As a family, we are regular stayers at both the Holiday Inn Express and the Holiday Inn hotels. We've always found that the hotels are clean, good value, modern and offer a good breakfast as well as an excellent loyalty card scheme (Priority).
We chose this one as it was a special treat for my son as Man Utd were playing at Old Trafford, with both the stadium, shopping and places to eat all close by.
On the plus side, the parking is good and free (although we arrived by train and caught a replacement bus to Salford Quays as the trams were out of action,10-15 minute walk to hotel from stop), the view of the Quayside and stadium were also good.
I've read the previous reviews, and I expected it to be at least as good as our previous stays, particulary in view of the £99 price tag for a family room including breakfast. This was the most expensive holiday inn we've ever stayed in, however with the match that night, I guess they could still fill the rooms at that price. I did get 7% cashback through Quidco however.
There are some issues which travellers need to think about if applicable to them.
Rooms - Although clean, we found them simply too small for 2 adults and 2 children. We are not large people either. The rooms are the smallest I've seen at any H.I., and unless you're...As a family, we are regular stayers at both the Holiday Inn Express and the Holiday Inn hotels. We've always found that the hotels are clean, good value, modern and offer a good breakfast as well as an excellent loyalty card scheme (Priority).
We chose this one as it was a special treat for my son as Man Utd were playing at Old Trafford, with both the stadium, shopping and places to eat all close by.
On the plus side, the parking is good and free (although we arrived by train and caught a replacement bus to Salford Quays as the trams were out of action,10-15 minute walk to hotel from stop), the view of the Quayside and stadium were also good.
I've read the previous reviews, and I expected it to be at least as good as our previous stays, particulary in view of the £99 price tag for a family room including breakfast. This was the most expensive holiday inn we've ever stayed in, however with the match that night, I guess they could still fill the rooms at that price. I did get 7% cashback through Quidco however.
There are some issues which travellers need to think about if applicable to them.
Rooms - Although clean, we found them simply too small for 2 adults and 2 children. We are not large people either. The rooms are the smallest I've seen at any H.I., and unless you're sleeping, you don't all want to stay in one for too long. There was a stand up shower (no bath), limited soap from a dispenser and no shampoo/shower gels as in previous HI's we've stayed in. There was also mould growing up in the shower tile area, and limited plug sockets (I counted 1). The air con was pre fixed, and you could not get it to fall below 21 degrees, and it was hot with 4 people in the room at night, the window open or closed made no difference. On the plus side, there was ample tea and coffeee making facilities and enough towels.
Price - Poor value for just under £100 considering what you get, however they may have bumped the price up just because they knew they would be busy that night. Holiday Inn Express in the U.S. give you hot breakfasts, much larger executive rooms with flatscreen tv's, more room extras, swimming pool and a hot tubs for less £ so they may need to re-visit their value aspect again.
Breakfast - Very limited choice of continental, and very busy. After grabbing a bowel of cereal and a cup of tea, I turned around a few minutes later, and the queue was stretching into the reception area, so went away hungry as it would have been a long wait. My wifes grapefruit had a tang of washing up liquid in the bowel as well. The breakfast was not the best, maybe an improved layout to stop queues forming, and some hot food as well perhaps, considering the price of the room.
Check In - Well that was a world record, No introductions, nothing, just "sign here please" once he saw me sign against my name on the Priority check in list. Then a "Here's your room card, and your number, thanks". Well thanks, about 25 seconds in total. Perhaps a "Good afternoon, we hope you enjoy your stay" may be a good start.......They need to work on their customer experience that day.
For singles or couples looking for a 1 or 2 night stay maximum, this would be ideal, however for familys, just consider the room size and we just hope we caught the staff on a bad day....!More
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