Whenever I’m planning a weekend away, someone in the group ends up with the unenviable job of ploughing through half a dozen hotel websites trying to find the best deal. One thing that keeps catching my eye lately is Premier Inn’s kids eat free offer, and as always with these deals, my first question is what’s the catch. There’s no such thing as a free breakfast, or so the saying goes. So is that what Premier Inn are really offering?
Premier Inn Breakfast: The Genuinely Good Part
Let’s start with breakfast, because there’s good news here. Up to two under 16s get a free breakfast when one adult orders the Premier Inn Breakfast, currently £10.99. This one isn’t a seasonal promotion, it’s a standing offer that appears on Premier Inn’s family pages with no end date attached, unlike the dinner offer below. Bought separately, a children’s breakfast would normally cost a few pounds on its own, so if you’re staying a couple of nights with the family, that adds up to a genuine saving rather than a marketing gimmick.
I’ve written a full breakdown of the breakfast and meal deal numbers, including whether the combined offer is worth it, in Premier Inn Breakfast Deal: Worth It for Families? if you want the maths in detail.
One money saving tip I’d always give, and one I’ve been exploring more since, is that it’s often worth checking what’s nearby before defaulting to the hotel breakfast. I found this out in London recently, where the hotel’s continental breakfast was heading towards £14 a head. I walked across the road to a local café that had just opened and got a coffee and a pastry for £6 instead, a decent saving for the same result. It does come with a small inconvenience, you have to go and find somewhere, and you never quite know how good an unfamiliar café will be. At least with the hotel you know exactly what you’re getting.
Premier Inn Kids Eat Free Dinner: This Is Where the Catch Actually Is
The offer keeps running into the evening too. Up to two kids can get a free main from the kids’ menu when an adult orders a main course and a drink priced at £1.99 or more from the dinner menu.
Here’s the catch, and it’s not really a hidden one, it’s just easy to miss. Unlike breakfast, this dinner offer isn’t a permanent fixture. It’s a summer promotion, running from 25th June to 1st September 2026 across selected Premier Inn restaurants. Blink and you’ll miss it once September rolls round. If you’re planning a stay specifically to take advantage of the free kids’ dinner, check the dates and check that your chosen hotel’s restaurant is taking part before you book.
It’s also worth knowing that if you go for the Meal Deal, the bundled breakfast, two course dinner and drink package, that counts as your main course for the purposes of the kids eat free offer. So the two promotions stack rather than compete.
What’s the Food Actually Like at Premier Inn?
I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect much walking in. I was pleasantly surprised. The breakfast was well cooked with a good selection to choose from, and the coffee held up too. From the dinner menu, the food was of a solid standard, nothing that would trouble a proper restaurant, but properly cooked and no unpleasant surprises.
It’s never claiming to be fine dining, and it doesn’t need to be. What it offers is a relaxed way to feed the family in your hotel at a reasonable price, which matters most when you’re exhausted from a day exploring a city and the last thing you fancy is hunting down somewhere to eat.
So, What’s the Catch With Premier Inn Kids Eat Free?
On breakfast, honestly, not much of one. It’s a genuine, standing saving for families and the food backs it up. On dinner, the catch is timing rather than terms, it’s a limited summer offer, not a year round fixture, and the adult spend requirement means you’re not getting a free lunch in the truest sense.
Worth checking too, before you book anything, whether your stay qualifies for cashback through a site like Quidco. It takes a couple of minutes and a few pounds back on the room rate makes a good deal slightly better.