Holiday Inn Express Warwick - Stratford-Upon-Avon by IHG — Hotel in Warwick

We booked a 1 night stay to break our journey down to Bath and another one night on the way home.|The first room we were allocated-104 on the first floor smelled really, really badly of drains. It was a very warm day and the Ait Con unit didn't work plus one of the lights didn't work either.|We reported it to reception and they did move us straightaway to another room. That was also on the first floor, Room 109. Unfortunately, that smelled of drains too, but not as badly.|We ate downstairs as we were tired and we had our dog with us, so we didn't want to go far.|My husband had a burger which he said was ok and I had a plain Margarita Pizza and fries. The food was hot, so that was good.|We went up to the room to sleep and the bed was the worst, most uncomfortable bed I've ever slept in. And the pillows were like concrete.|We were glad to leave the next morning and didn't bother with the breakfast that was included.|We didn't really want to stay on the return leg of our journey but it was already booked and the hotel was located very close to the exit to the motorway we needed to be on to get home.|On the return leg we asked not to be put in either room 104 or room 109. We were given room 107.|The room was ok, but again the bed was really uncomfortable.|We went into Warwick to eat as we didn't want to eat there again.|As on the outward leg there was noise all night long with doors banging and people shouting and screeching.|We were planning to leave by 10:15 and the checkout was 11:00 latest.|At 08:45 we had just showered and we were getting dressed. Someone tried the door to our room and tried to open it. It was only because my husband had put the bar across the door that the person wasn't able to open the door and come in.|We were both shaken and upset. I'm 65 and my husband is 60.|We had just got over that and we were packing up and getting our luggage ready to take down to our car when someone tried the door again and this time knocked on the door. |I went to the door and opened it. It was housekeeping asking if we were leaving.|I said that checkout time was until 11:00 and she seemed very surprised and looked like she didn't believe us.|When we went downstairs at 10:00 with our luggage and to check out, I informed Reception what had happened.|it seemed that it was housekppeing the first time too.|The receptionist said they would take the fee for our dog off the bill and give uspoints on our account and said that the Housekeeper was new but that she should have known to only go into rooms that she had been told were empty.|The best thing about this hotel was the reception staff. They were all very nice and helpful.|Apart from that, I'd say the place is terrible and not worth the money we paid.|We won't stay...

Upon our arrival, we were greeted with a very warm and efficient welcome by one the reception staff, recognising my IHG Platinum status and made us smile after a long drive. The feeling of being welcome in the hotel was soon lost when a second member of the reception team decided to interfere with the check-in process, making it very apparent that she thought it worthy of flagging up very clearly that two men had booked a DOUBLE BED and NOT A TWIN. Perish the thought that staff at an IHG hotel would subscribe to the Equality Act 2010, which states you must not be discriminated against because you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual. Discrimination which is against the Equality Act is unlawful.

My partner questioned her attitude by saying "It is the 21st century you know!" Usually, we let this go over our heads, but this is the second time in a week where staff in an IHG hotel have used a similar ham fisted approach at check-in, which really takes the shine off the whole experience.

I appreciate staff are trained to look for booking errors but there are far better ways of checking and not demonstrating personal beliefs, ignorance or rudeness.

The room is a typical Holiday Inn Express and provides everything needed, although the ironing board had seen better days.

Breakfast was disappointing as the coffee machine developed two issues in the space of five minutes, which caused a queue (even at 8am on a Saturday). Surely it would be best practice to check like the coffee grinds tray and milk are checked before the start of service. The plates are also cold which means the food goes cold very quickly. The staff ‘looked busy’ but seemed to do things very inefficiently. Most of the food on the hot counter was empty, but staff passed by repeatedly, empty handed and not thinking to check on the stock levels, meaning guests had to chase for items to be topped up.

Granted, a Holiday Inn Express is not a 5* hotel but the inefficiencies of the staff or lack of training was very apparent. Sadly, the rudeness/ignorance of the second member of reception team is still commonplace in UK hospitality. Perhaps, the next time this happens I will be sure to highlight it to the hotel management or IHG head office, as this is easily avoidable yet very disappointing for such a...

Well done to Laura & Sarah, Mercan & Christie and the rest of the staff. Their calm and professional approach over the Bank Holiday week-end when I stayed at Warwick meant I had a hassle free enjoyable week-end. Check-in was easy enough, although the 'yourparkingspace' app takes up an hour of time to register and pre-book. This is probably why I never stayed here before. Unmarked parking bays (although this was not mention in the app booking) meant most people taking up more parking space than was necessary - but that's the entitled middle classes for you. I ended up parking on the tarmac road in a corner. I dare say there will be a legal challenge about this is the future as outsourcing parking will squeeze more money out of motorists. The Hotel's location means driving there is the only option, as there's no secure cycle storage anyway. Pleasant surroundings despite the 24-hour McDonald's next door and a somewhat confusing array of McDonald's and Hotel overflow parking - again potential litigation towards the motorist here - your captive audience. Hotel is clean and tidy, and quiet. The usual hallway traffic can be heard in the mornings and excited children jumping around in the room above - but it orientated towards family stays. Good aircon and openable secured window was appreciated. Good quality bed with quality bedding and pillows meant we chose to lay rather than go to breakfast on Sunday morning. Room and bathroom was very good, but a little wear and tear a) bleach marks on the carpet in front of wardrobe b) stain on wallpaper next to bed and c) mold spots around bottom of shower, but everything else was good. I particularly liked the blue night light and closable door onto the toilet. Breakfast was pandemonium, but Mercan and the staff worked well together and I took time out to congratulate them on their morning de-briefing. The breakfast selection wasn't vast but what was done was done well. It was a pleasure to wait in reception to be seated knowing I wasn't going to be forgotten or ignored. So I would like to express my thank again to the staff for a smooth running operation. I will...