Holiday Inn Express Taunton M5, Jct 25, Taunton

...the points balance on my Holiday Inn loyalty card and booked us a room at the Holiday Inn Express near Taunton.

Our HIE was at Junction 25 on the M5. It was a short drive from the wedding venue and my lovely husband volunteered to stay sober and drive us back at the end of the evening which turned out to be a good deal since there was an obscene amount of champagne on offer. The address seemed rather vague and I wasn't feeling confident ...
...something to eat. Like all Holiday Inn Express hotels, one of the ways they cut the costs is by not having a 'normal' breakfast service. It was a 'help yourself' affair and was a bit hit and miss in terms of the quality of some of the items though we had no complaints about the quality. The dining area was kept clean and tidy and tables were cleared swiftly once diners had left.

After breakfast, we headed back to the room, packed up ... more

We thought my friend Alex would never get married. He passed 35, 40 and 45 and was still a single man, albeit one with a live-in girlfriend for the last few years. So when he called and said he was getting married there was no way that we were going to miss such an event. We needed to see the ink on the register in order to believe it was really happening.

Alex and his bride Katya had chosen a spectacular venue in a stately home in Goathurst not far from Taunton but when we rang to enquire about prices they were so high that we wondered if we were buying the entire house rather than just a room for one night. Going to weddings gets pricey by the time you've got something to wear, bought a decent present (especially since they had their list with a company that went bankrupt and we had to buy the presents twice over) and travelled to the venue and spending silly money on a room when we'd be too drunk to notice what it was like was a no no. I checked the points balance on my Holiday Inn loyalty card and booked us a room at the Holiday Inn Express near Taunton.

Our HIE was at Junction 25 on the M5. It was a short drive from the wedding venue and my lovely husband volunteered to stay sober and drive us back at the end of the evening which turned out to be a good deal since there was an obscene amount of champagne on offer. The address seemed rather vague and I wasn't feeling confident that we'd find the hotel but it really was literally on the roundabout at the exit from the motorway. Check in was quick with nothing much to do because I'd booked on loyalty points. We were given two swipe cards and instructions to our room which was on the first floor.

I'll be honest and admit that I wasn't expecting much of this hotel other than a budget bolt-hole and due to its proximity to the motorway I expected that it would probably be a rather noisy place. I was completely wrong. The lobby was stylishly decorated in pale marble with some funky blue lighting and furnished in very modern style with a bar, a lounge area and lots of leather sofas. I was still wary - often a hotel has a nice lobby but rubbish rooms. Again, my preconceptions were wrong. The room was not enormous but it was bigger than many I've seen in similar chains and certainly beat the pants off similarly priced places in the Ibis chain.

Our double bed had a crisp white cotton duvet cover and a gingery check-patterned throw. There was a sofa which I assume had a pull out bed in it as well so the room could have taken a third or fourth person without trouble. We had a work desk, plenty of drawers, hanging space and a television with more channels than we have at home, which isn't actually a very high hurdle for any television to leap over. Hubby instantly set to work making a cup of tea and another of coffee whilst we settled down to the box of Belgian chocs that the happy couple had thrust into our hands before we left.

The bathroom was compact but had all you need and delivered it with some style. The sink unit had a black granite surround and the toilet was wall-mounted. Everything was very clean and some basic toiletries were provided. The wedding was in April so the weather was still quite cold but the room temperature was ideal. I don't like to be too hot at night or too cold in the morning and the fact that I didn't even notice the temperature suggests it was just right. I'm very noise-sensitive and I had feared that any hotel so close to a motorway would be a nightmare but I can honestly say there was no noticeable road noise.

We didn't have much time to linger the next morning as my parents were due to arrive that day and we needed to set off home. Since breakfast was included in our deal we popped down to the lobby level to get something to eat. Like all Holiday Inn Express hotels, one of the ways they cut the costs is by not having a 'normal' breakfast service. It was a 'help yourself' affair and was a bit hit and miss in terms of the quality of some of the items though we had no complaints about the quality. The dining area was kept clean and tidy and tables were cleared swiftly once diners had left.

After breakfast, we headed back to the room, packed up our things, dropped our swipe cards at the desk and thanked the staff before heading home.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this Holiday Inn Express and whilst I doubt I'll ever have reason to be in the area and stay there again, they certainly changed my mind about the Holiday Inn Express chain in general and I'd be much more likely to use one of these again on the basis of this stay.

Finally a word or two to explain the title of the review. As a student I used to drive to Austria or the French Alps with various friends or boyfriends and sleeping by the motorway meant literally that - we used to roll out our camp mats and sleeping bags in a handy lay-by. It was an utterly horrible way to spend the night whilst paying very little - thankfully these days, HIE offers an alternative to a free night with the rats in the lay-by.
 

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