathrooms were unclean, leading to concern about the bacteria found in four of the five rooms examined.

There were also high levels of dust under the bed in one room, while dirty hand-prints and ground-in dirt were found on the walls, the report said.

Three Premier Inn hotels visited in Manchester were spotless, but two of the London branches, on Duke's Road and York Way, had "room for improvement", according to the report.

Comfort Inn and Jurys Inn both performed well in the investigation, which took place within a one-mile radius of London's King's Cross Station and Manchester's Piccadilly Station in September.

Lorna Cowan, editor of Which? Holiday, said: "Although this investigation was just a snapshot, it does raise concerns about the cleanliness of some budget hotel chains."