Holiday Inn Express Glenrothes By IHG

This hotel is apparently owned and managed by a company called Splendid Hotels. Believe me, it is far from splendid. In fact, it is well overdue for a complete refit and overhaul in my opinion. Whilst located in a pleasant setting next to a Vintage Inn pub, from the outset, the lack of investment was evident from flaking paintwork and bins in the car park which were full to the brim and almost overflowing. The reception area was dark and dismal with a big, foreboding doorway sealing off the stairwell which led to our room. Whilst the hallways were reasonably well presented, the decor throughout the hotel is very dated. Our musty smelling room was a strange mix of bedroom decor and designs from this brand over the years; the shower room was the original HI Express design with a shower curtain (yuk!) and the curious, separate toilet cubicle arrangement which can be isolated using the sole bathroom door. It had been retiled in part using those tiles which featured in the brand’s last but one design template, which I remember being launched around the time of the London 2012 Olympics. This dated look continued into the bedroom itself, but with some strange twists like a lilac painted wall (which showed every scuff and mark) and green curtains which seemed to have been sourced from another brand entirely, and looked completely out of place. The furnishings in the bedroom were even more tired than the decor, with a badly stained corner seat, divan bases which were also stained and peeling wallpaper which had some questionable marks on it. The breakfast room was another hotch-potch of different styles of furniture, and looked like the kind of assortment you might see in a an old youth club or community centre. It felt grim and depressing and was enough to turn a planned two night stay into a ‘one and done’ visit to a hotel which is clearly well past its best. To their credit, the staff offered polite and helpful service despite the grim environment in which they work. They dealt stoically and professionally with my feedback and I suspect they themselves know there is much to done to bring the property up to date. For their benefit, as well as the benefit of other future guests, I really hope the hotel’s owners make the investment required to make this place as splendid as their group name suggests.

Hotel property is in semi urban setting in the outskirts of Edinburgh. It was a good alternative for a stopover for while returning from Highlands back to Edinburgh, if your budget doesn’t allow for a stay in the city. Similarly a good option if you are on your way to Highlands or Scottish coastal side up further north. It is an old property hence we had kept our expectations lower. The property took the funds from my Credit Card before the arrival at the hotel even though usually all other properties used to take the payment for the stay upon arrival. We didn’t have much options for dinner at the hotel as well as the nearby pub closed earlier. Hence it will be better to come prepared if you are planned to reach late. Since the property is small, the restaurant area is also similar for the breakfast. It was decent one to have no complaints. Sleep was good, rooms were comfortable. Since it was just a night stopover and we were looking forward to our visit to Edinburgh, we didn’t bother much.

I have only given this a rating of 3 because the staff were friendly and helpful. However we had some very serious safety issues whilst staying here. I will first of all state the good things: Staff - very friendly and helpful. Location - ideal for what we needed. Restaurant - the breakfast was better than expected and right next door to a reasonably good pub. The very bad: 1. The shower - the unit connecting the shower to the water supply completely came off the wall when I tried to use it. It flooded the room, in fact everything got wet except me. If I had been standing right in front of the shower I could easily have been knocked off my feet, mostly due to the shock of it. It was very upsetting and frightening. If a child had been there they would have been knocked over. 2. The light switch to one of the bedside lights was missing. I only found this out because when I put my finger forward to switch the light on it went right through and ended up switching the light on somehow by the wires - goodness what would have happened if a child with wet hands had one that. 3. One of the curtains was half hanging off the wall. I will say that was as soon as I was able to contact Reception the Maintenance Engineer arrived quickly. However this meant that I had to only have a wash in the sink and had to be in the embarrassing situation of asking a family member we were visiting to use their shower. This has certainly tainted my view of Holiday Inns in general and the IHG group, I will not use them in the future, nor can I recommend this particular hotel.