A BUDGET chain hotel in Southampton is one of the top ten performing hotels in the UK after winning a gold award for the second time in less than a year.

Delighted general manager Richard Hobden, of Southampton City Centre Premier Travel Inn, said: "We have no idea when the inspector is due to arrive or when they are staying in the hotel. Nothing escapes their scrutiny. If they are in doubt then they record a fail."

The inspectors are provided by specialist hotel auditors, who arrive as mystery guests and evaluate service against a set of strict criteria.

Among many checks they look at is the cleanliness of bathroom surfaces, dust on pictures, and they even strip the bed to ensure the sheets are clean.

Richard said: "They spend the first 12 hours acting like a guest and the following12 hours pouring over the operation in minute detail with our team."

He is doubly pleased because the award puts the hotel, where rooms cost from £48.95 a night, in the top ten of the 460-best run hotels in the UK.