What are Holiday Inn Expresses like these days?

luminated

A week or two ago we stayed in a TLodge and it was OK'ish for the money £15 PN. But the bed was very very soft and we had several nights of poor sleep culminating in us cutting our stay short by one night. It also had a shower and I had been looking forward to have a soak in a bath.

Soon we will be staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Exeter (a treat from our daughter) and wondered if we can expect a big (better) difference to our TLodge experience - mainly:

1) Are the beds comfortable?

2) Is there a bath or do they have only showers as well?

3) Our confirmation paperwork says 'room only' yet the web site says they always supply a complementary breakfast so which is the case?

4) Is there a better range of TV channels as TL only had a very small number, on a very small TV. Is the HIE TV a decent size?

Any help on above or other would be appreciated.

DCFC79

It may well vary form 1 hotel to the next re the beds, have you had a look if there are any reviews for the hotel in exeter,

is the tv going to be used much, when i stayed in the TL in blackpool tv was on for a few hours and that was it

luminated

DCFC79 wrote: »

It may well vary form 1 hotel to the next re the beds, have you had a look if there are any reviews for the hotel in exeter,

is the tv going to be used much, when i stayed in the TL in blackpool tv was on for a few hours and that was it

The reviews on Trip Advisor are good 4.5 out of 5 which is reassuring.

Because of my health issues I need to spend more time than the average person in the room and watching TV. Just thinking if I took a Freeview box whether I could rig it up??? Mmm I wonder.

DCFC79

luminated wrote: »

The reviews on Trip Advisor are good 4.5 out of 5 which is reassuring.

Because of my health issues I need to spend more time than the average person in the room and watching TV. Just thinking if I took a Freeview box whether I could rig it up??? Mmm I wonder.

could work re the freeview box but the connections could be not in a position for you to play with(thinking about it i can imagine you wouldnt be able to hook up your own box)

re the breakfast id call up and ask,

if the page says freeview then i take that to mean freeview channels are available since freeview is freeview

luminated

I guess a phone call would sort it but often not as informative as asking on the mSE forums. Here is the features text from their web site.

"Guestrooms at the Holiday Inn Express Exeter hotel are designed to offer all the facilities and little touches that make your stay enjoyable without adding unnecessary frills so that you can enjoy great value rates that include our complimentary hot breakfast.
Our 149 bedrooms combine comfort and convenience and are each equipped with satellite TV, air conditioning, in-room movies, tea/coffee making facilities, hairdryer, ensuite with power shower,"

dangers

We've stayed in a few HIE's over the past few years - yes, they are showers which are quite powerful. Room/bed comfy enough with a choice of firm or soft pillows. TV was an ok size , not sure what channels are on there though.
Breakfasts have varied - always used to be cold, but they have recently introduced the hot selection, although this is basic. In one hotel, there was scrambled egg, sausage, bacon & beans iirc, but in another hotel, we only had the choice of sausage and scrambled egg.

DCFC79

luminated wrote: »

I guess a phone call would sort it but often not as informative as asking on the mSE forums. Here is the features text from their web site.

"Guestrooms at the Holiday Inn Express Exeter hotel are designed to offer all the facilities and little touches that make your stay enjoyable without adding unnecessary frills so that you can enjoy great value rates that include our complimentary hot breakfast.
Our 149 bedrooms combine comfort and convenience and are each equipped with satellite TV, air conditioning, in-room movies, tea/coffee making facilities, hairdryer, ensuite with power shower,"

as it says satellite it could be more chnanels than freeview,

matty17r

We regularly stay in holiday inn expresses for leisure breaks on the 2 for 1 offers. We find them excellent value for money and great service. Recently stayed in Glocester business park one - absolutely great value with very friendly and helpful staff. They only ever seem to have showers and limited tv channels but we still love them for value.

nearlyrich

Last one I stayed in had worms in the carpet gross never again they were unable to offer a solution so I left.

p00hsticks

We stayed in the Lincoln one a couple of weekends ago.

Shower rather than bath.

Complimentary buffet breakfast consisted of choice of cereal, toast, croissants, fruit, yoghurt, sausages, scrambled egg, tea, coffee and various fruit juices

TV had a small number of freeview channels such as BBC3 and BBC4, SKY News, and (I think) Film4, ITV3, ITV4.

I don't think you'd be able to connect a freeview box of your own up.

Hairdryer and air conditioning in the room and an ice machine in reception (very welcome given the weather!)

*manda*

Yes I always find them better than TL's on the whole- to the extent where I no longer use TL as HIE always seem to be as cheap for me using the discounts.

They do tend to be showers, with a door that swings between bathroom or just toilet (slightly confusing if you've had a few sherberts!!)

Beds MUCH better, and generally bigger, cleaner and fresher I find.

Not sure on TV but better than TL IIRC- some selected freeviews I think

Breakfast always used to be cold buffet but most do a small selection of hot now- but it is very basic and not "freshly" cooked i.e apparently it's microwaved scrambled egg and sausage in most. I'm happy enough with cereals toast etc for free anyway.

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