It’s 8:25am and I’ve made it down, bleary eyed, to breakfast at Premier Inn – all the more miraculous because I haven’t even stayed the night. I’ve just come to eat. My visit comes hot on the news that Premier Inn’s owner, Whitbread, is to cut 1,500 jobs and sell off 126 restaurants as part of a £150m three-year cost-cutting drive, although it sounds as if they’ll still have some in-hotel restaurants for guests only.

You know the restaurants: usually large, noisy pubs run by the Brewers Fayre chain, although sometimes Beefeater, the other side of the car park from your digs. If you’re staying at a non-city-centre Premier Inn, they’re usually the only place to eat that doesn’t involve getting back in the car or dicing with death as you meander down a busy A road to a 24-hour McDonald’s.

Anyone who has ever stayed at a Premier Inn has thought: “Screw it, we’ll just eat at the hotel.” Plus, only a fool (or cheapskate) doesn’t pre-book the all-you-can-eat unlimited Premier Inn breakfast. Where else can you dine on Rice Krispies from giant glass dispensers, drink........

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