The Best and Worst Motorway Hotels – Magor Services Worst Hotel in Wales

Prestone

The Best and Worst Motorway Hotels

Overview

Prestone analysed 90 motorway service hotels across the UK, using review data from TripAdvisor, Google and the hotel’s own sites to discover the best and worst motorway hotels across the UK. They also considered important factors such as cleanliness, staff, room decor and noise caused by traffic.

Key Findings

• The best motorway hotel in the UK is the Westmorland Hotel at Tebay services on the M6, located in the North West, with an overall average score of 4.6.
• The Travelodge at Kinross services on the M90 in Scotland took second place, with a score of 4.4.
• Service operator Moto runs some of the best motorway hotels in the UK, with 6 out of the top 10 best hotels being under their brand.
• The UK’s worst motorway hotel is Rivington Lodge at Rivington services on the M61, also located in the North West, with the lowest average score of 2.8.
• The second worst motorway hotel is located in the South West at Taunton Deane services. The Days Inn by Wyndham Taunton on the M5 only achieved an average score of 3.1.
• It turns out Roadchef is the worst operator for motorway hotels, with 5 out of the top 10 worst hotels being under their brand.
• Some of the worst reviews included issues with rude staff, noise, horrible smells and uncomfortable beds.
• Moto has left positive impressions around the country, home to the best motorway hotels in 6 different regions across the UK.

The Best Motorway Hotels in the UK

MOTORWAY	SERVICES	LOCATION	REGION	OPERATOR	HOTEL	AVG SCORE
M6	Tebay	M6 between J38 and J39	North West	Westmorland	Westmorland Hotel	4.55
M90	Kinross	M90 at J6	Scotland	Moto	Travelodge Kinross M90	4.4
M62	(Glews)	M62 at J36	East Midlands	Glews Services	Premier Inn Goole	4.4
M62	Ferrybridge	M62 at J33 and A1	North East	Moto	Travelodge Pontefract Ferrybridge A1/M62	4.35
M42	Ashby de la Zouch	A42 at J13	East Midlands	EG Group	Premier Inn Ashby De La Zouch	4.35
M6	Burton-in-Kendal	M6 northbound between J35 and J36	North West	Moto	Travelodge Burton M6 Northbound	4.3
M18	Doncaster (North)	M18 at J5 and M180	Yorkshire & Humberside	Moto	Travelodge Doncaster M18/M180	4.3
M65	Blackburn with Darwen	M65 at J4	North West	Extra	Travelodge Blackburn M65	4.25
M1	Woolley Edge Southbound	M1 between J38 and J39	Yorkshire & Humberside	Moto	Travelodge Wakefield Woolley Edge M1 Southbound Hotel	4.25
M48	Severn View	M48 at J1, M4 at J21 and J22	South West	Moto	Travelodge Bristol Severn View M48	4.2

• The M6 in the North West is home to the best motorway hotel, namely the Westmorland Hotel at Tebay services – scoring 4.6 overall.
• One reviewer said of Westmorland Hotel: “This hotel is a game-changer…It’s like a posh London hotel on the M6 but you don’t know you’re even near the M6!”
• In second place is the Travelodge at Kinross services on the M90, located in Scotland, with a score of 4.4.
• Closely following with similar scores of 4.4 includes the Premier Inn Goole on the M62 and Premier Inn Ashby De La Zouch on the M42, both in the East Midlands. 
• The Travelodge Pontefract also scored an impressive 4.4, located in the North East at Ferrybridge services on the M62.
• Services operator Moto fared very well, appearing 6 times in the top 10.

The Worst Motorway Hotels in the UK

MOTORWAY	SERVICES	LOCATION	REGION	OPERATOR	HOTEL	AVG SCORE
M61	Rivington	M61 between J6 and J8	North West	EG Group	Rivington Lodge	2.8
M5	Taunton Deane	M5 between J25 and J26	South West	Roadchef	Days Inn by Wyndham Taunton	3.1
M4	Magor	M4 at J23A	Wales	Roadchef	Days Inn by Wyndham Magor	3.25
M11	Birchanger Green	M11 at J8	East of England	Welcome Break	Days Inn by Wyndham London Stansted Airport	3.25
M4	Cardiff West	M4 at J33	Wales	Moto	Travelodge Cardiff M4	3.3
M1	Watford Gap	M1 between J16 and J17	West Midlands	Roadchef	Days Inn by Wyndham Watford Gap	3.35
M6	Stafford (South)	M6 southbound between J14 and J15	West Midlands	Roadchef	Days Inn by Wyndham Stafford	3.55
M4	Heston Westbound	M4 between J2 and J3	Greater London	Moto	Travelodge London Heathrow Heston M4 Westbound	3.55
M74	Gretna	A74(M) between J21 and J22	Scotland	Welcome Break	Days Inn by Wyndham Gretna Green M74	3.6
M6	Killington Lake	M6 southbound between J36 and J37	North West	Roadchef	Days Inn by Wyndham Kendal Killington Lake	3.6

• Rivington Lodge on the M61 in the North West has been ranked as the worst motorway hotel in the UK, scoring a lowly 2.8.
• One reviewer said of Rivington Lodge: “The guy at the counter was very rude and cold…He started saying there’s no record of me having booked. Me and my wife couldn’t sleep because people were coming into the building all night long in 10 minute intervals, slamming the heavy doors.”
• In second place, the Days Inn by Wyndham Taunton at the Taunton Deane services on the M5 only managed to score 3.1.
• Closely following with scores of 3.3 are the Days Inn by Wyndham Magor and the Travelodge Cardiff, both on the M4 in Wales. The Days Inn by Wyndham London Stansted on the M11 also only managed a meagre score of 3.3.
• Roadchef is arguably the worst operator for motorway hotels, appearing 5 times.
• One of the worst customer reviews was for the Ramada by Wyndham London Stansted, which read “I would never recommend this hotel to anyone who expects to sleep at a hotel. The entire experience was ghastly. The room smelt of urine and I was woken up at 1:30am by the room making electrical mechanical noises.”

The Best Motorway Hotels in Every Region

REGION	MOTORWAY	SERVICES	LOCATION	OPERATOR	HOTEL	AVG SCORE
NORTH EAST	M62	Ferrybridge	M62 at J33 and A1	Moto	Travelodge Pontefract Ferrybridge A1/M62	4.35
NORTH WEST	M6	Tebay	M6 between J38 and J39	Westmorland	Westmorland Hotel	4.55
WEST MIDLANDS	M6 (Toll)	Norton Canes	M6 Toll between JT6 and JT7	Roadchef	Days Inn by Wyndham Cannock Norton Canes M6 Toll	4.05
EAST MIDLANDS	M62	(Glews)	M62 at J36	Glews Services	Premier Inn Goole	4.4
SOUTH WEST	M48	Severn View	M48 at J1, M4 at J21 and J22	Moto	Travelodge Bristol Severn View M48	4.2
SOUTH EAST	M40	Cherwell Valley	M40 at J10 and A43	Moto	Travelodge Bicester Cherwell Valley M40	3.95
GREATER LONDON	M25	Cobham	M25 between J9 and J10	Extra	Ramada by Wyndham Cobham	4
EAST OF ENGLAND	M40	Beaconsfield	M40 at J2	Extra	ibis budget Beaconsfield	3.9
YORKSHIRE & HUMBERSIDE	M18	Doncaster (North)	M18 at J5 and M180	Moto	Travelodge Doncaster M18/M180	4.3
SCOTLAND	M90	Kinross	M90 at J6	Moto	Travelodge Kinross M90	4.4
WALES	M4	Swansea West	M4 at J47	Moto	Travelodge Swansea M4	3.95
NORTHERN IRELAND	M1 (Northern Ireland)	Cohannon	M1 at J14	–	The Cohannon Inn	4.1

• Services operator Moto fares well again, appearing 6 times with the best motorway hotel in regions including the North East, South West, South East, Yorkshire, Scotland and Wales.
• Extra, another services operator, also made more than one appearance – having the best motorway hotel in the East of England and Greater London.