Holiday Inn (Leicester)

...That’s not to say the Holiday Inn is any better in terms of location.

Lovely Leicester. What’s actually there?
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Leicester is home to various "attractions"... These include Europe’s largest covered market... where Gary Liniker's family still have a stall... and... well that’s about it really. Leicester features 2 shopping centres, but only one really counts; to ...
...calling a spade a fork. However, the "Leicester Lanes" (lots of winding backstreets) have a few nice shops. Leicester is also home to quite possibly the greatest concentration of kebab shops in the world. Possibly. Every second shop is home to Lady Donner and her spicy charms. As we all know, kebabs are matched with booze. So its no surprise to find that if every second place is a kebab house, the 3rd is a bar or club. Standouts include ... more

Well, 4 weeks have passed and I've finally got a couple of days of to make the joyous trip to Leicester to see the missus. Since I was feeling pretty flush this month, we decided to book ourselves into a hotel rather than slum it in her apartment... room service not included. Now, Leicester's not particularly well known for having nice hotels. The former Grand Hotel (now a Ramada Jarvis) is anything but grand, the Travelodge a permanent building site and the Hilton miles out from anywhere. That’s not to say the Holiday Inn is any better in terms of location.

Lovely Leicester. What’s actually there?
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Leicester is home to various "attractions"... These include Europe’s largest covered market... where Gary Liniker's family still have a stall... and... well that’s about it really. Leicester features 2 shopping centres, but only one really counts; to call the Haymarket a shopping centre is a bit like calling a spade a fork. However, the "Leicester Lanes" (lots of winding backstreets) have a few nice shops. Leicester is also home to quite possibly the greatest concentration of kebab shops in the world. Possibly. Every second shop is home to Lady Donner and her spicy charms. As we all know, kebabs are matched with booze. So its no surprise to find that if every second place is a kebab house, the 3rd is a bar or club. Standouts include Showrooms, a very trendy bar, and Revolution, a vodka bar.

I need a map.
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You probably will to actually get there by car. Leicester is notorious for having a hideous road system, so with driving of my calibre I decided to Taxi it! Its situated smack bang in the middle of a roundabout... certainly an odd place for a hotel. Its actually not that far from Leicester town centre, certainly within walking distance. Or taxi distance, dependant on laziness factor. You've got a fair few shops, bars and dubious kebab shops nearby, so despite the random roundabout its not a bad location.

I'm at the roundabout.... HOW DO I GET IN!!!
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If you haven't got a compass, you won't find your way in! The entrance is well hidden, and you have to walk through the adjacent NCP car park to get in. Confusing.

Alright, I've got my compass. I'm in.
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The first thing that hits you once you step through the massively oversized revolving doors (that actually stop if you go near them... strange... possibly the most useless invention since beer-cheese?) is the stench of chlorine. The place has a pool, and the smell of chorine permeates through the reception area. Nice! This floor is home to the bar, restaurant, reception, the Health Club and bags of seating, as well as the concierge.

Check in is speedy, requiring the mandatory credit card swipe, with the women instructing us that the room is on the 3rd floor and that the lifts were "that way", after gesticulating vaguely. I was a little disappointed no-one offered to help us with our bags, but figured what the hey, only a few floors up.

So. The room. What’s it like?
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We stayed in what’s known as a "Feature Room", other classes of room include standard, business and King Exec. A feature room is meant to top the pile, save for the suites. At any rate, our room actually had a name - the Castle Suite. Although calling it a suite is a little exaggerated to say the least. Anyway, the room is large. Very large. I haven't got figures, but put it this way - you could put at least 4 double beds in there if you took everything out. Not that you'd want to take everything out, the room is very highly specified. Upon entrance, you have a kitchenette area, complete with fridge, microwave, sink... and a coffee machine! Genius - no rubbish Nescafe for me! You also have a small eating area in this section. Moving along, you have a generous bathroom... with separate bath and shower. A very nice touch. An added bonus is the presence of actual quality Neutragenia (I think I spelt that wrong... blaaah) toiletries. The room features a huge King sized bed, desk and a sofa as well. Basically its more of a miniature flat than a hotel room. It also has floor to ceiling windows, but the view over Leicester is anything but inspiring. Grotty would be the word.

Now, this might be a slight generalisation, but Leicester has terrible weather all the time. Its thoroughly miserable. So its nice that the room has a very easy to use climate control system, where you simply set the temperature you want, and Bobs your Uncle! (And Sally’s your Aunt...!)

Lastly, in terms of decoration, the room is a little bland for my liking. There’s a little wood panelling, nondescript carpets, paintings and a very "Corporate America" look. In fact, you can tell its a huge company through the little notes they left lying around as liability waivers. My favourite being "Don't touch the light bulbs - they will be hot". Duh!

The room also features a Minibar... that isn’t extortionately priced! Ok, so its not cheap, but £3.95 for a double whisky is about what you'd pay in a bar. The £3.50 for Yorkie chunks is what makes it expensive.

Of course, the room features a TV. Its a pretty old affair, not a particularly good one and not with a good selection of channels. It also has a tendency to turn itself on, since its used by the hotel to send messages to your room. Freaked me out the first time, just plain annoying the third.

The restaurant is 3 floors down! What can I get in my room?
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Well, the room service menu is a fairly standard one, serving pasta, wraps, pizza and various bog standard meals. What is a nice touch, is the availability of meal deals. For example, they do "pasta and Beaujolais", or "pizza and a beer". These come in at around £16, and give you a half bottle of wine or a couple of beers in addition to your food, a deal that saves you a few quid. The quality is ok, nothing to get too excited about. The wine list, though, is lush. They'll also send other drinks up if you request, and unlike other hotels, there is NO tray charge.

I wanna socialise!
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The bar in situated beside the restaurant. Its a fairly standard affair, with lashings of wood and delusions of grandeur. The barman wasn't very skilled.... failed my Mojito test miserably. Drinks are expensive in Leicester terms, but about what you'd pay in London.

As for the restaurant itself, its worth noting that it has won awards for its food. The menu is pretty original, with a good variety... but the prices are steep. £7 for a starter, rising to up to £18 for a main. As is the usual, all this can be charged to your room, should you so desire. Or, if you have a death wish! The whole thing is slightly spoiled by the whiff of chlorine, though.

Is there P in Pool?
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Haha, I'm sure the amount of chlorine used puts a stop to any of that! As I stated previously, the hotel has a health club, complete with gym, sauna and pool. Access is free for residents, and the pool a good size No flumes, though and a distinctly 'grown-up' affair i.e. lanes marked out. Not really a pool for kids. Now, to get to this you need to walk right through the reception area, thus exposing you in your smalls to all the new guests. Bah!

Anything Else?
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As is the norm, the hotel has a plethora of function rooms that are available for hire. Not really very interesting.

The lobby features a cashpoint, very useful considering the hotels location. The nearest cashpoint to this one is about a 10 minute walk.

And... Well... that’s about it really. I should add that you can buy overpriced flowers in the lobby, just in case you wrong your loved one. Not that I did, I hasten to add.

So how much did all this cost?
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The rack-rate for the room (I.e. full price) is a staggering £149 per night. Very, very pricey for the area... especially considering that the adjacent Travelodge has rooms starting at £25. We got a discounted rate through booking in advance of £70, not too bad really. Booking far enough in advance and you can even get it for £50! Brekka not included in the price, but a few nibbles and drinks are. You get a small gift of juice, biscuits and chocs free in your room.

And finally, the hotel will let you park in the NCP next door for free.

What’s not to like?
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Well, the biggest negative for me (aside from the random location) is the attitude of a particular member of staff. We have stayed here a few times, and found that one particular member of staff to be consistently rude, patronising us due to age and generally not being very helpful. Being told to 'phone my own taxi' was not something I expected. The rest of the staff, however, are delightful. Very friendly and happy to help.

Breakfast is not much cop either. It costs £13, but whilst the selection is there, the quality isn't.

Final orders.
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I do really, really want to like this hotel. I loved the room, but expect more from the hotel in terms of food and other facilities. It IS one of the better in Leicester, so I can recommend it in that respect, but compared to others around the country, I can't.
 

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