Holiday Inn Express York

We stayed for two nights and would happily return or recommend the hotel. Staff were friendly and helpful, and breakfast was self-service with a good choice. As a wheelchair user, I found there was plenty of room to manoeuvre without the chair getting in the way. The room was clean, tidy, warm and comfortable, perhaps too warm, but there was a fan. The bed was almost too comfortable. Having one hard and one soft pillow each is a brilliant idea.

We didn't enjoy the stay at all, and it wasn't what we'd expected from a Holiday inn. We were greeted on arrival and the room was clean, but the bed creaked and groaned when we sat on it. The mattress felt really soggy, like sleeping in a bowl. We could hear televisions all night and other guests laughing and talking loudly. The washroom was very good, though on our second morning there was a leak around the toilet. We skipped breakfast on the first morning because we had an early train. The next day, the juice machine stopped working and the staff seemed to struggle with it. I don't think they got it working. I was glad to see a flask of filter coffee since I don't like machine coffee, but I only got half a cup before it ran out. A young woman at reception said she'd refill it. After 15 minutes I asked about it and was told there was no more ground coffee. I was disappointed she hadn't come to tell us. By then they were having trouble with the coffee machine too. I tried the pancake machine next and got two tiny, cocktail-sized pancakes. The staff were working on that machine a while later too, and apparently it wasn't working properly either. My husband found the baps tasteless. The fruit compote was gloopy and had very little fruit. On the plus side, he found a banana.

I cancelled my booking ahead of time because of illness, and the hotel later confirmed the cancellation in writing. Even so, they charged me after the arrival date. When I challenged it, they wouldn't correct the charge, kept saying it was “out of their control,” and gave me no terms or explanation that allowed them to take payment after cancellation. Emails went round in circles, with responsibility avoided and no genuine effort to sort it out. This was some of the worst billing and customer service I've experienced: no transparency, accountability or basic fairness. If something goes wrong with your booking, don't expect help, just deflection. I'd strongly advise people to think carefully before booking here.

We were left waiting at reception for far too long while the receptionist phoned the manager, but no manager was on duty. My 82-year-old relative had to stand for around half an hour while they tried to sort things out. A prompt resolution and simple acknowledgment of the hotel's mistake would have made a big difference. The experience was stressful and poorly handled, and I won't stay here again. I'd booked one accessible room and one standard room for one night directly through reception. The confirmation showed the right date, so I thought everything was sorted. On arrival, I was asked straight away if I'd booked for “tomorrow.” I showed the email, but the receptionist seemed confused and said one room was for the next day. They didn't mention the accessible room I'd requested. Instead of taking responsibility, they asked if I'd used another booking system, which I hadn't, then explained their “confusing booking system.” That came across as an excuse and as if I might have made the mistake, despite the written confirmation.