Holiday Inn Express Manchester - Trafford City By Ihg

“Breakfast experience was a joke”

Pros: Unfortunately, on this occasion, there weren't many. I've stayed in a few HIE over the years and this has got to be one of worser ones. When I booked this, I booked a flexi room that said they'd either offer a twin room or a double room, depending on availability. We checked in before lunch… Mais

Pros: Unfortunately, on this occasion, there weren't many. I've stayed in a few HIE over the years and this has got to be one of worser ones. When I booked this, I booked a flexi room that said they'd either offer a twin room or a double room, depending on availability. We checked in before lunch time, so way before standard check-in time, and were told we'd been given a twin room because the rest had been taken. I found that hard to believe but whatever, we roll. We were given an accessible room (so we were already off to a bad start.. there's something about wet rooms I just hate). Anyway, the carpet in the room was pretty gross - lots of conspicuous stains. Everywhere just looked grubby and old. The bathroom though, although a wet room, looked pretty clean. We couldn't get the bathroom tap to work (the sink was on a sensor). I rang down to reception and someone said they'd be up in 10 mins. In those 10 mins, we found a switch under the sink, so switched it on, and we had water. However, the water came out orange. 10 mins passed and they rang back, saying they realised we were in the accessible room, and that we needed to put the switch on - (when was the last time someone was in this room? Why was the switch off in the first place?). I then explained we had actually found the switch but the water was coming out orange, and she said 'oh yes, we had a burst water pipe a few days ago so a few rooms in that area were affected, just keep the water running until its clear' ... and basically everything will be ok. Ok - at what point where you going to tell the guests of this? Or were you just wishful thinking that it wouldn't be noticed? Anyway whatever, the sink itself was a nightmare - the sensor was so temperamental, constantly stop-start with water. Not ideal when you're in a rush! No more problems for the rest of the day... until the next morning. Breakfast here is an absolute joke, and we walked away having just had an apple juice. The buffet area is a free-for all. You can't get in, food is running out as soon as it's put there.. but what really stood out to me, and I can't believe management haven't done something about this - people were eating OFF THEIR LAPS. They had their plates on their laps because the table selection was absolutely atrocious. There were no way near enough standard tables to sit out.. the rest were bar stools looking outside, or really low down tables (that are meant for drinks only) and really low back chairs so you were slouched. You could not eat a proper meal off there without spilling it because of how low it was. This was a complete let down because I know every booking includes a breakfast, so this dining area really needs prioritising. I saw this lounge area on a Saturday afternoon and it was dead, so why not sacrifice some space and tables, and switch them for actual standard dining tables and give people what they deserve - a pleasant seating set-up to eat a breakfast they have paid for! I will say though, the actual 3 young members of staff we dealt with during our stay were super helpful and friendly, but management or someone higher who deals with this needs to sort this issue out. Location wise - a 7 (ish) minute walk to the Trafford Centre/Primark area. The tram stop is also there - the tram takes approx 20 mins (?) to get to Deansgate in central Manchester and cost roughly £3.20 per way. I unfortunately wouldn't stay here again.

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