Premier Inn Hotels vs Translink Planner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Premier Inn Hotels
Find and book affordable hotel rooms across the UK, Ireland, and Germany. Manage your reservations, check availability, and add extras like breakfast or meal deals. Discover nearby attractions and plan your perfect getaway.
- Find great value rooms
- Book with flexible rates
- Manage existing bookings
- Check hotel availability
- Add extras like breakfast
- Search by city or landmark
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Our Premier Inn app has had a makeover! Download today to find great value rooms, book with flexible rates, manage your existing bookings and more. The Premier Inn app gives you access to 800+ hotels across the UK, Ireland and Germany at low prices. Whether you’re planning family holidays, business trips or weekends away, you’ll always find the best rate when you book direct. Plus, you can now check availability across all our hotels, book a room within your budget using our Flex, Semi-Flex and Non-Flex rates and add extras like our Premier Inn Breakfast or Meal Deal to your booking all through our handy app! - Search for your next stay by city names, hotel names, or nearby attractions and landmarks. - Check availability, room amenities, and all the best things to do nearby before booking directly on the app! Other exciting app features are coming soon – keep an eye out for updates!
Translink Planner
Plan bus, coach, and rail journeys across Northern Ireland and border regions. Get real-time travel updates, view departure boards, and purchase tickets for specific rail services. Features include interactive planning, ticket storage, and personalized alerts.
- Interactive journey planning
- Purchase NI Railways tickets
- In-app ticket wallet
- Real-time departure boards
- Personalized travel updates
- Accessible planning options
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Plan Northern Ireland and cross border bus, coach and rail journeys with the Translink Journey Planner. Plan from any stop, station or address, see your next departures and get the latest travel updates from Metro, Glider, Ulsterbus, Goldline, NI Railways and Enterprise services. You can also buy single, day return and 3 day select tickets for NI Railways journeys. Features include: - Fully interactive journey planning - Buy single, day return and 3 day Select tickets for NI Railways services - Store purchased tickets within the app wallet - ‘Next Service’ departure board - Plan with Park and ride and bike journeys - Personalised travel updates - Accessible planning - Interactive map planning with real-time Metro and Glider location and a tracking feature - Quick planning using your current location, favourite stops and recent searches - CO2 journey saving calculation
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Premier Inn Hotels at 59% against Translink Planner's 19%. Premier Inn Hotels also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.4) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Premier Inn Hotels holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 861 and 268 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 59% of Premier Inn Hotels's written reviews are positive against 19% of Translink Planner's.
Premier Inn Hotels ships an update every 3 weeks, Translink Planner every 6 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.
| Parameter | Premier Inn Hotels | Translink Planner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (861 ratings) — better | 4.4 (268 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 58.9% of reviews — better | 18.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 861 — better | 268 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 111 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Premier Inn | Ulsterbus Ltd |
Customer experience
Premier Inn Hotels
Translink Planner
User reviews
Premier Inn Hotels
From 861 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to book
- 👍 Convenient app
- 👍 Great for business use
- 👍 Reliable app
- 👍 Helpful staff
Room to improve
- 🐛 Booking issues
- 🐛 Login and password reset problems
- 🐛 Compatibility issues with older devices
- 🔒 Lack of data privacy and security assurance
- 🔒 Notification spam
Translink Planner
From 268 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy journey planning functionality
- 🗺️ Helpful map integration for route visualization
- 📱 Modern app interface design
- 🚀 Quick access to timetable information
- 💾 Ability to save journeys to calendar
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate and unreliable bus/train times
- 😤 Frequent service cancellations not reflected in app
- 🔧 Clunky and unintuitive user interface
- ❌ Cannot purchase tickets within app
- 🗺️ Poor navigation and confusing layout
Bugs and requests
Premier Inn Hotels
Reported bugs
4 issues- Bookings disappearing from the app
- Payment errors and failed transactions
- Incompatibility with iOS 15 and older devices
- Broken or malfunctioning features
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to manage bookings within the app
- Option to save favorite hotel locations
- Improved accessibility for visually impaired users
- Loyalty rewards program
Translink Planner
Reported bugs
17 issues- App crashes on iPhone during ticket purchase
- Password reset emails not received
- Unable to renew or change passwords
- Journey planner adds unnecessary stops and complications
- Bus stops disappear when zooming in on map
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Location loading blocks text input
- App doesn't refresh automatically without returning to start page
- Tickets purchased not visible in app
- Cannot book tickets for multiple passengers
- Concession tickets unavailable on mobile
- Inconsistent journey suggestions vs actual timetables
- Bus times don't match timetable posters at stops
- Cancelled buses don't show as cancelled, just disappear
- App shows buses arriving but they never show up
- Incorrect fare calculations and pricing display
- Unable to access certain routes (e.g., Kilkeel from bus centre)
- Timetable PDFs show 'page not found' error
Requested features
18 requests- Unified app for journey planning AND ticket purchasing
- Live bus tracking with real-time location updates
- Ability to view actual departure times instead of countdown minutes
- Show actual time alongside minutes remaining
- Complaint/feedback option for late or cancelled services
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- Simple timetable view without complex journey planning
- Live delay and cancellation notifications
- Apple Watch compatibility
- Exclude walking time option in journey results
- Direct access to timetables from home page
- Show platform/stop information for transfers
- One-click bus tracking from schedule view
- Ability to book tickets for groups over 10 people
- Support for concession tickets on mobile devices
- Better accessibility for tourists and non-locals
- Contactless card payment on vehicles
- Extended booking window beyond 3 weeks
- Proper ticket visibility after purchase
In-app purchases
Premier Inn Hotels
No in-app purchases
Translink Planner
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Premier Inn Hotels free?
Is Translink Planner free?
Which has better reviews, Premier Inn Hotels or Translink Planner?
Do Premier Inn Hotels or Translink Planner have ads?
Which is updated more often, Premier Inn Hotels or Translink Planner?
Other comparisons
