A motorway service dubbed “diabolical” has been slammed as the worst in the country.
Located on the M5, one of the key arteries to the southwest, Somerset's Bridgewater services are a key staging post for motorists heading to Devon and Exeter. Operated by Moto the service station was in 2020 ranked as the worst in the UK by trusted consumer publication Which?.
With a user-rated score of 32%, Bridgewater suffered on a number of fronts, scoring one star across all five of the categories: range of shops, price, cleanliness, convenience and accessibility, and ease of social distancing. Its standing comes as a far cry from nearby Gloucester Services, which is just 25 minutes up the road but came at the top of the pile with a score of 86%.
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Bridgewater is home to a lot of the classic motorway service fodder, with the likes of Burger King, Costa, Cornwall Pasty Co, Greggs, M&S and WHSmiths all on offer. On Moto’s page for the site, the facilities there are headlined with the caption “great brands to make you smile,” while facilities such as accommodation, toilets, a dog walking area and EV charging are all available.
But despite these positives, online reviews of the services don’t paint a particularly positive image of it either. At the time of writing, 95 of the service’s 303 trip advisor reviews are in the “terrible” category, while just 36 are in “excellent”.
One scathing post from 2018 read: “Inside is as bad, dirty not cleaned, food, well Burger King need I say more. Waste bins overflowing. Service station needs closing down.”
Another, from October 2023, noted: “Don't use this service station, it smells of pee as soon as you step out into the car park”.
Another one-star review, which can only be described as brutal, claimed: “An infant would have better instincts and do a better job [of designing it]. The chaotic dreariness of the place reminded me of something from the 1970s.
“The live, laugh, love brigade seemed to like it. The queue for Greggs that was dripping outside said it all for me. The type of people that get stimulus from things like Love Island were wallowing about, getting in the way of traffic and other people.
“It's a dangerous place to take the infirm and kids because of the tight traffic routes and pathetic walkways. Just appalling. I wanted and needed a shower after coming out of that dive.”
Since the original Which? report, another data set produced transportfocus was released. This 2023 survey of 30,000 punters ranked 120 of the UK service stations in terms of satisfaction levels. This time around, Bridgewater was ranked fourth from bottom.
The Daily Star has contacted Moto for comment.
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