Ibis Coventry South Whitley Hotel

Travel: This hotel was a nightmare to find, the postcode does not appear on day nav and the road cuts off halfway and restarts elsewhere. We hit list trying to find it, roads were very busy and that in itself was stressful. Arrival; Upon approach it looked like you were entering a detention centre as it has large tall metal gates that looks like they’re trying to keep people in rather than out. First Impressions: The hotel reception, lobby, lounge area, bar and breakfast / dining room are in a separate building to the left away from the accommodation (over on the right) Plenty of car parking. Reception: The receptionist is also the bar person, cook and server. We had food on our evening stay on a Saturday and the poor chap was trying to cook, answer the phone and attend to arrivals. On our departure day at breakfast the same problem of trying to cook and attend to departing guests. The reception building is nice, tidy and relatively modern. Lounge: It is a total distraction to have a tv on repeat with news whilst also playing music at the same time. Difficult to watch the news with music. Lots of seating, all various styles, the sofa was comfortable. Dining Area: Looks cheap and tacky, small tables with not enough room, sticky and not wiped by receptionist after guests depart after eating. No table covers, no napkins, spare, cheap and cheerful. Evening Meal: I had a tuna mayo sandwich with a side order of chips. The sandwich was excellent, loads of tuna in it (not much mayo). Huge portion of chips, I ate a few rest were given to my partner. He had a curry, rice and naan, said it was delicious and enjoyed the chips too. Breakfast Choice: Awful, boxed cereals which is the norm, tiny croissants and pan au chocolat covered by a tea towel. They appeared to be straight from a freezer and thawed out, not warm and did not look tempting. Juices looked okay so I had orange and it was nice. Next to no bread choice but I did have toast with Dairylea spread (purely because of a 3 hour journey home. Hot food choice looked grim, very fatty bacon, a few over cooked mushrooms, sausages that looked a mixture of over cooked and undercooked, Tiny hash browns. I didn’t bother to look inside the pots. Hot counter was small with small crock pots not capable of holding enough food for quantity of guests. Cold counter was shocking, poorly presented, unappetising choice of sliced cheese and square ham slices and a couple of other bits I didn’t even look at. Accommodation: Externally the building was old, dated, filthy, unkempt and a ghastly colour of green. Internally our room was modern with a great bathroom, very comfortable bed with a very good mattress. Good tv and yea/coffee making facilities. We only stayed one night so didn’t really need much. We used the extra pillows from the tiny wardrobe. Slept okay. Staff: Male receptionist was informative, polite and friendly. He did his absolute best. Female receptionist upon arrive gave us no information about the hotel just the key card. Was not friendly and appeared disinterested with arriving and departing guests. Would I stay here again ??? Never

Stayed for one night whilst in the area on business; the hotel is just off the A444, down a small quiet lane leading to a David Lloyd leisure centre. The hotel is a sort of a motel style place (like the type found in France and the Netherlands), with the reception building on one side of the (free) carpark and the accommodation block on the other. It took a little while to get through the security gates into the car park, check-in was quick but not particularly welcoming. Although the outside of the hotel looked quite dated the room was clean, modern and compact with a great shower and comfortable bed. Only one power socket by the bed. The hotel was fine, although as it’s some distance from the centre of Coventry, probably more suited for overnight stops.

I recently stayed at the Ibis Coventry South. Firstly, the hotel itself feels very intimidating, surrounded by fencing and controlled by an electric gate, which creates an unwelcoming atmosphere particularly concerning for families or anyone arriving late. Inside, things did not improve. There was no soundproofing between rooms, so noise from neighbouring guests was constant. The hotel also allowed guests to leave their dogs in their cars, resulting in relentless barking throughout my stay. The cleanliness was unacceptable. The carpet was filthy. The bathroom floor was so dirty I had to clean it myself before using it. Several fixtures in the room were tatty and in desperate need of replacement. Finding hair in the bedding was the final straw. I raised all of these issues directly with Ibis after my stay as I had very limited amount of time whilst there as I was supporting my child at a all day sporting event. They have refused to offer any form of compensation and demonstrated a complete lack of accountability has made the whole experience even more frustrating. Overall, I cannot recommend this hotel. It needs major improvements in cleanliness, customer service, and general upkeep and the intimidating exterior does little to create a welcoming environment for any guest.