I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Watford for two nights in Dec' 2011.
Generally what I'd expect from a HIE; clean, standard decor' - all fine and as expected.
The noise from outside meant that I had to wear ear plugs to get to sleep (the windows didn't have very good sound proofing). I was on the quieter side of the hotel (i.e. not overlooking the train train tracks), but this side overlooked the main road and the traffic noise kept me awake.
Having said that, I often find that I need to wear ear plugs in hotels (I'm used to sleeping in a quite area), and there wasn't much noise from the adjacent rooms.
The bed was fine, and the staff were very helpful and polite.
Parking wasn't as much of an issue as I'd feared (from reading other posts). The first night I got their around 17:30 and I got a space in the very small c-park immediately behind the hotel. On my second night, this c-park was full with vans (literally - the whole c-park was blocked-in!), so I parked in the public c-park behind the hotel (free between approx' 18:00 and 08:00), which was fine for me and it's just next door to the hotel - if I stayed here again I'd use this c-park to avoid the risk of being blocked-in by other cars.
Food in the bar was basic with limited choice, but adequate, and actually slightly better than I'd expected (my expectations were low). A bit expensive, but there are lots of alternatives in the surrounding area for food, if you want something better/cheaper.
All-in, the hotel is a 'standard' HIE and value for money if you book early. The noise was the only let down, which could be improved with secondary glazing.
If you want to stay in this area, and don't mind some outside traffic noise, this isn't a bad choice.
- Holiday Inn Express Watford
