'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
Member since:15.07.2000
Reviews:694
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I get so used to visiting dreadful hotels these days, that I’ve almost started to expect the worst. If you’ve been bored enough to read my previous hotel reviews, you’ll know that it has just been one disaster after another. Perhaps my expectations are too high or perhaps I’m just unlucky. Well, my experiences with the Holiday Inn in Leicester have persuaded me that all is not lost, and that decent hotels do exist. My title is perhaps slightly leaning towards the hyperbolic end of things – this hotel isn’t heaven, but at least it isn’t hell.
NAVIGATING THE INNER RING
The Holiday Inn in Leicester (or at least the one I’m writing about) is situated slap bang in the middle of the city’s ring road, just on the outskirts of the main city. For travellers arriving by car, it’s an absolute godsend because the main road takes you straight into the hotel and its car parks. Leave the M1 at junction 21 and follow the A5460 into the city centre. For travellers arriving by public transport, it’s not such a bonanza. I arrived at Leicester main railway station and having a fair idea of where the Holiday Inn was, I decided to walk. The hotel is probably about twenty minutes’ walk away – I went through the main shopping streets, but I’m sure there is probably a quicker route. As a pedestrian, getting to the hotel is a real problem. The ring road completely circles the hotel, and for some very bizarre reason, the footbridge cuts straight across it, and passes the Holiday Inn, without providing access to the hotel. There is just one corner of the island that has a pedestrian crossing – but I didn’t notice this until the second day, and as a result ended up dodging buses and juggernauts with my arms full of bags. The location could
be a serious problem for families – I wouldn’t let children out near the road for one second (unless I wanted rid of them).
The hotel is fairly well placed for the city centre shopping area – walking for less than five minutes will take you into the bustling streets. As well as a large sprawl of high street shopping, there is also an indoor shopping centre called The Shires. The best shops tend to be tucked away though and the city definitely cries out for a good few hours wandering around. The cathedral and Castle Park are very close by – although rather unimpressive – and there are a couple of museums within about ten minutes’ walk. The racing circuit at Donnington Park, Twycross Zoo and Birmingham Exhibition Centre are all within a 25-mile radius, so this hotel could be a good central base for days out.
CHECK ME IN BEFORE I HIT YOU
Sadly, on the day that I first checked into the Holiday Inn, the weather was very hot, and having struggled through the city centre with all my bags, I was a rather sweaty beast by the time I arrived at reception. This means that my patience was far out-stripped by my dampness. My arrival at reception was almost ecstatic, as the wonderfully cool air swept around me. The outside of the hotel is not the most impressive I’ve seen – it looked a bit old and worn and I was wondering whether I had made a mistake. The lobby, however, was smart, sumptuous and very clean and shiny. Everything was new and polished and had a good quality feel to it. I like hotel lobbies that have plenty of space and tables, so that you can sit and chat without Beaky the receptionist overhearing every single word.
There was a short queue at the main desk, but plenty of receptionists around. The service was slightly abrupt, but was efficient, so I didn’t mind because I was desperate to get to my room. I was offered a newspaper, an alarm call, a dinner reservation, laundry services and a discount card – all declined snappily, but she still wasn’t put off – and just when I thought she was going to offer me a hand job, I finally got my room key.
GET UP AND GET IN
After a brief lift ride, I arrived on my floor, only to find that my room key wouldn’t work. Drat and double drat! By now, I wasn’t impressed and made the return journey to reception, where it transpired that the girl behind the desk had got her numbers mixed up. (Note to self: check bill on way out if same lady is on the desk). I finally got into my room, and was greeted by a lovely spacious double room, complete with fairly large window, but more importantly was nice and cool. It wasn’t until I had taken a stone cold shower that I was able to admire the room in its relative glory.
The room had two big double beds, which was a nice idea, but I couldn’t really imagine two couples sharing the room unless they were quite kinky. There was an air conditioning unit against the wall, which was not switched on, but that soon changed, and within a few minutes was pumping out ice cold air. There was a small table and some chairs, a desk and a portable television. There was also a strange cloth-covered contraption that looked like a carpeted hostess trolley - I have no idea what it was for. The chair at the desk was wonderfully comfortable and as I slumped down in front of my laptop, I decided that I could get used to this. Natural inquisitiveness drew me to the window, which had a grim view out onto the ring road. I decided to open the window, to let in some fresh air, and yelped ever so slightly when the gert thing came off in my hand. Hurriedly pushing it back into place I decided that fresh air was over-rated anyway.
The television came complete with several satellite channels, including Sky One, Sky News and The Box. There was also a selection of pay movies – although at £7.50 a time, they certainly weren’t cheap.
The bathroom wasn’t bad. As per usual, it was sadly lacking in natural light, but had a nipple-blastingly-strong shower and a good-sized bath. There were plenty of soft, white towels and a couple of complementary toiletries, but otherwise it was fairly basic stuff.
EATING OUT OR DINING IN
There is one main restaurant in the hotel, The Vermont, which has a fairly broad range of dishes from around the world. A three –course meal from the carvery will set you back about £20, but you could have pasta or even fish and chips if you so desired. The quality of the food is good, which is demonstrated by the popularity of the restaurant at weekends. During the week, there are a lot of business guests, who tend to fill the restaurant up from 7.30 onwards, so you are advised to make a reservation. The restaurant is fairly typical of this type of hotel – nothing fantastic, but quite a comfortable place to sit down for some grub. The bar tends to be quite lively – you can hear a lot of shouting and laughing throughout the evening and is certainly a sociable place to hang out with friends or colleagues.
The hotel has 24-hour room service, which is offered from a fairly basic menu. As usual, room service is quite expensive, but if you are on your own, this is often preferable to going and sitting in the restaurant like Billy No Mates. I had a mini bar in my room, with a small selection of soft drinks and alcohol. I would be quite happy to have a much larger selection in these contraptions –there are seldom any crisps or snacks. Beware the charging though - £1.10 for a can of Coke is probably more than most people would wish to pay.
OTHER FACILITIES
The hotel is situated adjacent to a large NCP car park, which is very reasonably priced compared to many city centre car parks. For £6 you can park for 24 hours – I think the hotel may discount this further still. I wouldn’t see this as a fantastic hotel for any disabled guests. Although the entrance is accessible, and there are lifts, getting to the hotel by any other means than a car would not be easy. This isn’t a particularly family-orientated hotel, although the rooms are big enough and children allegedly eat for free in the restaurant (I think they should at least wash up).
The Holiday Inn also boasts a rather good health club, complete with swimming pool, sauna, solarium and gymnasium. The facilities are free for residents (woohoo!) but are also popular with the locals, so the place was always rather crowded in the evening. The hotel is also very popular for business conferences, albeit at a high cost, and by the time I was checking out in the morning, the lobby was filling up with delegates.
TEND MY EVERY NEED
There was nothing badly wrong with the service in the hotel, but I still found it to be average at best. The receptionist who cocked up my room key was polite enough, but she never really apologised for sending me on a wild goose chase. Similarly, I often found that staff members walking through the building were less than polite. They would often fill up the lifts and barge their way in or out before residents. I wasn’t offered help with my bags when I arrived (probably because I wasn’t wearing as skirt) but it would still nice to have been asked. Room service was fairly prompt, but I always had the feeling that the hotel could have gone that bit further. My only real problem was whilst trying to watch The Scorpion King one night. About half way through, the picture started to flicker and roll. I telephoned down to reception to advise and was asked whether I had received the message that the satellite channels weren’t working tonight. The strange thing was, when I asked in return where I might have found the message, the receptionist wasn’t sure – so I guess it should come as no surprise that I hadn’t seen it. Anyway, she promptly refunded the £7.50 and spared me the regret of having wasted the cash on such a dreadful movie.
OVERALL VERDICT
I obtained a discounted rate of £80 per night, bed and breakfast – standard rates can go up to £130 per night, according to when you stay. This compares very favourably to the Ramada Jarvis where, for a similar charge, you get the opportunity to stay in a fleapit. The Holiday Inn is a good quality hotel, with enough comforts to make your stay pleasurable and lots of additional facilities, should you wish to indulge. This is not a suitable choice for someone watching the pennies – a Travelodge or similar would obviously suit more – but for business or pleasure, I would recommend the Holiday Inn. It is probably the best that Leicester has to offer.
In the olden days it wouldn't have been two couples in those pairs of double beds ~ it was half the Leicester football team (plus female accompaniment, of course).
Weeping_Willow 13.09.2002 16:34
Last sentence is probably about right. Leicester doesn't have much to offer, so the best is not likely to be all that great. But then I've lived here all my life and have watched it get progressively worse. The Holiday Inn has been here for years though and 'tis good to know its not gone down the pan like the Grand (sorry the Ramarda Jarvis!) Amy :o)
belinda9 11.09.2002 23:23
That contraption was probably the suitcase holder....
Also £80 a night, I'd faint.
Did you read my Copthorne op, now that was a lovely hotel in Birmingham.
Sep 8th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
