Holiday Inn Express Hull City Centre — Hotel in Great Britain

My wife, our granddaughter and I recently travelled to Hull, to visit my sister. She is based in Cottingham and was was having some refurbishments completed on her home, so we decided to stay in the city centre and chose the Holiday Inn for our stay. ||The first time we ever stayed at a Holiday Inn was in 1990 at Clearwater in the USA and have used them on a number of occasions since, although not recently. |Over the years we have travelled the world and stayed in many hotels, apartments, houses and villas. During that time we have enjoyed meeting some extremely nice hospitality staff and some not so nice.||We arrived at the hotel earlier than expected and were met by a very welcoming young woman, by the name of Alison. Although we thought we were too early to book into the room. Alison quickly found us one ( Room 609 14th to 16th August 2025 ) that was cleaned and ready. She then went the extra mile, by asking if there was any other information we may require to aid us on our trip.||She was the consummate professional and remained pleasant and courteous throughout our entire conversation.||We located our room easily, which was spacious, in pristine condition, with a sizeable bathroom, which had a dual purpose door, which meant that individuals could use the loo and the shower at the same time, all with complete privacy.||A kettle and three cups were provided for refreshments, along with a selection of tea and coffee. A large smart television provided the entertainment. The wi-fi was fast and the air conditioning ran almost silently in the background. Which was a real plus!!||The hotel was ultra clean and tidy throughout, it was also bright and airy and central to everything.||Given that the breakfast was included in the price, it was well above expectation. The breakfast was well presented, with a wide range of cereals, full English, a wide range of breads, fruit, fruit juices and a fresh pancake machine, that made and served pancakes quickly to your plate, all at the press of a button. There was also a coffee maker that provided a wide selection of coffees.||The tables were cleaned quickly and there was lots of room including a balcony to enjoy your breakfast with a a sense of privacy.||Another young man appeared to be running the whole operation very smoothly. His name was Jamie and he consistently offered help and a friendly smile to all that I witnessed, where or whenever, it was needed.||Our granddaughter loves fresh pancakes, and it was he who pointed out the machine to my wife and myself and ensured that all went smoothly with its operation.|My wife and I are both retired professionals and know much about how a business should be run. I used the word continuity before and the " Outstanding Customer Service " endured throughout our stay.||This review is not given lightly, it is truly well deserved, as every staff member we came across in the hotel had a smile on their face and was eager to ensure that our stay was an enjoyable one.||Their positive attitude seemed to inspire all the guests, who all appeared in good spirits and also to be having a good time. ||I would highly recommend this hotel to All whether using it for business or family orientation.||I would like to thank Alison and Jamie, who are in a league of their own, in regard to customer service. I also met the chef Amy, quite briefly and would also like to thank her for a serving-up a very good repast, with which to start the day.||When I am looking for a hotel in the future this hotel has set the bar very high standard and IHG be on the top of the list.||Thanks to All who made our stay an enjoyable one. Regards Mike, Audrey and Freddie...

Potentially the worst Holiday Inn Express I’ve ever been to, if not, the worst hotel I’ve ever been to. I knew things weren’t great when we walked in to our room and there was a blank pad to note down the rooms defects! This was full by the time we left. ||The room itself was really dirty, marks on pretty much every surface. Poo stains on the desk chair, spillages on the sofa and make up stains on the towels. This was just for starters, the kettle was full of lime scale as was the shower head, which sprayed in every direction possible. We had a terrible nights sleep, apparently this is a well known issue but the light bulb inside the headboard cracks for about two hours when it’s turned off - I had to ask for earplugs, but I could still hear it with my head being 10cm away! The bed also resembled a small double, so if you’re a couple on the larger side, book somewhere else!||The staff are utterly hopeless. I understand it was a bank holiday weekend - but they took great joy at every interaction telling us that they had 320 guests and staff members hadn’t turned up. As a guest, you’ve paid to be looked after, not given excuses. We had such a rough nights sleep that we asked to leave and be refunded for our second night. The Duty Manager, David, told us due to the rate we’d booked (Early Booking) he would not refund us. He didn’t seem to grasp that this wasn’t simply a change of mind, it was a complaint that needed to be dealt with. He offered to move our room, but didn’t have any available until later to give us. As wedding guests, we didn’t have the time to be moving later on, so declined this - especially when asked to check out of our current room leave our belongings with him until the new room was ready. The night receptionist has already said the light cracking happens in pretty much every room, so this was pointless and not a suitable resolution. ||I did ask repeatedly to speak with the actual manager, I also sent them an email, which was ignored.||The breakfast staff were also quite rough, it looked like the recruitment had been held at the local B&M bargains with little training given. The quality of the breakfast was also poor, wet bacon, wet scrambled eggs, vile coffee. The only saving grace was the sausage tasted nice.||For an IHG hotel, there was no standards. I’m shocked and appalled as to how we were treated and the grubby condition of the room. I will never stay in this dark, dingy...

The room was not suitable for a family of 4. The sofa bed was pulled out on arrival, which meant that the desk chair had been removed from the room as there was no longer any space. Even though my party was of 4 there was only 3 sets of each item (towel, mugs, plastic cups) which wasn't too big of a deal, but indicates the rooms are big enough for 3 people maximum. The air system didn't work correctly and our window could not be opened, which resulted in a very warm uncomfortable night. Had my kids not been asleep I would have asked for assistance. The parking situation is very restricting as it is the shopping centre multi story car park, which means you can not use your car to leave and return without incurring extra charges. (or this is how it appears) We arrived later into the afternoon and were informed that the hotel didn't offer any food/restaurant facilities (except breakfast), despite the fact that it mentions "Kids eat free" on the hotel page. There are plenty of places to eat within the shopping centre but these all closed quite early compared to most hotel restaurants. Breakfast selection was limited and the hot food selection was labelled as a "Build your own bap" not exactly a full English breakfast (only sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, beans available - oddly enough, no baps) Lastly, when I returned home I found a random charge on the card I had used to book, phoned up and queried it to be told I would get it refunded, but would be curious as to how many others have not noticed.

Although it was possibly the worst Holiday Inn I have stayed in, it would possibly be suitable for couples or solo travellers that want to stay in the city centre, or really like that one...