Exploring the food scene in Southampton was on the cards when I planned a short two-day trip to Southampton. Every year I explore new places when I go to events like blog camp, this is a great way for me to explore the food and local culture. With lots of things planned during our two-night stay, I wanted to ensure a comfortable and rested evening with a clean and well-equipped room. Premier Inn has two locations in Southampton and my friends Heidi, Nayna and me stayed at the one in City Centre.

The other branch is at West Quay. Southampton offers lots of options for stay as it is home to one of U,K’s top-ranked universities. Naturally, like most other university towns, lots of good budget stay and food options are available. So an opportunity to review Premier Inn for our short-stay was great as it ticked most of my must-haves.

These are my basic Budget Hotel must-haves:

• Comfy clean bed
• Spotlessly clean bathroom
• Close to transport links
• Safe, quiet and with easy access to local eateries
• Breakfast options
• Free wifi
• Easy booking options online

I wanted something close to the railway station, within walking distance from the city centre and ideally not too far away from the harbour as we were to spend the day aboard a luxury cruise liner called Msc Preziosa.

Premier Inn guarantees a good night’s sleep or your money back and with their luxury king-size Hypnos beds am sure they fulfil this guarantee.

Check-in was a breeze and our rooms were all cleaned and ready for us to move in. After setting the temperature to a toasty 19 deg, I sat down to enjoy a much-needed cuppa. The room comes with a kettle and some basic tea and coffee making facilities.

We did have the option to get the generous Premier Inn breakfast but decided against it as we had an early start the next day.

My double-room came equipped with a king-size comfy bed, a sofa and massive table with all sorts of plug points. This made coming back after a long day and checking emails over the free 24/ 7  wifi, very easy. I normally carry my DSLR camera and along with my phone and battery pack, need to charge all of them. No problem there, as the room was well-equipped with all modern day amenities and several plug-points.

The bathroom with a bath-tub had a basic shower gel and was spotlessly clean.

Extra fluffy pillows, a toasty duvet, the luxuriously comfortable bed and the blackout curtains ( to leave the outside world – well- outside) ensured I slept through the night, both nights and woke up re-energised.

Premier Inn is a great budget option, especially for short stays. You cannot fault the good night’s sleep promise and the other basic amenities are exactly what you would need. They are certainly a popular choice and have won many awards in the mid-range category and come with a high ranking on TripAdvisor too.

What is it that you look for when you book short stays or business trips? I would love to know your thoughts and I always read and reply to comments with suggestions, queries and tips, besides I love hearing experiences from fellow travellers.

Why not check out what Heidi thought of her stay in Premier Inn, Southampton by having a read of her review post here

*With thanks to Premier Inn for offering a complimentary two-night stay. As usual, all opinions expressed are my own and no monetary compensation was offered for a positive review.