We stayed at the Holiday Inn Leeds Garforth for one night on Saturday 30th March 2008 as an overnight stopover on the way up to Darlington for my friend's wedding the next day. We chose this hotel because of its location, the late check-out time and because it looked alright from the website.

The Holiday Inn Leeds Garforth is a 4 star hotel located in a quiet rural location on the outskirts of Leeds. It has 144 rooms situated over 2 floors, the majority of which are non-smoking. It has plenty of parking spaces in a well lit car park and parking is free, we had no problem finding a space. It has a health centre with swimming pool which we didn't have time to use, a business center, bar and restaurant, and 24 hour room service. Check in is from 3pm and check out is at 12 noon. Rooms start from £53 but are more likely to cost nearer £80. We paid £60 not including breakfast for a Saturday night in March.

The Holiday Inn Leeds Garforth is located about 6 miles east of Leeds city centre. It is minutes away from junctions 46 and 47 of the M1 and close to the A1(M) and the M62. The hotel is located on the roundabout where the A63 and the A642 cross. On the other side of the roundabout there is a Beefeater. Garforth train station is roughly a mile from the hotel.

The room was small but perfectly formed so to speak. It contained two single beds, which I was happy about as I was expecting a double. Having a king size bed at home I hate having to share a double. The room was clean and modern looking and nicely decorated. Along with the twin beds there was an arm chair, satellite TV, desk with chair, mirror, tea & coffee making equipment, wardrobe, air con, and a hairdryer. It wasn't the most spacious of rooms but was just fine for an overnight stop. The beds were comfortable and the pillows were alright. I always take my own pillow anyway but Holiday Inns have a pillow menu so you can pick the right pillow for you, which I think is brilliant. The curtains fitted the window so the room was nice and dark to sleep in and the room was a pleasant temperature. The room wasn't in a noisy location and I wasn't disturbed by people in the corridors in the morning. Overall a very good nights sleep.

The bathroom was also compact but clean and not at all tired looking. It had a small bath with a shower, toilet, sink, mirror and shaver socket. It was functional. The shower itself was very powerful so it didn't take too long to wash my hair and there was plenty of hot water and the temperature didn't fluctuate. The towels weren't the softest but were alright. As usual they only give you two hand towels and two bath towels so I did my usual trick of pinching another fresh bath towel from one of the maids trolley on the way back from breakfast.

Breakfast was served in the Aioli Restaurant. We did our usual thing of going down half an hour before the end and there was plenty of space. There was a huge selection of items to choose from, they had pretty much everything you could want. The cooked food looked fresh and appetising, there was a huge choice of cereals, juices, fruit etc. They would even cook eggs fresh to your liking, so you could request a pancake or scrambled eggs from the waitress. The staff were friendly and attentive, the atmosphere was relaxed and all in all breakfast was excellent.

This hotel is very good if you consider it as a motorway hotel, I mean it's not the Ritz or anything. I would definitely consider staying here again. The hotel also has a health club but we didn't use this due to the nature of our stay so I can't comment on this area. The hotel is very conveniently located for the M1 and A1(M), the rooms are modern and clean, and have everything you could need, the hotel itself is very contemporarily styled (ignoring the outside, very sixties). The staff are pleasant and helpful, the food is good and overall it is a very good hotel. No complaints.

http://www.hileedsgarforth.com/
Address: Wakefield Road, Garforth, Leeds, LS25 1LH
Tel: 0113 286 6556