Express By Holiday Inn London Stratford, London

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Reasonable price, friendly staff, clean public areas and rooms
Disadvantages:	Basic room, continental breakfast, on main road

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I stayed in this hotel for a long weekend in November 2008. The hotel itself is located on the High Street which is a busy main road running through Stratford. It is approximately 10-15 minutes walk from the train station. There is a lot of construction work taking place in the area, but I did not hear any noise at all.

As you enter the hotel there is a tidy and modern reception area with a seating area, bar and dining area to the rear. The reception staff are extremely friendly.

Access to the rooms is available via one of two lifts. You need to use your room keycard to make the lifts work.

The rooms are smaller than those you get in normal Holiday Inn hotels, in keeping with the Express brand. However, the twin room I received was extremely clean and fresh. A small open wardrobe was provided along with tea and coffee facilities. There was a television which had a generous choice of channels. It is possible to "rent" films through the television and the cost of the rental is very reasonable - £3.00 buys you access to a film channel for 24 hours and each film channel runs two films back to back continuously. A desk and chair was provided and wireless internet access was available in the room.

The room did overlook the main road, and I could hear the cars outside slightly but not enough to disturb my sleep. However, i did have a view of Canary Wharf which was great at night.

The bathroom was of a fair size and again was very clean. The hotel provides only limited toiletries - in fact only a hair/hand/body gel dispenser on the wall next to the sink and in the shower so it is best to ensure you take your own.

The hotel only offers a continental style breakfast. During my visit this consisted of: a variety of pastries, a variety of bread rolls, white and brown bread for toasting, butter and conserves, a selection of yogurts, individual packets of cheese, a selection of cereals, tea and coffee from a machine, a selection of fruit juices from a machine. You have to serve yourself, although there are waiting staff who are very efficient at ensurung that the food and dining area is kept clean. Hot afternoon and evening meals are available Monday to Thursday only from a limited menu.

The front door to the hotel is locked at approximately 11.30pm each night and residents are required to access the hotel via the car park. However, the cark park is literally next to the main entrance and so it is a very short walk to the access door. The area is well lit and easy to find.

For anyone looking for a reasonably priced, no frills hotel, close to London this is ideal. The tube to the centre of London takes about 15-20 minutes.