Review of Holiday Inn Express Bristol City Centre, an IHG Hotel 2*

The welcome was really lovely — super friendly and helpful, asking me if I wanted to know anything about the local area, offering maps etc. All of the staff members remained cheery and helpful throughout my stay for 2 nights. The car park was impossible to find, based on the very limited information on the hotel website. The hotel is on a very busy road, so you really feel pressure to keep up with the traffic around you. I didn't spot the sign indicating that the car park is at the rest of the hotel until I had parked elsewhere and arrived on foot. I eventually found a long stay car park across the road in the Temple Meads train station — which worked out a bit cheaper than the hotel's own car park. I asked for a quiet room as I'm a light sleeper. I got one on the 4th floor at the back, but as it's a busy city centre location I could still hear traffic noise and sirens blaring frequently. Added to that there was noise from the corridor — loud voices and even a screaming baby at one point. The walls are so thin I kept feeling as well as hearing the doors of other rooms slamming as people went about their business, so soundproofing in this hotel is very poor. The bed was on the soft side for me, and the pillows were rather blocky and hard, so I didn't have a restful sleep. The bathroom and other room amenities are basic but functional. There are many small pieces of paper with notices all over the room asking for feedback, offering advice on climate change or flogging membership of a hotel club — all rather annoying. I collected them all and put them in a drawer out of the way. Everything appeared spotlessly clean. Breakfast was mediocre — — buffet style basic things like bread, a vat of scrambled eggs and various cereals, jams and hot & cold drinks. At this price I didn't expect anything fancy. I doubt that I will stay in this particular hotel again. It's my first time in Bristol, and plenty of other places to try if I stay here overnight in the future.