Hub by Premier Inn room review - so good it's better than standard Premier Inn's!
The Best Book Direct website features a lot of independent information about the Premier Inn brand but we are not connected to the brand in any way, and we do not receive any commission if you stay with them. This allows us to honestly review and rate all of their services. Overall we do genuinely rate the brand as a good budget hotel provider here in the UK.
We headed up into Scotland to test out a Hub hotel in the Haymarket area in the West end of Edinburgh in early September 2023, this is one of three hub hotels in the city centre of Edinburgh with the other two being located close to each other by the main Waverley train station (Rose Street and Royal Mile).
This is a full review of the very popular Hub by Premier Inn concept hotels that the brand has been trialling in London and Edinburgh which offers guests a smaller room in exchange for a great city centre location and a cheaper (roughly 25%) room rate.
The first hub hotel by Premier Inn was launched in 2014 in London and since then the brand has expanded the number of hub hotels to 15 in total with 12 being in London and just 3 in Edinburgh. So far there does not seem to be any plans to branch out into other cities but watch this space.
The Best Book Direct website features a lot of independent information about the Premier Inn brand but we are not connected to the brand in any way, and we do not receive any commission if you stay with them. This allows us to honestly review and rate all of their services. Overall we do genuinely rate the brand as a good budget hotel provider here in the UK.
We headed up into Scotland to test out a Hub hotel in the Haymarket area in the West end of Edinburgh in early September 2023, this is one of three hub hotels in the city centre of Edinburgh with the other two being located close to each other by the main Waverley train station (Rose Street and Royal Mile).
This is a full review of the very popular Hub by Premier Inn concept hotels that the brand has been trialling in London and Edinburgh which offers guests a smaller room in exchange for a great city centre location and a cheaper (roughly 25%) room rate.
The first hub hotel by Premier Inn was launched in 2014 in London and since then the brand has expanded the number of hub hotels to 15 in total with 12 being in London and just 3 in Edinburgh. So far there does not seem to be any plans to branch out into other cities but watch this space.
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On average you will pay about 25% less for a hub room compared to a standard Premier Inn room. Direct price comparisons are difficult because the hub hotels tend to be in prime city centre locations and the package you get with a Hub hotel is quite different to that offered from a stay in the standard hotels.
Because the Hub hotels are all about maximising space none of them offer car parking but this is not likely to be a problem because you have excellent public transport right on your doorstep in both London and Edinburgh. One point to note is that if you are a cyclist you cannot bring your bike into a Hub hotel, unlike the standard Premier Inn hotels which are all bike friendly, the rooms are just too compact. You also cannot bring children to stay in a Hub hotel, they are adults only so no family rooms. The first thing you notice when you arrive at the hotel is that this is a new building and it is really rather nice and swish. The decor manages to strike that rather difficult balance between being fresh and modern but also quite cosy and warm. Through the entrance door there is a bank of automatic check-in machines where you can programme your own room keycard, but only once the check-in time of 3pm has passed. We actually arrived half an hour early and there was a small group of fellow guests all sitting in the comfy lounge area where you are welcome to enjoy unlimited free bean to cup coffee/teas and fresh chilled water 24/7. The hotel staff were very friendly and I was impressed that they offered to check in guests early which was very welcome. Previous reviews of Hub rooms have referred to a lack of windows in some rooms creating a claustrophobic feeling so with this in mind I asked if we could have a room with a window and was delighted to be told that in this hub hotel only a small handful of rooms lacking windows. We had booked the standard hub room which only has a double sized bed and so likely to be on the smaller side for a couple simply because no larger rooms were available for our dates. Larger rooms have a king-sized bed with access to both sides of the bed - clearly a plus if you are staying as a couple. Note that because Hub hotels only feature one bed in the rooms they do not cater for children, this actually had an unexpected advantage in that the hotel had a more 'adult vibe' about it without the hustle and bustle that young children can bring. |
Bar / Lounge Area with complimentary hot drinks 24/7
Standard sized Hub room with window in Edinburgh Haymarket
40" smart TV with free movie selection
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On arrival at the room first impressions were very good, the room was clean and bright and it felt very modern with its automatic lighting (no need to place your key-card in a wall slot - the room uses occupancy sensors to detect when you are in and turns on the lighting etc) and snazzy interior decor.
The standard hub rooms measure 12 foot by 7 foot (3.6m x 2.2m) including the en-suite, the en-suite measures 5 foot by 4 foot (1.5m x 1.2m). The double bed is fitted to the wall so you access it from only one side, there is a headboard area which houses a touch panel controlling the room lighting, allowing you to have various levels of dimmed lighting, the air-con system which can cool the room down to 18℃, a reading light for both sides of the bed and finally you can activate a light panel outside the room for housekeeping informing them if you are sleeping etc. There are plenty of power points throughout the room and next to the bed including USB charging points. |
Typical Floor Plan for standard Hub room
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At the foot of the bed is a useful raised shelf which incorporates a pull out desk/table area.
There is no complimentary tea tray in the Hub hotel but this is more than compensated for by firstly two bottles of free water and then you get the unlimited tea/coffee available downstairs 24/7. This is so much better than brewing up a small cup of dodgy tea with UHT milk in your room. You can enjoy a choice of 8 different bean to cup coffees and a selection of teas all with real milk in mugs and bring them up to your room or enjoy them in the comfortable lounge/bar area.
Under the bed there is a pull out drawer for storage towards the foot end and a large luggage storage pull out slide - very clever and useful, this is also illuminated.
The room comes with a single comfortable armchair as the only movable piece of furniture.
The bed is comfortable with a decent mattress and you get two pillows as standard along with a lightweight quilt, we requested additional pillows and the helpful staff provided an additional two with no fuss.
There is a 40 inch flat screen TV fitted to the wall at the end of the bed and this is a very slick smart TV.
This is a serious upgrade compared to the standard Premier Inn rooms where you often only get a 32 inch 'dumb' TV.
Not only does this TV connect seamlessly with your mobile device for screen mirroring, it also has BBC iplayer, YouTube and various other apps preloaded, but the real bonus is you get a fairly decent selection of free movies to watch (10 movies when we stayed). We enjoyed Top Gun Maverick which was an unexpected treat.
The window gave some welcome natural light and was fitted with an excellent black out blind. The window did not open so you cannot benefit from fresh air but I am happy to report that the air-con worked perfectly in this room unlike our rather miserable experience in the Premier Plus room reported on earlier! It was a fairly warm night outside during our stay as the UK was enjoying a mini heatwave so we kept the air-con running all night and happily the unit was very quiet when running so it did not disturb our sleep.
There is no complimentary tea tray in the Hub hotel but this is more than compensated for by firstly two bottles of free water and then you get the unlimited tea/coffee available downstairs 24/7. This is so much better than brewing up a small cup of dodgy tea with UHT milk in your room. You can enjoy a choice of 8 different bean to cup coffees and a selection of teas all with real milk in mugs and bring them up to your room or enjoy them in the comfortable lounge/bar area.
Under the bed there is a pull out drawer for storage towards the foot end and a large luggage storage pull out slide - very clever and useful, this is also illuminated.
The room comes with a single comfortable armchair as the only movable piece of furniture.
The bed is comfortable with a decent mattress and you get two pillows as standard along with a lightweight quilt, we requested additional pillows and the helpful staff provided an additional two with no fuss.
There is a 40 inch flat screen TV fitted to the wall at the end of the bed and this is a very slick smart TV.
This is a serious upgrade compared to the standard Premier Inn rooms where you often only get a 32 inch 'dumb' TV.
Not only does this TV connect seamlessly with your mobile device for screen mirroring, it also has BBC iplayer, YouTube and various other apps preloaded, but the real bonus is you get a fairly decent selection of free movies to watch (10 movies when we stayed). We enjoyed Top Gun Maverick which was an unexpected treat.
The window gave some welcome natural light and was fitted with an excellent black out blind. The window did not open so you cannot benefit from fresh air but I am happy to report that the air-con worked perfectly in this room unlike our rather miserable experience in the Premier Plus room reported on earlier! It was a fairly warm night outside during our stay as the UK was enjoying a mini heatwave so we kept the air-con running all night and happily the unit was very quiet when running so it did not disturb our sleep.
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The room also has a small wardrobe area for hanging up clothes and a decent hair dryer and full length mirror.
Moving on to the bathroom, I guess the first thing to point out is that the en-suite feels very integral to the bedroom because it is only separated by glass panels which have obscured glass panels up to chest height and so afford some privacy form your partner but you would probably not want to be with a complete stranger in this room. There is no bath but you do get a rainfall shower-head and a separate handheld shower in a cubicle fitted with proper sliding glass doors, not the usual shower curtain the main over-bath showers have in the standard Premier Inn rooms. There is decent complimentary soap/shower gel. The shower works ok, but the water pressure was weak. You might struggle if you had thick long hair to rinse. The room blurb tells you how the shower employs 'water saving technology' which is generally code for telling you the water flow has been reduced! The sink and taps are nice quality and you get a large back-lit mirror. The bin for the room is located in the bathroom inside a small cupboard. You also get the benefit of a proper toilet paper roll rather than the horrible single sheet dispensers now standard in the main hotels. |
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Hub by Premier Inn WiFi
You get complimentary WiFi Included in the room price in all the Hub hotels and blimey, it actually works really well!
Unlike the free Premier Inn WiFi in the standard hotels which is pitifully slow and keeps disconnecting or even the upgraded Ultimate WiFi package you can but for £5 per day the Hub WiFi is great. You can read our full guide to the standard and Ultimate Premier Inn WiFi service here.
Technical details:
Firstly your connection is rock solid, no disconnecting every few minutes.
Upload speed - 10Mbps
Download speed - 4Mbps
Data allowance - unlimited 24/7
This means that you should not have to rely on your phone 4/5G for data and although you are in a major city centre with good mobile coverage we found the mobile signal weak once inside your room.
You get complimentary WiFi Included in the room price in all the Hub hotels and blimey, it actually works really well!
Unlike the free Premier Inn WiFi in the standard hotels which is pitifully slow and keeps disconnecting or even the upgraded Ultimate WiFi package you can but for £5 per day the Hub WiFi is great. You can read our full guide to the standard and Ultimate Premier Inn WiFi service here.
Technical details:
Firstly your connection is rock solid, no disconnecting every few minutes.
Upload speed - 10Mbps
Download speed - 4Mbps
Data allowance - unlimited 24/7
This means that you should not have to rely on your phone 4/5G for data and although you are in a major city centre with good mobile coverage we found the mobile signal weak once inside your room.
Food and Drink
The Hub hotels have a slimmed down restaurant offering a take-away style menu which you are welcome to either eat in the restaurant area or take up to your room. Standard food tends to be the likes of pizza or chilli con carne, garlic bread etc.
Of course because Hub Hotels are in city centres you have a vast choice of restaurants right on your doorstep, many restaurants now deliver using one of the many delivery apps and you can then eat it in your room.
There is a nice bar serving the usual selection of alcoholic and soft drinks including cocktails etc and prices are all reasonable.
The Hub hotels have a slimmed down restaurant offering a take-away style menu which you are welcome to either eat in the restaurant area or take up to your room. Standard food tends to be the likes of pizza or chilli con carne, garlic bread etc.
Of course because Hub Hotels are in city centres you have a vast choice of restaurants right on your doorstep, many restaurants now deliver using one of the many delivery apps and you can then eat it in your room.
There is a nice bar serving the usual selection of alcoholic and soft drinks including cocktails etc and prices are all reasonable.
Premier Inn Hub Hotel Breakfast
All of the Hub hotels offer a breakfast option and this can vary a little between the different hotels. Generally you get a good continental breakfast and you are free to eat as much as you want. If you think of the standard Premier Inn breakfast and then just take away the hot options then you will have a pretty good idea of what you will get.
Premier Inn Hub breakfast times:
Breakfast is served from 6:30am on weekdays and 7:00am on weekends until 11:00am
Premier Inn Hub breakfast price:
The Hub breakfast is good value, although I am not quite sure why you get charged almost 30% more for it in the London Hub hotels compared with the Edinburgh ones though, I guess that's London weighting?..
The Hub hotel breakfast costs £7 per person in London and £5 per person in Edinburgh
Highlights:
All of the Hub hotels offer a breakfast option and this can vary a little between the different hotels. Generally you get a good continental breakfast and you are free to eat as much as you want. If you think of the standard Premier Inn breakfast and then just take away the hot options then you will have a pretty good idea of what you will get.
Premier Inn Hub breakfast times:
Breakfast is served from 6:30am on weekdays and 7:00am on weekends until 11:00am
Premier Inn Hub breakfast price:
The Hub breakfast is good value, although I am not quite sure why you get charged almost 30% more for it in the London Hub hotels compared with the Edinburgh ones though, I guess that's London weighting?..
The Hub hotel breakfast costs £7 per person in London and £5 per person in Edinburgh
Highlights:
- Selection of cereals with dairy milk or almond/oat milk options
- Muesli
- Fresh fruit salad
- Yogurts
- Selection of pastries including croissants and pain au chocolat
- Toast
- Selection of jams, peanut butter, honey, nutella, butter, sunflower spread
- Fruit juices
- Selection of bean to cup coffees and tea selection
So how well did this Hub by Premier Inn standard room work for us?
Overall we were very impressed, it far exceeded our expectations and you have to admire the hotel architects and interior designers who have managed to package up small spaced rooms very cleverly. No doubt having a window in our room helped in preventing any feeling of claustrophobia.
We did find the double bed small for two adults but not unmanageable and since I reckon a lot of guests are travelling solo these rooms must work very well.
Overall everything just works really well, from the excellent WiFi, in room TV entertainment with free movies, it was clean and modern, and the room air-con worked efficiently. the staff were all friendly and helpful and seemed happy in their work. The room is comfortable you get a hot shower and sleep in comfort...this has got to be a tick,tick.
If you are travelling as a couple then I would definitely recommend booking the larger hub room, if available so you can benefit from a King Size Bed with access to both sides then you don't have to clamber over your partner to get in!
Overall we were very impressed, it far exceeded our expectations and you have to admire the hotel architects and interior designers who have managed to package up small spaced rooms very cleverly. No doubt having a window in our room helped in preventing any feeling of claustrophobia.
We did find the double bed small for two adults but not unmanageable and since I reckon a lot of guests are travelling solo these rooms must work very well.
Overall everything just works really well, from the excellent WiFi, in room TV entertainment with free movies, it was clean and modern, and the room air-con worked efficiently. the staff were all friendly and helpful and seemed happy in their work. The room is comfortable you get a hot shower and sleep in comfort...this has got to be a tick,tick.
If you are travelling as a couple then I would definitely recommend booking the larger hub room, if available so you can benefit from a King Size Bed with access to both sides then you don't have to clamber over your partner to get in!
Summary and verdict...
The GOOD:
Any MOANS:
The GOOD:
- Modern, yet cosy hotel
- City centre location yet saves you about 25% over the room rate in a standard Premier Inn
- Very nice common areas including lounge and bar
- Clever rooms which make the most of the compact dimensions
- Smart tech like automatic lighting that works brilliantly
- Nice bonus to get the free premium movie selection in your room
- Unlimited quality bean to cup coffees and teas with real milk 24/7 - much prefer this to the usual rather sad in room 'hospitality tray'
- Free bottled water
- Good value tasty breakfast
- Excellent stable free unlimited WiFi
- Adult only hotel so tends to be quiet with no kids running around etc.
Any MOANS:
- The shower water pressure needs to be turned up
- Some guests might miss not having a bath
Would I stay in a Hub by Premier Inn room again...
Based on this experience, yes definitely.
In fact I would go as far as to say the Hub rooms would be my preference if I was travelling without our children. I really hope Whitbread decides to roll out this formula to more cities across the UK
Top tips
Based on this experience, yes definitely.
In fact I would go as far as to say the Hub rooms would be my preference if I was travelling without our children. I really hope Whitbread decides to roll out this formula to more cities across the UK
Top tips
- If you are travelling solo then the standard hub room will work brilliantly, but I would recommend upgrading to the 'hub bigger room' if you are staying as a couple.
- The breakfast is good value and worth having (assuming you can live without a cooked breakfast) but you don't need to book it in advance just pay for it on the day
- When you check-in see if there are any staff around rather than just using the self-check-in machine so you can request a room with a window
- If you want extra pillows or towels then just ask
- The hub hotels offer a free luggage storage service for a few hours which is really handy if your onward travel is later on in the day after check out which is 12:00.
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