Holiday Inn Express Hemel Hempstead by IHG

I spent the day at The Holiday Inn with work colleagues for a training seminar. The rooms we used were comfortable, and the food and drinks were very good. Everyone on staff I met was friendly and polite, which made it a really enjoyable day.

There are very fast EV chargers at Sainsbury's, about a 5 minute walk away, which was handy for me. We also had no trouble parking when we arrived late, and breakfast was decent with a clean table easy to find. The location is excellent and the price is good. The room itself was extremely small, and the sofa bed wasn't great. The shower temperature was fine, but the pressure was so weak it was one of the worst I've had in a hotel. There was no TV remote. USB-A ports by the bed are useful for some, but I use USB-C cables and there aren't any plug sockets there, so they didn't help me.

The setting was lovely and quiet, which suited us, but the stay was a mess. Our room was tiny, with damp, mould and paint flaking off the walls. The maintenance was clearly poor, and the broken bed meant our children couldn't sleep properly. Check-in was rude and unhelpful. The receptionist asked for the name and number plate without looking at us, then didn't explain how to find the room or when breakfast started. We had to ask another guest and went down at 7am. No staff were there, so we sat down and ate. The food was mostly awful: cold bacon that seemed microwaved, sweaty-tasting hash browns, cold scrambled egg, beans with a thick skin, stale bread, and cheap, spicy-tasting sausages. They had gluten-free bread, which was great, but no separate toaster, and the regular toaster was being used for normal bread. With no staff around to ask where it could be prepared, we had to leave it. The coffee was the one good thing. The "pure" orange juice tasted watered down. Just a terrible experience.

Helen at reception made a lovely first impression. She was welcoming, friendly, good at her job and always ready for a giggle. She really is a credit to the place. We came up from London for two nights to see our daughter and her boyfriend, who recently bought a Narrowboat moored near the Paper Mill pub. I'm not used to being this far north, but this little Holiday Inn worked well as a base. It's right across from Apsley station, in a lovely spot with easy travel and some nice pubs nearby. Red Lion was the best. The room was fine for our needs, and breakfast was included with plenty of choice.