Ilminster Services

Stopped here on Saturday. Place was absolutely filthy. Food and litter all over the tables and floor. Toilets were disgusting.

Grandchildren wanted Greggs. The 2 ladies serving looked like they weren’t interested in being there. Kept getting order mixed up and then was overcharged. We were the only customers so it wasn’t as if they were rushed off their feet!! Surely they could have cleaned some of the tables In between customers.

The ladies toilets were disgusting. Could only use 1 out of the 4 cubicles. Water and toilet roll all over the floor & hand dryer not working. Husband said men’s toilets were just as bad.

Maybe environmental health need to pay them a visit!! Will never stop there again no matter how desperate we are.

If I could rate it 0 stars then I would. Everytime we have been here it has been rancid. The toilets are disgusting. Usually never any toilet paper. Filthy mirrors, floors and toilet seats.

The tables and chairs I think must be wiped down once a week by the looks of it. The floors are covered in food.

It genuinely is disgusting and I have no idea how they would pass a hygiene check.

I tried to capture just how bad it is but it's impossible to capture how filthy it actual is on pictures or videos

Ilminster services, situated on the busy Southfields roundabout near Donyatt, by the famous A303. Being located on the main route between London and Cornwall, Ilminster always experiences a rapid spike in customers during holiday periods, especially summer. It’s a small amenity building, creating issues when it’s busy, and it’s the last rest area until the M5 at Exeter, going along the A303/A30 route. Developments have occurred recently at the opposite end of the roundabout to built a Costa Drive Thru and two-storey McDonalds Drive Thru, taking some trade from Ilminster. Ilminster is easy to access from the roundabout and is frequently signposted from both directions of the A303. Car parking is very limited at Ilminster, with a small quantity of it and no space for HGVs or caravans to park. Limited parking may cause customers to not be able to use the facilities. There are Electric Vehicle charging points available at Ilminster, benefitting the growing amount of customers driving EVs. Fuel is provided by Shell, with many petrol pumps and a Shell Select mini market with Costa Express etc. There is a Travelodge motel on-site, meaning Ilminster offers customers an overnight stay. It’s impressive what EuroGarages have done with the amenity building here as it went from being a derelict Little Chef to a mini food court, which is modern and clean inside. The exterior is tidy and black paint being used means dirt marks don’t show as easily. The interior is modern and was fully refurbished in 2020. Choice here is extremely limited, with a takeaway Greggs unit and Burger King restaurant, with a drive thru lane offering customers a faster service from their car. There was a SPAR convenience store here until the end of 2021, when it permanently closed and ever since this building has been without a shop. Limited choice here and no shop is very inconvenient, as customers would have to use the petrol station for groceries. Hopefully it’s reopened soon. Burger King’s pricing is rather inflated whilst Greggs is much better value for money. There’s a small, modern seating area for customers to use and during my visit, it was quiet and spotlessly clean, making for a more satisfying customer experience. Toilets are located in the back left hand corner. These toilets are very hit or miss. Most times I visit during midday/afternoon, they are disgusting. They smell, and the urinals (4 urinals and 2 toilets) are far too close to each other. During morning visits, they are much cleaner and more pleasant to use. The toilet Facilities are modern and were fully refurbished when the site was in 2020. There is a Disabled toilet with baby changing, but no Changing Places. Overall, Ilminster is quite a basic place with many facilities lacking, such as an amenity building shop, enough car parking and consistently clean toilets. It’s not bad, but others are better.

Absolutely filthy. Not sure who awarded the 5* hygiene rating here or what year it was given... 1800's is my guess!

The ladies toilets were disgusting, first cubicle toilet is broken & looks to have been that way for some time. The other 3 toilets were really soiled with dirt built up over time and need a bloody good clean! And that is an understatement!!

My daughter used the disabled toilet which was broken, and was also absolutely disgusted at the state of the room. She is 6!!

We bought food from Gregg's and the lady had no interest in being there whatsoever. Can't really blame her!

All the tables and floors were dirty and it was just not a nice place to be.

It was really busy today however no one was sat at the indoor seating which speaks for itself.

Either the owners need to pump some serious money into this place or demolish it. I probably wouldn't hold out too long before booking that wrecking ball.

Note to self NEVER stop here again, no matter how desperate we are to pee!!

If you’re the sort of person who is curious what a thousand litres of other people’s stale urine would smell like, then this is the services for you!

Once the stench of other people’s urine has made you really hungry (because why wouldn’t it?), then you can look forward to a 20 minute wait for your “fast food” before sitting down in a seating area that looks like it was last given a good clean when John Major was prime minister.

On the plus side, we can assume this is a “nature friendly” venue, given both of the bins in the car park were full to overflowing, so there was plenty of food strewn around the floor to ensure nature’s feral scavengers are well fed.

This place is filthy. I don't think they have any sort of cleaning in weeks. The toilet floor was wet, leaking urinal, toilet tissues all over the floor even on the wash basin. Disgusting ????

The place was clean, mostly because nobody there. Only three restaurants/shops: Burger king open, Gregg closed, third one shut down, no idea what it was. Completely deserted place

What a sad apology for a service station. Greggs was closed. The petrol station had hardly any food and the service at Burger King (the only other place available) was lacklustre at best. The site outside was not well maintained, the Travelodge looked distinctly run down and dilapidated but worst of all were the toilets. There were notices everywhere that they were being cleaned but no one was around. They were filthy. And there was no soap and the dryers did not work. I was embarrassed that the lady trying to wash her hands was foreign. I had to tell her this was not typical. Will not be back.