Holiday Inn Express Swindon City Centre by IHG

I was staying at Holliday Inn Express, Bridge Street, Swindon, United Kingdom, SN1 1BT, from 21-13 May, with my wife and 2 year old baby. A very bad experience that includes a false alarm, emergency evacuation with a child from the 4th floor, waiting for the elevator for 30 minutes and the inability to use breakfast. Enough to never stay in that hotel again

Great accommodation, comfortable and clean. Close to restaurants around the location or you could just order from the restaurant downstairs.

AC did work, told the receptionist on duty and said they would have maintenance guy in before we return for the day but it still didn’t work.

The actual rooms were lovely, and the lady working on breakfast was fab, she’d been there all night but still had a smile, even though completely understaffed and no doubt underpaid!

Breakfast was like the hunger games! One small buffet for hundreds of people. Barely cooked food coming out, and being immediately snatched by hungry guests. Not enough staff, every table covered with mountains of plates etc. no clean crockery or cutlery available, but there was no food anyway! One lift for a 6 floor hotel, almost impossible to use as it was always rammed with people!

Friendly staff Good breakfast Very comfortable bed You could walk into town Lovely Italian restaurant about 5 minutes walk away

Unfortunately the location was less than salubrious.

Friendly staffs

Had to pay for the car park which was itself a challenge for me to park!

Location

Poor cleanliness and disappointing service throughout our stay. The room was not properly cleaned, with hairs on the bed and no toilet roll provided on arrival. The lift was out of service, and even at check-in another guest was already complaining, which gave a poor first impression. Breakfast was served stone cold despite us being the first guests there, and when I raised this with the chef, the response was dismissive and unprofessional. As a head chef myself, I found this especially disappointing. What was meant to be a romantic getaway with my partner turned into a very frustrating experience.