Donington Park tops the pile as Leicestershire motorway service …

Leicestershire^[1]’s motorway service stations have all ranked in the top half of 120 surveyed across Great Britain. Donington Park services ranked highest out of Leicestershire’s own, coming in at number 11 with an overall satisfaction rate of 98 per cent, as 30,000 visitors to motorway services were surveyed to find out how satisfied they were with the overall experience, how good or poor the facilities were, as well as changes in drivers’ mood between arrival and departure.

The survey was conducted by Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, which found that 94 per cent of visitors to motorway service areas in 2023 were satisfied with their experience.

Leicester Forest East South ranked number 53 and Leicester Forest East North ranked at 55. However, both had an overall satisfaction rating of 95 per cent. Rugby service station, just over the South Leicestershire border, ranked first with a 100 per cent satisfaction rate. To distinguish between services with the same satisfaction percentage, Transport Focus introduced the Net Promoter Score which boils down to how likely a visitor is to recommend the station.

Toilets are a big contributor to the overall satisfaction score. On this element, Transport Focus said: “Toilets are critically important and must be accessible to all users, and well maintained, clean and pleasant to use. Satisfaction with the toilets overall has increased from 88 per cent in 2022 to 92 per cent in 2023, which is a good improvement for users.”

Overall, the survey found that 93 percent of disabled users were satisfied, 90 per cent of HGV drivers, as well as 89 per cent of Electric Vehicle users. 96 per cent of visitors with children were satisfied.

Google reviews of Donington Park services from visitors were mainly positive. One said: “Only stopped here for a Costa coffee. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the first class facilities.

“There are two seater enclosed booths that allow for business meetings etc. Yes, a pleasant stop for a change. Take note: The toilet paper is the thinnest I’ve ever come across in my life.”

Another said: “Tidy car park, clean toilets and dining area with various takeaway outlets, eg, Greggs, Pret a manger. Could do with being a bit warmer inside on a cooler day.

“To the rear of the site is a pleasant grassy area with picnic tables and a pond. Even though there were plenty of bins provided, there was still quite a bit of rubbish in this area. A Travelodge is situated to both sides of this site. All in all, quite a good visit.”

However, one driver had an experience to forget. He said: “All out front looks clean and tidy with lots of options.The showers, what can I say, you charge £30+ per truck and you can’t even give the shower areas general maintenance and the cleaning is really disgraceful.

“So door locks, missing door handles, missing no coat hooks. No cold water for brushing teeth. I even found a slug in the shower cubicle.”

You can read the full report on service stations in Great Britain on the Transport Focus website.

Get the latest traffic news from our sister site In Your Area^[3]

References

1. ^{^} Leicestershire (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Leicester traffic updates as two crashes block roads in the area (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Get the latest traffic news from our sister site In Your Area (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)