Crowne Plaza Stratford Upon Avon by IHG — Hotel in Stratford-on-Avon

When we arrived at reception we were met by a queue of people trying to check in and very few staff that didn't seem to know what was going on as check in took over half an hour. When we eventually got hold of a member of guest services we explained the issues that we had faced having to move hotels and getting the information of the new hotel and said that we should have an upgraded room to make up for it, she then rudely said that, 'it wasn't her or the hotel's problem', as they were not owned by IHG and had no obligation to sort that out for us, whilst this was going on she had a male friend that was sniggering to her in the background, making the whole process very awkward.

After that we made it to our room and were horrified to find ourselves in a small cramped space with no character or amenities, here is a list of things that were wrong with the room: Carpet had several stains in it The bed was big but there were not enough pillows to cover it and the size of the bed made the room feel super cramped - we were 'upgraded to a super king' We were promised a theatre view but all the view was of the roof of the entertainment and restaurant area No water glasses The hand soap in the bathroom had run out The shower head was far too low and the temperature was impossible to control The towels were so crusty that they were like brillo pads on your skin One of the robes had a stain on it and a knot in the tie The cold water pressure on the sink was non existent The light in the bathroom was so low that I couldn't shave and my partner couldn't do her makeup The TV switched itself off 2 minutes after being switched on the Air con was so noisy it wasn't worth having it on The Iron had an electrical fault in it and burnt out causing a horrible smell and I couldn't iron my shirt before a theater show The heating pump or air con from the restaurant caused a permanent hum coming through the closed window night and day In the first 10 minutes of being in a room a girl brought up a bottle of red wine and presented it to my pregnant wife as a form of apology, I'm not sure why they thought this was a good idea as she cant drink! During this moment we complained about the issues in the room, she told us that she would send up a manager but no one came for the duration of our stay.

We thought we would make the best of it and go and see what the restaurant and the free club lounge was like. Ee were shocked to find a burger with no cheese was £17 and many of the tables had dirty plates but no customers on them so moved on to the club lounge and found a small room with no staff in it, full of people raiding the bar in a free for all, the canopies that we were advised of were some dried bread and some left out slices of meat (we had no idea how long they had been sitting there), so we left as soon as we could.

We went to reception to complain again and found the same girl that we checked in with an even worse attitude than before, she huffingly told us that she would send up new towels, but again non came during our whole stay.

We thought it couldn't get any worse but actually the worst was still to come, The hotel had multiple corporate events on in the evening with incredibly loud music vibrating through to our room to past 01:00 in the morning, our room was right opposite the lift which we initially thought was a good thing as my partner isn't very mobile but it turned out to be a nightmare as drunk members of the corporate events repeatedly knocked on our door in some sort of game before jumping in the lift during the night. This would have woken us up if we could get to sleep over the racket from below.

During the day we couldn't get any rest either as there was a family with a young baby that crided throughout the day that we could hear through the walls.

In the morning we went down for breakfast to be met by a rabble of people all vying for food it was an incredibly uncomfortable experience as the self service ran out of various elements of the breakfast every morning especially fried eggs that had a que of people waiting for the whole time, again not enough staff to assist in this process.

The last evening was the worst, as the venue had put on what can only be described as a courtyard rave with the music so loud in our room that we could barely communicate let alone sleep till 01:30 with the drunken members of that party falling into our door and the walls for another hour after that.

I have never had to send an email like this before. It was truly the worst possible place to stay for us (or indeed anyone not at one of the many corporate events) . The room was dirty and at every stage we were let down by the staff there. We barely slept for any of the three nights which left us with no energy to enjoy the activities we had planned in the town, I can't think of a worse experience.

I hope that you investigate what happened to us as not only do we not feel we had any value for money we feel cheated out of the last trip away we planned before the baby arrived as it was a...

I’m honestly baffled how this hotel holds a 4.3 rating on Google. My recent stay was one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve had. We booked two rooms (1020 and 1022) for two nights from May 24th, and it was a series of consistent disappointments, not just one isolated issue.

Starting with the rooms—both were noticeably dated, with stained walls and carpets in desperate need of a deep clean. The bathroom was no better. The shower pressure was so weak it was barely usable, and the hot water tap in the bathtub didn’t work at all, leaving us no choice but to struggle with the ineffective shower.

The temperature in the rooms was unbearable. Despite the air conditioning running at full blast and a table fan provided (clearly a known issue), it was still far too hot to sleep comfortably. The noise from both devices made it feel like we were trying to sleep inside a jet engine. To make matters worse, one of the rooms had windows that couldn’t be opened, leaving absolutely no relief from the heat.

In one of the rooms, the telephone was broken and hanging off the wall, rendering it unusable. This became a major issue when we were told the hotel pool was too busy and they would call us when it was available. After waiting over two hours without a call, we discovered the phone didn’t work. By the time we went to the pool ourselves, we were told it was "after family hours" and were turned away.

We reported the broken phone to staff, who said it would be fixed (it wasn’t), and they offered us some drink vouchers as a gesture. Unfortunately, the outdoor bar area was dirty and swarming with bugs—something that could be improved simply by cleaning the furniture regularly. The inside of the bar wasn’t much better, so we just took our drinks back to the room.

Dining was another disaster. On Sunday night, we were turned away from the restaurant because it was "fully booked"—though we only saw 5–6 tables in use. We tried calling room service from the working phone in the second room for an hour, but no one answered. Calls to reception also went unanswered. We eventually gave up and ordered food delivery.

Breakfast was inconsistent. On the first morning, we waited 15 minutes in line. The second day had no line, but finding a table was chaotic. There were no plates available, and when some finally arrived, the staff member seemed annoyed at the crowd waiting to use them.

To be fair, most of the staff we encountered were polite, but it was clear they were overwhelmed and understaffed.

I could list more issues, but you get the idea. For a hotel that is not marketed as budget accommodation, this experience was unacceptable. I would strongly advise anyone considering this place to look elsewhere. There are simply too many basic problems that need urgent attention.

I have tried complaining on the IHG website but got an error message saying they had no record of my stay so I've given up and instead will try and warn everyone via google not to make the same mistake I did and not let this company take your hard earned money and ruin your weekend away as...

I chose to stay at the Crowne Plaza, Stratford on Avon because I wanted a relaxing break for myself and my wife after a very busy few weeks.

I booked an executive king room to ensure that it would be a nice experience, however, when we returned to the room after dinner on the first evening at around 8pm, the toilet wouldn't flush. I had to use the public facilities in reception, then reported the issue to the front desk. They said they would have maintenance come to the room and fix it immediately. All good so far ... then ... after about a half hour, the front desk called the room and told my wife that the maintenance man had left for the day, so we would have to move rooms.

Unfortunately, the room we moved to was smaller, significantly smaller and quite shabby. It was one of the rooms that had not been recently improved (old bath rather than a shower) and overlooked the air conditioning plant for the restaurant below. It was noisy, the bed was decidedly uncomfortable (sank in the middle) and I hardly slept all night.

The following morning, at breakfast, the staff announced that there would be no fresh eggs as the 'machine' was out of action and awaiting the maintennce man. However, when I spoke to one of the kitchen staff and asked him why he couldn't use the hotplate on the bain marie in the middle of the restaurant, with a frying pan, he looked surprised, but produced a pan and began to cook eggs to order. Quite why the restaurant manage had not sorted this, I do not know, but it did satisfy the queue of people wanting fried eggs.

The underlying theme here seems to be that a hotel the size of the Crowne Plaza failed to maintain a 24hr service, probably down to cost, at the expense of the guests.

We moved back into our original room after I told reception about the room they had moved us to. I got a luke warm apology and an offer of £20 compensation (which was probably less than the difference in the price of the two rooms) and upon our return found that the toilet was still not fixed (but it would work if you fiddled with the button until the flush tank filled).

Thankfully, we were out all day and only returned to the room to sleep, so weren't overly inconvenienced.

I like the hotel, but I didn't like dismissive attitude of the front desk when faced with an issue. My review reflects the first night rather than the second because the bed in the executive room was fine.

Summary: A good hotel, failed by poor management practices and lack of maintenance. As a Platinum Ambassador Member who uses IHG hotels wherever possible both in the UK and abroad, I was disappointed with this stay and would have...