Early check in at Premier Inn and hair dryer question

I can not remember the last time we checked in to a hotel that did not provide a hairdryer. They have always been more than adequate, so save the weight and space in your luggage and use the hotel's. You can always check the amenities on the hotel's website to ensure that one is in fact provided.

About a week to 10 days before you arrive you should get a welcome/reminder e-mail from them which will give contact details for the hotel.

It's usually [email protected]

The complicating factor at Paddington being that it is 2 hotels in one (a normal PI and a hub)

I edited my post to say I read they put a hair dryer in each room of the newer hotels, at the older ones you could request one from the desk. Just curious about the power capabilities of the ones provided. Daughter has a mop on her head and our “get ready” time would be wonderfully improved if the ones provided are decent.

Thanks Stuart, if that’s the case, I can contact them and let them know about our hope to check in early. That would be a nice way to start our stay.

Oh yay. I just checked and the website shows there are hair dryers in each room. Didn’t see that when I booked a few months ago. We’ll save space and I bet the one in there is more powerful than our travel one anyway!

I've stayed at Premier Inns, and did the early check-in for £10 last time. I think it's available at most PIs. It's completely dependent on a room being vacated and cleaned before 11, and I doubt letting them know ahead gives you an advantage.

The hairdryers at PIs have been just fine.

I have always found that European hair dryers are MORE powerful than their US counterparts. I assume it's the stronger electricity?

You won’t know if early check-in is possible until you get there. If they have a room ready, they’ll let you pay for early check-in. If they don’t, they’ll hold your bag until check-in time. Last year when I stayed at a PI, they didn’t have any rooms available for early check-in when I arrived about noon. There was quite a queue when I got back to the hotel at 3pm for check in.

I've stayed in many PI's and there has always been a hairdryer.

I agree about the 3 PM check in time. It can be busy. No hotel can tell you days ahead of time if early check in will be available.

Be aware, the hairdryer will not be in the bathroom. It will be in the bedroom. There are no electrical outlets in the bathroom. UK law. (Except a lower power one for shavers.)

I very often opt to pay the £10 and check in early. I think it’s a great idea and to me it’s well worth the money to be able to get straight to my room if I arrive early. Since PI started charging the £10 I have always been able to get an early check in.

Thanks for all of the information. We will just keep our fingers crossed and hope for an early check in.

I went back and forth about adding an additional night on the front end. For those of you that have done that, has there ever been a problem with the fact that you didn’t check in on your check in day and the whole reservation was canceled or you had issues with it since you didn’t arrive until the next morning? I’ve read about folks doing this with very early arrivals, but wasn’t sure how it worked and if I should reconsider.

For those of you that have done that, has there ever been a problem with the fact that you didn’t check in on your check in day and the whole reservation was canceled or you had issues with it since you didn’t arrive until the next morning?

When I am arriving at an unusual time, I always put a note on my reservation with information about my anticipated arrival time.

FWIW, I just checked the email we got from PI for our upcoming stay, and it says they don't take advance requests for the early check in. You have to ask for it on arrival.

If you decide to book the previous night, make sure to add a note saying you won't be there until the next morning. That way they won't cancel, assuming you were a no show.

Good to know Laura and CJean, thanks for taking the time to share that information. We’ll just wing it then, and hope for an early entry. I checked the cost of adding another night on the front end and it would be almost $250, so that thought has been firmly put to bed. Probably would have been less when I made the original reservation, but it’s not a big deal. I’ve learned a bit more about doing this in case I ever wanted to in the future m though. Thanks all for your help!

I just wanted to add that like your daughter, I also have a mop of thick hair, and the hair dryer in the room was just fine at the Premier Inn we stayed at in Belfast. This was the first time we have stayed at a PI,and we were really happy with our room and the breakfast in the morning. Have a great stay!

Head o hair girls unite! :) Thanks Dawn for letting us know. I’m done in about 5 minutes with mine, but my girl….well, that’s another story! (Knowing this will also help me in case she wants to use a weak hair dryer as an excuse for taking too long! Lol)

As Laura said, you won't know till that morning if you can check in. I was not able to check in early in London, but have been able to check in early at a couple of other PI's in England. In fact, one let me check in at 10:45 am, and then forgot to charge me the £10 fee. :-)

One thing to be aware of (and I'm assuming it's the same at Paddington Station as it was at County Hall), but they will tell you that if you want housekeeping to clean your room, you have to let them know the day before, otherwise they won't come in. I was fine with not having mine cleaned, but assumed they would still check towels. They did not, so I asked at the front desk and you still have to request the housekeeping even if you just want your towels changed. Just an FYI. :-)

Good to know mardee, especially about what to do in order to get refreshed towels. We’re really looking forward to trying out the Premier Inn chain of hotels.

We just stayed at the new Premier Inn Paddington for 7 nights. It was a wonderful stay. We opted for the "premier plus" room because it has a mini refg which was stocked with water , etc. We did see that there were a number of people checking in early. We also had a great hair dryer. If we wanted the room cleaned or if we needed a change in towels, we told the front desk before noon.
The breakfast & dinners were also great. The staff was also very helpful & friendly.
It was so very convenient after arriving via the Heathrow Express from LHR.

Great news huggi bear. That’s our plan, too, coming in from LHR on the Heathrow Express. Stuart graciously checked out the location recently and gave it a thumbs up, and now with your review, it seems like a good choice. I really appreciated Marco taking the time to alert the forum about its opening. We snagged a really good rate and switched from another hotel (thought the centralized location might be better for a shorter trip).

It’s good to read about the meals going smoothly. In some of the reviews online, people mention that the hotel was working out the kinks with them. October can’t get here soon enough!

Mustlovedogs, have you considered taking the newer Elizabeth line to Paddington rather than the Heathrow Express? It's not as fast (about 25 minutes as opposed to 15), but you'll only pay half the cost (£12.20 vs. £25), and it's quite comfortable (and no transfers).

Just a side note to the post above about the general form of the premierinn email.

My experience is that is often following this format:
[email protected]
Nameof [email protected]

Just a note.. if you purchase in advance the Heathrow Express is not that much more than the Elizabeth Line. My ticket for an upcoming journey is 15 Pounds. And if I had been more organized I could have gotten it for the 10 Pounds my friend did!

Mardee, I looked into both and found I was able to get a round trip early bird rate for the HE that was only about $4 more for each of us. I also have $ left on my Oyster card from last summer that I rationalized I could substitute for the same day tube fare I could have utilized if we went Elizabeth Line. I wouldn’t have taken the HE if I had to pay more for it, though. The Elizabeth line looks quite acceptable.

Huggibear, glad to hear you had a good stay at the Premier Inn Paddington Station. My spouse and I have a reservation there coming up soon, but we’ve been having second thoughts because of on line reviews we’ve read stating that the wifi/cell service were really bad at this location. Is this actually the case?

I have to admit, it would be very inconvenient to be unable to access Wi-Fi during our stay, but I’m hoping that maybe that was a rough patch due to the location just recently opening. Thanks in advance for any info you might have!

Mustlovedogs, that's great! It is a faster train so you should be all set!

LaughFP, I answered your question on the thread you started, but just in case anyone reads it here, here is my response:

The free wifi service at all Premier Inns is notoriously bad (and I speak from experience), but you can upgrade to their "Ultimate Wifi" by paying a small fee (I think it's £5 a day). I usually do this because I spend a lot of time on my laptop in the hotel. https://www.virginmediabusiness.co.uk/help-and-advice/technical-support/virgin-wifi-premierinn-ultimate.html

If you have a Premier Plus room, the Ultimate Wifi is included in the price.

Tried to pay £10 at the Earl's Court Premier Inn at around 11:30am, but they had none available until 3pm anyway. I can't imagine they couldn't promise you specifically that a room will be available until the day of. It's more first-come-first-served, as far as I can tell.

There was a hairdryer.

We arrived early at the premiere inn Paddington Station 9/3/24. We asked for early check in a little before 11 am . Our room was ready, so they just added 10L to our bill. I had already paid thru Booking.com. When we checked out nothing was said about the extra charge. Our room was very nice and quiet. However, no hairdryer! Still would recommend the hotel.

Well, I will be down at the front desk in a few weeks asking for a hairdryer because I’m sorry in 2024 this is a basic amenity. . I assume they have them at the front desk.

Well, I will be down at the front desk in a few weeks asking for a hairdryer because I’m sorry in 2024 this is a basic amenity. . I assume they have them at the front desk.

I have never been in a Premier Inn without a hairdryer. You might need to look. Sometimes they’re hanging in a bag from the coat hooks, or on a shelf or in a drawer in the clothes-hanging unit. I wonder if the person above just couldn’t find it?

As many of you might know from various threads in these forums, in the UK hairdryers will rarely be in the bathroom as most electrical points are not allowed in bathrooms (just the ones for shavers). Hairdryers will usually be found in a wardrobe or desk or - I’ve noticed this increasingly - hanging in a drawstring bag somewhere in the bedroom.

You can’t book Premier Inn on booking.com, only direct, so I think that poster is confusing their experience. You pay the early check in fee there and then at the desk. All payment at the PI is made upfront not when you check out.

There is always a hairdryer but it’s not in the bathroom. That is not allowed under U.K. electrical regulations.

I have never been in a Premier Inn without a hairdryer. You might need to look.

I agree, it's there somewhere. I've found them in the strangest places. They're often in a black flannel type drawstring bag.

I have always found that European hair dryers are MORE powerful than their US counterparts. I assume it's the stronger electricity?

Abby, yes, I think so. They use 220V as opposed to the US 110V.

You can check in early using the kiosks, entering the code they will send you nearer your date. I have done this in 2 London PI's and at Aberdeen Central. Hairdryers have always been in my rooms - and I have stayed at PI's all over the UK, not just the ones I just mentionned.

For normal online activities I've always found PI WiFi to be fine. I've stayed in over six different PIs in England and Scotland. However, I don't stream videos.

You can check in early using the kiosks, entering the code they will send you nearer your date.

Unless you get there and there is a sign saying "No early check-in". :-) That has happened to me twice.

Well I suppose it happens, but hasn't happened to me yet! Staffing issues influenced your experiences I would bet.