I found the Holiday Inn Express to have both very positive and very negative aspects…read more
Positive:
- Location: The hotel is right across the street from the Colliers Wood Underground Station, which is extremely convenient for transportation. It is also just a brief walk from restaurants and shopping, including a giant (and open late) Sainsbury's for any needed miscellaneous items.
- Breakfast: The options were much better than expected, with 3-4 cereal types, yogurt, fruit compote (for yogurt), meats, eggs, and toast. They also had multiple coffee machines, with lattes, cappuccinos, espressos, and hot chocolate (a nice treat).
- Room Size / Value: For London, we felt as though we had a decent room size for the cost, since there was a small couch and a little bit of floor space (which, sadly, isn't always the case).
Negative:
- Hallway Design: Our room was on the 1st floor, and there were incredibly odd posts/poles in the middle of the hallway at every room bank, which made maneuvering suitcases from the elevator to our room quite difficult, since it was like going around a corner every 10-15 feet, for a total of 7-8 poles. (It was truly one of the oddest architectural elements I've ever seen in a hotel.) Added to this, it was carpeted, so it really was a bit of a feat to get our nice spinner suitcases from the elevator to our room.
- Room Outlets: There were very few outlets in the room, and none which were convenient to use, since there were none near either side of the bed, and to use the small desk area, we had to unplug the lamp. There was one fully free outlet near the small hanging/suitcase area, but it meant our devices were either on top of the suitcases or on the floor, which was a little odd.
- Room Cleanliness: The room did feel like housekeeping had been there, but they were a little bit dated/worn overall. So there were some chips, possible slight water damage/staining in the bathroom. It was not significant, but there were multiple places where it felt like a little refresh could be helpful.
Overall, it met what we needed it for, but it did have some quirks worth mentioning.