Service Station Rankings in the UK

They might be less than 80 miles apart, yet their reputations couldn’t be more different. Surveys have found Gloucester Services to be a better stop compared to Bridgwater Bottom.

For many travelers, service stations are simply spots to rest, grab a snack, or find a restroom. However, recent rankings from consumer groups, which surveyed nearly 100 service stations across the UK, shed light on which ones are considered the best and the worst.

Some locations, like Gloucester, are praised for breaking up long journeys, while others, well, let’s just say they don’t have the best reputation—many have described them as smelling, well, less than pleasant.

In fact, Gloucester Services earned a 5-star rating across multiple categories, including quality of food and drink, cleanliness, accessibility, and more. The M5 service station scored an impressive total rating of 85%. Interestingly, it’s owned by the Westmorland family, which also manages Tebay Services in Cumbria and Cairn Lodge in Lanarkshire—ranking second and fourth respectively.

It’s worth noting that some of the lower-rated spots are part of the Moto group, with their services in rugby taking third and fifth places on the list. However, Moto operates 37 stations overall, and rather shockingly, 9 of the 10 lowest-rated stations belong to them.

Bridgwater Station in Somerset, for example, was ranked at the bottom, receiving a mere 23% customer score and just a single star in one category. North Yorkshire’s Leaming BA managed only slightly better, with a score of 26% and similarly low ratings.

This evaluation was conducted by gathering data from over 9,000 visits across various service stations in the UK, and more than 4,000 members contributed their experiences.

Ken McMeikan, CEO of Moto Hospitality, noted that the findings were based on a broader range of respondents compared to previous studies, which had given higher marks to Moto Stations. McMeikan emphasized that the company has invested significantly in enhancing their facilities, especially where cleanliness was highlighted as an issue by many survey participants.

He mentioned that a recent summer survey showed Moto achieving an average customer satisfaction score of 94% across the service area, which suggests that the improvements have made a positive difference. He also expressed a commitment to addressing specific concerns raised and continuing efforts to enhance all locations. After all, ensuring customers have a good experience is crucial.