Holiday Inn Express York

The staff were friendly and helpful, and we’d go back anytime and recommend it to anyone. We stayed for two nights. The room was clean and well ordered, and as a wheelchair user I had plenty of space to move around without my chair getting in the way. It was warm and comfortable, in fact a bit too warm, but there was a fan. The bed was almost too comfortable. Having one firm and one soft pillow each was a brilliant idea. Breakfast was self service with a good choice.

The room was clean, and we were greeted on arrival. The washroom was very good, though on the second morning there was a water leak around the toilet. The bed creaked and groaned when we sat on it, and the mattress was so soggy it felt like trying to sleep in a bowl. We could hear TVs all night, as well as other guests laughing and talking loudly. We skipped breakfast the first morning because we had an early train. On the second morning, the juice machine stopped working, and the staff seemed to struggle with it. I don’t think they got it going. I was glad to see a flask of filter coffee since I’m not keen on machine coffee, but I only got half a cup before it was empty. I asked reception and a young woman said she’d refill it. After 15 minutes I checked again and was told there was no more ground coffee. It was sad she hadn’t come to tell us. By then the coffee machine was having problems too. I tried the pancake machine next and got two tiny, cocktail sized pancakes. Staff were looking at that machine a while later too, apparently it wasn’t working properly. My husband said the baps were tasteless, and the fruit compote was gloopy with little fruit in it. On the plus side, he did find a banana. All in all, it wasn’t a pleasant experience and not what we expected from a Holiday Inn.

I cancelled my booking in advance because of illness, and the hotel later confirmed the cancellation in writing. Even so, they charged me after the arrival date. When I challenged the payment, they refused to correct it, kept saying the issue was “out of their control,” and gave no terms or justification allowing them to charge after cancellation. Emails went in circles, they avoided responsibility, and made no genuine effort to resolve it. This was some of the worst customer service and billing behaviour I’ve experienced, with no transparency, accountability, or basic fairness. If something goes wrong with a booking, expect deflection rather than help. I strongly advise others to think very carefully before booking here. This should never happen.

I booked one accessible room and one standard room for a single night directly through reception. The confirmation had the correct date, so I thought everything was settled. When we arrived, though, I was immediately asked if the rooms were booked for “tomorrow.” I showed the email, but was told one room was listed for the next day, and there was no mention of the accessible room I’d requested. Rather than take responsibility, the receptionist asked if I’d booked through another system, which I hadn’t, then explained their “confusing booking system.” That sounded like an excuse for the mistake, not a solution. It was unprofessional to suggest I may have made the error when the written confirmation clearly showed the right date. We waited far too long at reception while the receptionist called the manager, but there was no manager on duty. My 82-year-old relative had to stand for around half an hour while they sorted it out. The whole thing was stressful and badly handled. A simple acknowledgment of the hotel’s mistake and a prompt fix would have made all the difference. The lack of care and accountability means I won’t stay here again.