HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS

We stayed at the hotel for a long weekend whilst visiting family and attending a football match. We were on the second floor facing the road. When we arrived we were checked-in by Ryan who was very friendly and helpful and he gave us good information about breakfast etc. upon entering our room, the sofa bed had not been set up for our two children so we asked when we popped past reception on our way out and this was set up for us when we returned. The room itself was very basic. It was clean but in clear need of refurbishment. The built in wardrobe/shelving had been covered in sticky back wood effect and looked very tired. The spa bed was very thin and dipped at the top so we requested some extra pillows to fill the gap. The spa bed literally touched the end of the desk so we were unable to use the desk area (we noted as we passed other rooms whilst the doors were open that when the sofa bed was out, they had a couple of foot at the end so our room was clearly a lot smaller than others). This left only a small gap between the beds and bottom of the bed as th desk chair had been placed there - not enough room at all for 2 adults, a 12 and 7 year old. There was an iron and board provided as well as kettle and tea and coffee sachets. The bathroom was clean but thetissue box hadn’t been topped up and only had one in and the Dove shampoo and body wash which was provided had not been topped up. The body wash had about 1/2 cm in the bottom of the bottle. The pressure on the shower was good. Our biggest problem was the air-con as it had been warm. The first night we used it, it was very load and didn’t cool the room so we spoke to a lady at reception who came up on the second night and did something to it but it made no difference. We couldn’t keep the window open as it was very noisy (Saturday night after match) so got very little sleep. We mentioned it again on the Sunday and were told that the technical team were in so they would ask them to take a look but Sunday night was no better. I came home more exhausted than when I arrived. The breakfast provided is okay… some food items were not topped up quickly enough so one day there was no bacon, muffins, yoghurt…the food items themselves were okay with both some hot and cold options. If you have dietary requirement you have to ask for alternatives. Location is good and you are in east access to the station and city. The multistory next door is the best place to park but turns out to be expensive over a long weekend.

The hotel itself was so so - very conveniently located 5 mins walk to the train station and a 10-15 minute walk to centre of town. The room was not the cleanest, bed was comfy but the kids sofa bed was sagging at one end and there were drink splatters all over the bed. On the plus side it wasn't too noisy despite room facing the road. Breakfast was reasonable for the overall price and we appreciate the tip to get down early as the hotel was pretty much full. Overall probably fair for the price paid (£90). I give 5* however to Michael who was an absolute gem, so helpful, funny seemed to be working hard every time we saw him whether at front desk, breakfast, behind the bar or helping with our luggage. Absolute credit to the company. We were also greeted very warmly at check in by male staff member whose name I didn't get.

Nice hotel. Despite being at the budget end of the IHG / Holiday Inn offering, this hotel provides a really comfortable stay and good quality service. The location is excellent as it's only a short walk from the train station, and there are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance. Our room was spacious, clean and well equipped. The free breakfast buffet was good with a decent range of hot and cold dishes. A little bit disappointing to have a diluted orange juice rather than the real McCoy. All the staff were friendly and helpful. We would definitely stay here again