Holiday Inn Express Stevenage

By our last morning, we didn’t even feel like going down for breakfast. The woman working reception then was so grumpy and rude that I felt completely unwelcome. When I explained that a simple “good morning” and a smile would make guests feel welcome, she didn’t even bother responding. I honestly wondered why someone with that attitude was put at the front desk.

The room lighting was extremely poor, and there weren’t any sockets beside the bed. I also had about £6 go missing from my room. It wasn’t taken seriously, which still hurt even though it wasn’t a large amount. The staff were really friendly, at least.

Dogs barked through the night and the neighbours partied until 4am, while our bed was broken. The staff didn’t manage to sort any of it out. They offered to let me leave the hotel in the middle of the night instead of properly dealing with the people causing the problem, and didn’t take into account that I had a 6 year old with me. It was unbelievable. Our worst experience.

I was very disappointed by how the room problem was handled. The receptionist seemed focused only on proving I’d booked a twin instead of a double, with no real effort to understand my situation or suggest a solution. When I asked to cancel, she abruptly said I couldn’t and that I’d have to sort it out with Booking.com. She offered no help, and her dismissive manner showed no compassion or basic customer service. I hope the hotel addresses this, because it left me shocked and disappointed.