Holiday Inn Glasgow East Kilbride by IHG

I've stayed here a few times, but I think I'll look elsewhere now. The heating is always faulty, and today the recently serviced kitchen equipment wasn't working, so there were no eggs of any kind. What really frustrated me was that the girl in charge of the restaurant seemed to think it was fine for me to go without the poached eggs I'd planned on, and had no intention of refunding the breakfast cost. I had to get the manager involved, and the refund was eventually received.

Breakfast was good, and the restaurant staff were excellent. The other staff we dealt with were excellent too, and reception did make sure we got our fridge and drinks restocked after they were missed on the second day. The room, though, was shabby, with worn furniture: stitching coming apart and the chair's vinyl trim falling off, among other things. It feels like the building and its infrastructure haven't had the investment they need. The WiFi signal was so weak it kept dropping out. One shower door wasn't attached at the bottom, so it wouldn't close properly, and the bath screen didn't reach the bath, leaving the floor soaked when I used the shower. The toilet paper was so thin I had to fold it 12 times to keep my finger from going through it. The TV channels were in a strange order, so finding BBC1 meant endless scrolling. Retuning the cheap old TV didn't help, and it was sodding annoying. I gave the manager a chance to respond before posting, but heard nothing. The staff can only work with what they have, and I suspect the fault lies with senior management at the owning company. It's a long way from an acceptable standard, and management should be embarrassed. Don't book unless you're getting an exceptional deal.

The staff were first class, friendly and happy to help, and the food portions were massive. Our room was spacious and clean, with a super comfy bed, though the hotel and rooms are starting to look a little tired.

This franchised Holiday Inn didn't meet even basic expectations, and the hotel badly needs a refresh. I'd booked a chain hotel hoping cleanliness and service wouldn't be a concern, but we checked into a room with dozens of flies in the corners, on the headboard, walls and lamps. Reception moved us reluctantly to another room, which had the same fly problem around the window outside the door. Its AC unit rattled loudly, showed an error code and couldn't be turned off. We were told we'd have to put up with it. After I insisted that wasn't acceptable, they moved us to a third room. That one had no other issues except poor bathroom upkeep and cleanliness. Staff first said the flies were looking for warmth as the seasons changed. The night staff later said the hotel had suffered a major boiler leak in the weeks before and thought the flies might be due to damp. That would explain the warped woodwork in the corridor outside our room. The staff seemed not to care. I contacted the hotel after the stay and got no reply, though IHG customer services did respond and offered IHG points instead of a partial refund. For £200+ for two nights, I'd expected a better experience.