Holiday Inn Camden Lock

Having visited Camden Market before, we particularly wanted to stay in this area when we attended a wedding in Hackney. It's worth checking a few websites for rates as each did differ. We stayed for a long weekend. Arrived from the Midlands and managed to drive straight there without going into the congestion charge areas. The hotel has no car park of its own but you can pull up outside to off load and then park at a secure car park a few streets/short walk away. However, note that this car park (recommended on the hotel website) only takes cash, so remember that when you are leaving!

We booked a superior room and were given a free upgrade upon arrival to an executive room which was very spacious, nicely furnished, contemporary, clean and comfortable. It also had a large balcony with table and chairs that had great views towards the London Eye . We were on the 4th floor which was quiet. The enormous bed was VERY comfortable.

The full English breakfast choice and quality (included in our rate) was more than sufficient, even for my vegetarian needs. Some reception staff didn't smile much but others were very helpful in assisting with booking tickets for a Saturday evening event and with directions for the most straightfoward/quickest route to the Town Hall in Hackney. The bellman was very welcoming and helpful.

We like the lively buzz of Camden and the ease of getting around. There are plenty of eating/drinking venues within easy walking distance of the hotel, as is Camden Town tube station and the local railway line.

We take weekend breaks in London 2 or 3 times a year and won't hesitate to stay here again and have already recommended it to others.

We got a good rate from the hotel's own website (http://www.holidayinncamden.co.uk/), which beat the rate from the Holiday Inn corporate website. Staying only one night, it was a brief visit, but first impressions were good.

Check-in was painless and pleasant, and we were allocated a room on the second floor. There was no view to speak of, as this seemed to be one of the rooms that faced on to the inner courtyard. However, this did mean that there was very little noise from outside. We were glad about this, as the air-conditioning didn't seem to cool the air. I'm only making an assumption, but some hotels switch off the air-conditioning in the Autumn/Winter to save money, so the cooling is just a fan. It seemed that this was the case at this hotel, or else the air-conditioning was broken. As it was a warm day, we put the air-con down as low as possible, but it barely cooled the room at all. Instead, we kept the window open to cool down.

Also, when first settling into the room, I noticed a few dark and curly hairs in the bed, make-up (or something similar) on the duvet cover and a dirty pillow. I called down to reception to ask for new sheets, and they sent the duty manager to the room. He inspected the bed and profusely apologised, before sending housekeeping along with replacement sheets. A short time later, he reappeared at the door with a bottle of Merlot and a couple of glasses. I must say that we greatly appreciated the gesture, as it shows a willingness and desire to keep their guests happy. I'm afraid I don't recall his name (we had a big night...) but we thought him tremendously helpful and polite.

The hotel is very well located in Camden, and is a short (a leisurely 5 minutes) walk from Camden Town station, and seconds from the many interesting shops on Camden High Street. It's also just over the canal from the Camden Lock and excellent Stables markets. On the same road as the hotel is the Camden Brasserie, which we found to be very good indeed. You can view their menu on the restaurant website, if you're interested. Just Google it. It's also barely 5 to 10 minutes to get to Koko and the Dublin Castle, if you're in town to see a gig. There's a Strada and a Pizza Express on the same road as the Dublin Castle, if that's what you like.

We didn't use the bar or restaurant of the hotel, but the reception were most accommodating when we asked to leave our bags with them until approx 8pm on the day of checkout. We were happy overall with our stay, and consider the rate to be competitive when compared to other London hotels. Next time we're in Camden, we'll certainly stay at the Holiday Inn again. I've just marked them down a little (I think 3.5 is a fair mark, but it's not possible on tripadvisor's system) to reflect the fairly basic nature of the hotel and the cleanliness problems we had in the room. But we were left with a positive impression, largely due to the duty manager and the general helpfulness of the staff.