Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross by IHG — Hotel in Great Britain

This hotel is in somewhat of an odd location – looks like it’s well established though so possibly a legacy of when the road outside was more of a trunk, back in the pre-M40 days – it’s on the A40 halfway between Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield, so primarily accessible by car (I think possibly also by bus). Not too bad though, only 5 minutes by Uber (about £14) if you’re arriving by train.

I’m not really sure what it’s main business is – looking at the layout I suspect it does a lot of conferences and probably weddings/birthdays; although it is also a spa and seemed to have quite a few families staying. A bit of an everyman overall I think. I guess it is also relatively close by car to things like Legoland, so probably a bit of traffic for that sort of thing also.

The layout is pretty good actually – it’s a relatively low (4 floors) building that sprawls backwards and sideways, so you can get to every floor easily using the stairs, which I like. Big reception area and spa to the left as you come in, bar/restaurant and event centre to the right. The check in was smooth and efficient and the room was decent. Small bathroom, but adequate and with a good shower. No free water in a standard room, although that is often a Crowne Plaza standard at others in the chain, cheap to do and always welcome.

The gym in the spa is particularly good, with three treadmills and other equipment – also a pool. Open from 6am, which is respectable and clearly quite popular with the locals also, judging from the small queue of non-guests already outside at 6am. Decent equipment and seemed to be well maintained.

Doesn’t have an Executive Lounge – this was removed last year apparently as no longer a brand standard. I suspect it used to be located in the room that is now the ‘Crowne Suite’, behind reception, which has that sort of vibe. Ignore any older reviews etc that make reference to this.

The bar and restaurant area is looking a little tired these days and has a definite early 2000s vibe to it – which is inconsistent with the rest of the hotel. Could use a facelift. Beer about £6 or so a pint, which is pretty average for a hotel. The restaurant offers the usual array you’d expect in a hotel of this type – something to suit most tastes if eating in. Attending a conference so had a conference dinner one night and buffet meal – the food at both was decent and I would say toward the better end of the type of catering that hotels offer for conferences. The service and effort put in by the staff looking after us on the day were excellent and every effort was made to accommodate for preferences.

Conferencing facilities are very good and the staff looking after these were again very visible and helpful. Different rooms of various sized available for both small and large groups. Also ‘Creative Attic’..

Overall this was a hotel that I’d stay at again and will certainly keep on the list of possible conference venues. Looks like they have some refurbishment work going on at present – there’s some sort of new wing going up to the left of the hotel as you enter, which I was told would be...

On arrival, all seemed well. Greeted by nice staff at reception and checked in. The room looked well in the afternoon light. Some marks on walls and stains on the carpet were revealed in the morning light. Complementary bits in the mini bar were a nice surprise (and needed after "dinner"), and toiletries provided were good quality and smelt beautiful. On to dinner, we booked a package through Secret Escapes, which meant we had a small set menu to choose from that, in my opinion, was not great (we have booked packages like this before and were presented with menus of much higher standard and adult food), this is listed as an award winning restaurant. The menu wasn't very detailed, I opted for the bread selection with house butter and was shocked to taste lemon and fish off the butter - I would not recommend it! Then I discovered one of the breads had onion in, a description of such on the menu or by staff when presenting it would have been nice and saved me from nearly spitting out at the table. Had fish, chips, and mushy peas for mains, again not described any further, and instead of mushy peas, I got slightly smashed garden peas with mint. OK, for some, but not what I expected or wanted. At this point, I was done, but as it was night away from home with the other half, I thought just carry on. Dessert, choice of 4 , partner ordered cheesecake and both asked for lattes. Got slightly tepid lattes and no cheesecake as they had run out. I did ask for a hot latte, and it was provided. Our complementary glass of wine never arrived, but we had ordered a bottle with dinner, so we had something to drink. Overall, it was not a pleasant dining experience and certainly not award winning, plus there was a young child running and kicking a little soft ball around the area where staff were entering/exiting kitchen area, I thought maybe he had been in charge or the kitchen and if that was the case maybe it wasn't so bad,🤔 So, onto the bar. Nice setting and drinks menu, go to the bar at 10 pm to be told there were no cocktails as ice was being prioritised for long drinks, 10 pm on a Saturday night! I was not impressed, had a glass of wine, and was off to bed hoping breakfast would be the saviour. It's hard to mess that up, right? Wrong! I get its buffet style,self serve but I have stayed at Premier Inns with similar set up and much better quality breakfast. We did manage to speak with a manager for the restaurant during breakfast and explained how unsatisfactory the evening experience was, and he seemed understanding at first, but when he returned to the table he said there wasn't really a lot he could do as he wasn't there at the time. Offered us a couple of drinks vouchers which weren't any good as we were leaving a.s.a.p. ,said to maybe take a drink off what we had charged to the room, but he said no. Anyway, I know it's a bit long-winded, but I would not return and am off to report on Secret...

I have to admit that this is one of my favourite UK hotels and definitely my preferred Crowne Plaza location. The hotels it’s halfway between Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield. It is in a very quiet, rural setting and there is a significant car park. An extension to the hotel is in the course of being built however the project did not interfere with guests. There were no disturbencies during my two night stay.||I was really greeted warmly at reception and checked in and everything was pointed out to me.My preferences had all been taken into consideration and I was assigned premier room 212. The only issue is thatm as an IHG 1 Platinum Member my aminity points have not been credited.||The room was of a significant size with attractive neutral decoration and a nice painting to soft in the atmosphere. There was a large flat screen TV and a massive king-size bed, which was very comfortable. The room had air-conditioning, which function more as a climate control system, and it was possible to maintain the perfect temperature. The system operated silently . All areas of the room and the bathroom will immaculately clean. The small bathroom was more than adequate and had the benefit of a bathtub, which I specifically requested. I am usually quite fastidious about room upgrades for IHG 1 members of the higher tiers. However, this room was absolutely perfect for my needs, and it would’ve been difficult to improve on it.||The breakfast room was really attractive and there was an ample buffet. All items were fresh and the staff members were very pleasant and helpful.||The hotel has a very good gym and spa and the hot tub is a particular highlight. It would be helpful if a sticker with instructions be placed next to the locker keypads.||I asked for a late check out and my request was received warmly. This was a really enjoyable visit and I will definitely be making a point to stay every year.||There is a lovely spa in the hotel with a decent size, swimming pool and a wonderful hot tub.The one minor irritation was operating the lockers. These did not have instructions and it was necessary to key in your own code. The absence of instructions made this challenging, particularly in relation to accessing everything on departure. I’ve looked back on the review. I gave last year and noticed that this point was covered then, but nothing has changed.||Breakfast was a delight, however, as also happened last year, there was no record of my reservation when I arrived for breakfast. I was admitted and everything was sorted out in my absence, but this seems to be an ongoing issue.||My stay at Crowne Plaza Gerrards Cross was a delight, and I’m delighted to continue to recommend it to my personal clients seeking A high class venue...