A HOTEL chain with a site in Daresbury has been ranked as the UK’s worst for the ninth year in a row.

An annual survey conducted by consumer group Which? revealed that Britannia, who own the Daresbury Park Hotel and Spa, has come bottom of the pile again.

The hotel, based off the A56 on Chester Road, is rated 2.5 on TripAdvisor with many recent reviews falling under the ‘terrible’ category.

One Daresbury Park Hotel guest took to TripAdvisor comparing the hotel to Chernobyl.

“If it is warmish outside seriously consider your car or a tent instead of a stay in Britannia’s Chernobyl,” the guest said.

Another angry guest claimed they would not stay at the hotel again in a million years while another claimed they would leave ‘0 stars’ if they could.

Within the survey, hotel chains were rated on categories such as cleanliness, bathrooms and value for money.

The chain has 61 hotels across Britain, including Adelphi Hotel and Scarborough’s Grand Hotel.

It received an average customer score of only 49 per cent.

More than half (51 per cent) of Britannia guests surveyed said they ran into a problem during their stay, with cleanliness being the most common issue.

The chain was rated one star out of five for bathrooms, and two stars for seven other categories such as cleanliness, customer service and value for money.

One customer said: "It was terrible. The room was dirty. The bathroom was dirty. The carpet was terrible, stains everywhere."

Others complained about hotels being "run into the ground" and "in need of a drastic makeover".

The average price paid of those surveyed for a one-night stay was £99.

Also being ranked as one of the UK’s worst hotel chain is Mercure.

Mercure's average customer score was only slightly better at 52 per cent with many guests observing that its standards have fallen.

It was rated just two stars for cleanliness, rooms, bathrooms, communal areas and value for money.

Mercure guests surveyed paid an average of £114 for one night.

Premier Inn, with an average price per night of £66, was the best performing large hotel chain with a customer score of 79 per cent.

It was topped by the best small chain, Hotel du Vin, which scored 80 per cent.

Its guests paid an average of £150 for one night.

The research features 24 large hotel chains and six small ones.

A total of 2,371 members of the public and Which? members who stayed in a UK hotel in the 15 months to October 2021 were surveyed.

This included 57 who had visited a Britannia hotel and 73 who had spent the night at a Mercure property.

Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: "Year after year, guests are let down by Britannia's run-down hotels and often dirty rooms.

"This year saw some slight improvements to the chain's score - but not enough to drag it off the bottom of our rankings.

"Until the company ups its game further we would urge guests to look elsewhere.

"The impressive, budget-friendly Premier Inn is our pick of the large chains, and Hotel du Vin offers high quality stays in interesting locations."

A spokesman for Mercure said: "We are surprised to see our position in this survey.

"It does not reflect the high standard of guest experience which we strive for, and we will take action to address these comments.

"The experience and wellbeing of our guests at each and every property is our highest priority."

It added that it was ranked "amongst the top mid-scale brands" in the latest annual hotel guest survey by research consultancy BDRC.

A comment was requested from Britannia.