I stayed here on 4th December 2010 with my husband, sister and parents as we were attending my nephews wedding in nearby Barton-under-Needwood. We rang the hotel in advance as check-in time was 2pm and we were due to arrive at 1:15pm and were anxious to get to the village in good time so that we could meet with other family members and have a snack in the village pub before the wedding at 2pm. The receptionist said "we'll do our best". We arrived at 1:30pm and were told that only 2 rooms of the 3 were available and that the twin room for my parents was not. We checked in and my parents changed in our room and we went down to the bar. We'd seen the maids cleaning the rooms and there seemed to be plenty available. We went back downsatirs to the bar area and my parents (who are 80) wanted to have their own room key and as it was 1:50pm by this time, we decided to wait until 2pm so that they could check in. At 2pm, we asked again if we could check in. The guy at reception looked at the clock and said that housekeeping hadn't rung down yet to say that the rooms were all done. It was 2:05pm before we checked in and by the time we'd waited for a taxi and got to the village, the bride was at the church before us! I really think they could've had a word with someone on housekeeping and got a twin room cleaned quicker if they'd tried. We did ring in advance but still had to wait.

Aside from that, rooms are small but clean. The road outside is fairly noisy. Breakfast is minimal - I went down at 7am because I didn't sleep well due to the traffic and the scrambled egg in the buffet was dried up and inedible by then. The rest of the buffet consisted of bacon, pastries, cereal, tea/coffee, jouice and a toaster with some bread. It has the feel of a cafe rather than a hotel, but then I've never stayed in a holiday inn express before and I doubt whether I would again.

Great value for the price paid and a good location. I was not particularly over the moon with the breakfast but aside from that this was a good decent hotel offering everything you need. The staff were helpful and I will be staying there again.

Check Inn:
I would recommend calling the day before if you have any special requests. I did and the check in was fast and efficient. Required two rooms together and this was proivided.
Room:
1 Room was made up including the required sofa bed for the kids, the other did not have sofa bed made up. The reception staff were very helpfull and got it done quickly. The room was clean and fresh as this hotel seems to be new. Shower/bathroom bright clean and everything worked well.
Breakfast:
Is Self service so be prepared to dodge around people to move around and get what you want. The area was clean and all items were refreshed by plenty of staff on hand. The dining room was clean and again tables were refreshed regularly.

You get what you pay for at these types of hotels so i do not expext Hilton standards, however, The service and standard all round exceded what i paid for

Easy to find and plenty of parking. Reception was smooth and effortless. Romm was spotless and standard for an Express Hotel. Pub next door - good value food and cost effective drink at the evening. Night service staff were helpful and considerate. Only issue that I had was a dog barking @ 5am. Breakfast was cheap and cheerful. Wouldn't rave about it or knock it.