Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Premier Inn becomes the latest hotel chain with free wi-fi

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

Budget hotel group Premier Inn has, with immediate effect, implemented a ‘free wi-fi for all’ policy in all of its hotels.  This replaces the previous policy of only offering 30 minutes for free.

Over the past couple of months I have reported on how Starwood, Hyatt and Marriott are – with varying degrees of conditionality – moving to free wi-fi.

IHG has been offering it globally at all Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Crowne Plaza etc properties since last June as long as you were a (free) member of IHG Rewards Club.

The Premier Inn service does carry some restrictions.  It runs at a throttled speed, probably 256 or 512 kmbs.  It is not clear from the Premier Inn website if you are allowed to connect multiple devices without charge.

A premium service is still available for anyone who wants to watch videos or do any other sort of high speed streaming.  This will cost £5 per 24 hours and allow up to three devices to connect.  This is a very reasonable price in comparison to the £15+ still demanded at full service hotels for streaming-quality internet.

I have only ever stayed at one Premier Inn, in Scarborough of all places (worryingly, it is the best hotel in Scarborough – click for my review).  I was impressed by what I found – the fact that most Premier Inn hotels are relatively new means that you are likely to receive a modern room with modern furnishings and the rooms are generally well-sized.

Full details can be found on the Premier Inn website here.


best hotel loyalty promotions

Hotel offers update – October 2024:

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.

Want to buy hotel points?

  • Hilton Honors is offering an 80%-100% bonus when you buy points by 27th November 2024. Click here to buy.

Comments (17)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • JoshBosh says:

    I’d suggest Kbps rather than mbs. 256 megabits is a huge upgrade from many hotels paid internet.

  • HelenWB says:

    There’s no limit on number of devices connected to the free wifi because that isn’t time or room or even hotel specific (I went from Warrington to Wembley Premier Inns and didn’t have to re-input my name and email)

  • Imbruce says:

    Premier Inn are building 2 new hotels in my area. The first one is in Sidcup (Kent) opposite the railway station.
    The second one is in Lewisham ( South East London) beside the railway line.
    Both will be opening sometime this year. No dates for their opening on the website as yet.

  • Alan says:

    Certainly seems to be the global trend. Not relevant to this example, but I really wish more would follow Hyatt’s lead though and offer proper free premium internet to those with status in their loyalty programme – it would be a good differentiator now base access is free.

    PS -and def should be 256 or 512kbps, Raffles 😛

  • Don says:

    Currently using it in Dover. Speed here is 0.09 Mbps down, 0.12 Mbps up, for the free service.

  • Chris says:

    I stayed in a Premier Inn in Ayrshire last week and there were no issues with the stay. The wifi was free, however the faster paid for option was worse than the free one to the point I gave up and reverted to tethering off my mobile. Not sure if it is an issue with that one property or not but it certainly wasn’t five times faster than the free option that is for sure.

  • Jason says:

    I’m currently in a ” Hotel with no name”
    I booked, through Kaligo, a holiday inn express on the Avios promotion last month.
    In the meantime, the hotel is no longer a holiday inn express but Premier inn aren’t taking over, officially, for another month, so the hotel has no bar, cooking facilities for breakfast or wifi!!!!
    Thought it was quite amusing when we checked in last night( although they had warned there would be no buffet service by email)

  • Max says:

    I am a Premier Inn fan. iI have stayed with them scores of times over the years with no issues. They are more than adequate for 1-2 night stays whilstt on the road and all you need is a decent bed, breakfast and shower. The staff are always friendly and helpful I find.

    I rate them higher than Holiday Inn Express (at whom I only stay if I am collecting points via Kaligo etc).

    Their new beds are one of the most comfortable I have found in any hotel, including 5* establishments. So much so I am thinking of purchasing one of their mattresses for home..

    We shall be using them in the summer whilst we are en route from the south coast to the Scottish Highlands for pit-stops. Excellent value when booked ahead.

    The free wi-fi is a bonus but I expect I will continue to teher to my smartphone for most connections still.

    • The_Real_A says:

      +1 on the beds. Very comfortable.

      On the opposite end of scale Park Inn beds are the worst i have ever slept in. The pillows also appear to be “inflated” so your heads rolls off them!

      • Rob says:

        I had a VERY odd Park Inn stay once where a double bed had been replaced with a single bed. Unfortunately, the headboard and side tables were built in, so there was a two-foot gap between the edge of the bed and the tables!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.