The O’Farrell-Duerden family from Greater Manchester have been missing our hotels so much, they decided to get creative and recreate the Premier Inn experience in their own home. We love what they’ve done with the place!
The O’Farrell-Duerdens used to travel across the UK to take part in softball tournaments, as well as more recent family trips to places like Peppa Pig World, but since the start of lockdown the family, like many others, have been mostly stuck at home.
One day the family was driving past their local Premier Inn and daughter Edie, aged 3, asked when they would be able to stay again. That’s when mum, Lindsay, decided to recreate the fun they had on their weekend stays by making their own Premier Inn hotel at home. They spent the next week writing a list of all the things they remembered about their stays; from key cards and door signs to in-room menus and lighting, they didn’t miss a thing.
Finn, aged 5, helped make some of the items and Lindsay helped with some of the other details like the purple lights behind the headboard (a handy set of purple Halloween lights from the cupboard) and making a key card box for the door. The kids also wanted to recreate the takeaway pizza and other treats they used to have in the room, which mums Lindsay and Nicola arranged too.
Lindsay said: “Lockdown has been hard on everyone, and we are all missing some of the fun things we would be doing. We decided it would be fun for us to recreate a Premier Inn at home and plan a ‘trip’ to our hotel.
“The children loved recreating all the bits of the hotel, and especially loved the treat of having a pizza. What they love about Premier Inn is the fact that we are all able to stay together in one room and have a big sleepover, and usually the stay is accompanied by a fun activity too. We hope our idea inspires other families to recreate fun memories and it won’t be long before we can hopefully stay in an actual Premier Inn!”
Simon Ewins, Premier Inn Managing Director UK, said: “We have loved seeing what our guests who are missing their Premier Inn trips, have come up with and we were so impressed by the detail of what the O’Farrell family had recreated. So many people have favourite things about their stays, whether it is the location near a favourite place or loved one, or the comfortable beds and a good night’s sleep, and whilst you can’t always recreate those at home we have loved seeing so many people are having a go!
“We know many people are looking forward to when they can come and stay with us again, and behind the scenes our teams are busy getting the hotels ready for when they can start welcoming our guests back. Plus, with the recent launch of our new flexible booking rates we hope lots of people will feel confident to book with us and stay once we are able to open our doors.”
The O’Farrell-Duerden family aren’t the only ones finding imaginative ways to recreate the Premier Inn experience at home. Over the years, we’ve received hundreds of letters from fans who did similar things – including from a retired couple who are currently spending every weekend in a ‘Premier Inn’ spare bedroom as they creatively take a ‘break’ during lockdown rules.
We love this idea so much, we’re giving people the chance to win prizes from our rooms by sharing what they miss most about our hotels and by sharing their own fun stories on the Premier Inn Facebook page. A lucky winner will be awarded some of the best bits of our rooms, including the famous Premier Inn bed, duvet and pillows. To enter, just head over to our Facebook page for more details. You can see the terms and conditions here. Even if you don’t win, you can always buy our super-comfy beds and pillows.
