Which Magazine reveals concerns at budget hotel cleanliness

People staying in budget hotel rooms may be shocked to discover what is lurking beneath the bed sheets, warns a new undercover investigation by Which? Holiday magazine.

Stained and mouldy mattresses, a suspected blood-stained duvet, and food debris on the floor were just some of the grim discoveries made by the magazine during stays at hotels of the UK’s five most-visited budget chains.

During a four-day period in September 2008, Which? Holiday inspected 16 rooms in budget chain hotels in London and Manchester. The rooms were booked online or by telephone as if by an ordinary paying guest. A researcher, accompanied by a microbiological technical consultant, then inspected the allocated accommodation.

Up to an hour was spent in each room and swabs were taken from the bedside light switch, telephone (or remote control), sink, toilet, toilet flush and bathroom door handle. The swabs were then sent to a laboratory to be tested.

Several hotel chains performed well in the investigation. Rooms inspected at Comfort Inn, London and Jurys Inn, Manchester were found to be clean. Rooms in three Premier Inn hotels visited in Manchester were described as spotless by the researcher. Although it was felt there was room for improvement in the accommodation at two London Premier Inns.

Ibis hotels, however, performed particularly badly. A mattress in a room at an Ibis Hotel in Manchester was found to be so badly soiled that the cover had frayed and mould had begun to grow. In a room at a second Manchester Ibis, Which? Holiday discovered a stain on a duvet, which the technical consultant suggested could be blood.

Bathrooms in the Travelodge hotels inspected were also found to be unclean, leading to concern about the bacteria found in four of the five rooms. There were high levels of dust under the bed in one room in Travelodge, Gray’s Inn Road, while dirty handprints and ground-in dirt were found on the walls.

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.

‘It’s clear from our research that some of the hotels are getting it right when appropriate cleaning methods are being used. Paying guests should be guaranteed, at the very least, a clean room.’

Spokespersons for Ibis and Travelodge each said the companies had taken immediate action to address the problems highlighted by the magazine. Both added that they took issues of cleanliness extremely seriously and that they believed levels of bacteria found at the hotels would not have presented a health risk to customers.

Which? Holiday is a subscription-only holiday magazine published by Which?, the independent consumer advice organisation. For details visit www.which.co.uk.