Hale-based Britannia Hotels has been rated the worst hotel chain in the UK – for the second year running.
The company, which is headquartered on Hale Road and runs the Ashley Hotel in Hale village, came last in a list of 29 chains in a survey conducted by consumer magazine Which?
Britannia achieved a score of just 33%, well below the second-lowest chain, Old English Inns/Hotels, which scored 50%. Winners, luxury chain Sofitel, got 83%.
It was also awarded the lowest possible rating of one star for categories including bedrooms, cleanliness and whether the hotel description matched reality, with Which? members labelling its hotels “run down”.
Worryingly for the chain, which is owned by Cheshire multi-millionaire Alex Langsam, it scored 3% worse than last year, when Which? members complained of having to pay a £10 surcharge to have a window in a room.
Which? travel editor Jill Starley-Grainger said: “Hotels that have fared badly need to look at their customers’ feedback and learn where they need to up their game.
“It can be a bit of a lottery staying with popular UK hotel chains.”
The survey completed a bad week for Britannia, which operates 47 hotels across the UK.
A few days ago it reported that pre-tax profits had dropped 66% to £1.4million, according to its latest accounts. Turnover in the year to the end of March 2014 did however rise to £73.3m, from £69.8m last year.
