Holiday Inn Rugby/ Northampton M1, Jct 18 by IHG

I slept well, and the room was clean, neutral smelling and seemed freshly painted. The bathroom is simple but refurbished, with plenty of hot water and a strong shower. There’s a powerful hairdryer, easy to use window, lots of sockets and charging points beside the bed. I could see Crick church from the window. The standard double is too small to lay a yoga mat out comfortably, so next time I’d choose a premium room. If that’s not an issue for you, the room is fine. The gym has a wide mix of cardio machines, weights machines and free weights. Some equipment is older, but I had a better workout here than at my new, fancy local gym. I also enjoyed the warm pool, where staff provided a towel and locker token, and the changing rooms are modern. The sauna is gender segregated, which I like, and looked almost new. A staff member encouraged me to get in the pool, and I’m glad they did. The welcome was helpful from the start. A young man showed me how to work the heating, and the staff work hard. The hotel is clean, bright and warm. I also liked the drive through the farmland and past the solar and wind farms. Crick’s local Co-op is a 10 minute walk away. Keep going another 10-15 minutes and you reach the garden centre, canal, woodland and hilly views, passing two pubs and a car boot sale along the way. I’d stay again.

I had one of the worst hotel stays of my life. Dave, a night shift manager, was extremely rude and unprofessional. He treated me disgustingly and told me to leave or they would lock the doors, even though I had a booking for the whole following week. Malina, a female staff member, started yelling at me in front of him. She twice lied about having spoken to me over an outstanding £211 balance, which I had already paid during my stay. I also lost an item in room 36 and asked her about it repeatedly, but she kept brushing me off. Later she claimed housekeeping had given it to me in room 01 on 16-02-2026, though I wasn’t at the hotel at all that day. I reckon they must have returned it to a ghost in that room. My Manager and I raised the issue and their rude conduct with Senior Manager Alice, but she did nothing. Some staff were nice and professional, including Justine, Cal, Rory, Neil, Edward and Freddie. Other staff would stare at me near the dining area as if I were an alien from another planet. There were plenty of other problems. The rooms are quite small. Room 01 had a blocked sink, room 28 had no socket by the bed, and room 104 wouldn’t close properly. There was no lighting or pedestrian path on the way to the building. One evening I ordered dinner but they lost my receipt and didn’t prepare it. Another day I didn’t order anything, but they prepared food anyway. I ordered Hand-battered Haddock & chips, and they charged £18.85 for a tiny piece of haddock, barely 150 grams. It was supposed to be at least 1 kg, but the items don’t match the weights listed on the menu. The customer service was disgusting, and I wouldn’t recommend staying at Holiday Inn in future.

Anna has made our weekend feel special already, with a warm, attentive and professional welcome as soon as we arrived. We’re only at the end of our first night at the Holiday Inn Rugby, but I wanted to say how fantastic she’s been. She’s a real credit to the team. Looking forward to the rest of the weekend.

The internet was okay at 15/15 symmetrical, and the friendly staff and clean room made for a good stay. I was there for all of February 2026 and especially enjoyed the British breakfast. The gym was alright, though it could be improved. I didn’t try the pool or sauna. My main difficulty was getting an Uber pickup, but that wasn’t anything to do with the hotel. I’ll definitely be back.