I stayed at UK's worst budget hotel - one £10 feature took me back

There aren't many hotels charging £10 extra for windows or appearing completely deserted during the week before Christmas. And there's only one hotel chain crowned Britain's worst for 12 consecutive years.

To sample such experiences, you need to book yourself into a Britannia.

The chain has achieved legendary status. Half a century after launching its inaugural property, the Country House Hotel in Didsbury, Manchester, it has expanded to roughly 60 establishments nationwide before acquiring Pontins.

Yet its journey hasn't been entirely triumphant. Britannia has faced considerable criticism over the years for (according to numerous dissatisfied guests at least) transforming formerly magnificent buildings into grimy, disagreeable and uncomfortable establishments that fail to deliver value, even at their budget-friendly rates.

My initial encounter with Britannia occurred in 2022, during those euphoric post-lockdown months, when I travelled by train to Bournemouth for a stay in a hotel now converted to accommodate asylum seekers. The jammed windows and overpowering paint fumes guaranteed a sweltering and uncomfortable night, whilst the empty outdoor pool, abandoned underwear in the courtyard and scattered nitrous oxide canisters reinforced the pervasive atmosphere of neglect.

With those scenes fresh in my mind, I approached my visit to the local Britannia with considerable apprehension, wondering if the UK's worst-rated hotel chain had turned things around.

It hadn't.

Britannia Hampstead proved depressing, though in contrasting ways to its coastal counterpart. Below is an assessment of its core features, measured against a recent stay at The Manor in Blakeney, North Norfolk.

The Manor belongs to the Coaching Inn Group, which Which? readers crowned Britain's finest large hotel chain of 2025, whilst Britannia languished at the bottom. Here's what distinguishes excellence from mediocrity.

Have you had a memorable hotel stay, either good or bad? Email webtravel@reachplc.com