Express by Holiday Inn London Stratford

The hotel is fine - what you would expect from Express by Holiday Inn. Not in a particularly nice part of town to come back to late at night but I know the area and that didn't bother me particularly. The rate was great at £58 (including continental breakfast) for a fairly last-minute booking.

I booked the hotel and my husband had to check us in as I was going to arrive late - I rang reservations to check this would be OK and they said it would be as long as he was named as an additional guest (which I did online) and he had my credit card - we arranged this and he checked in fine, paid the £58 and got a receipt. On checkout, the receptionist asked for an additional £35 on top of the £58 already paid as she insisted that there had been a third person staying in our room! We said that this was not the case, but she was having none of it. She went off for several minutes to talk to someone in a back room, then came out and demanded information from me to prove that the rate I had paid was the one I had booked - I had a confirmation printed from my e-mails but because I had printed in the wrong view it did not have this. I insisted that there had only been two overnight guests, and she finally, after several more minutes of pouting and general rudeness, said that she would not be charging me an additional £35 as if she was doing me some kind of favour. I was not at all impressed and this would put me off staying there again.

As has been mentioned, the surrounding areas are slightly run down, and if you're thinking of staying here it would be an idea to acquaint yourself with the area beforehand, and to buy an Oyster card.

We arrived before midnight but felt apprehensive when the cab driver advised us to be extra careful - especially late at night. It wasn't the best of introductions to the area, but like most stations in busy cities, it did have a few dubious characters wandering around. But please remember this was only at the station itself, which is within easy reach of the hotel. The cab fare was approximately £7.00 from the station to the hotel, so good value, especially when travelling with heavy cases late at night. But if you're not averse to the few dubious characters, it's easily walkable to the hotel and is also on a bus route - one stop from Stratford station.

The check in was fine and we were allocated a top floor room overlooking the main and very busy road. This wasn't a problem to us as both lifts were working fine and even if you're a very light sleeper, the double glazing drowns out most of the noise. But if you like to sleep with the window open, it would be advisable to ask for a room on the other side.

The room was large and clean, as was the bedding and the bathroom. No faults at all with the housekeeping - it was exemplary. The only minor negative point was a stain on the cover of the sofa but as we only used it to put bags on, it wasn't a problem. The bed tended to lean towards the middle, but was comfortable after a hectic day spent in London. The bathroom, which is in fact a shower room, was spotless, as were the towels. We always take our own toiletries but there are dispensers for hand and body wash near the sink and in the shower, and a vending machine near the foyer if you forget anything like toothpaste. The nearby shopping centre in Stratford should cover just about anything else you may need.

As has been mentioned in previous reviews, there was no hot food available that weekend, but the receptionists are more than happy to order a take-away for you to eat in your room, providing it's not overly late. The take-away menus, although of limited choice, can be found near the vending machine, and one meal was ample to feed two of us, and at approximately £10 including delivery, good value for London. The continental breakfasts are standard but adequate enough to start the day off.

If, as we did, you find yourself slightly disorientated with the area, just ask. The girls on reception were a credit to the hotel, and if they couldn't immediately help with directions to various places, they Googled the areas and handed us printouts, which was a very kind and helpful gesture.

I can't recommend highly enough the benefits of buying an Oyster card on your arrival in London, especially if you're staying for sight-seeing in London. These, topped up with £30 each, was more than enough for us to traverse across the city and further, and to have credit available at the end of the stay. Much cheaper than taxis.

There's a bus stop a couple of minutes away from the hotel, and it's only one stop to Stratford station. As it was a weekend, there were various disruptions due to works being carried out, but at no time did we find this a problem. There's alternative routes to be taken and the station staff were very helpful. If returning from London to Stratford, and need a bus to the hotel, go to platform C at the bus station and get on any red bus - it's as easy as that, and where your Oyster card comes in handy. It's also handy for the DLR and buses. Should you wish to travel out to Beckton to the smaller shopping outlets, it's one stop from the hotel to the station, and a bus (I think it was the 252 or 262 but please ask - the local people were also more than helpful) takes you directly to Beckton Triangle (with it's Next and Boots clearance stores) or Gallion's Reach shopping centre, and which takes under an hour.

Overall, we were very happy with the hotel and the hotel staff. The only downside was the distance from the city to the hotel, especially if you need to return more than once in a day, (but who'd want to?) and the lack of cooked food at the weekend. If you prefer to travel by taxi to and from the hotel it might work out cheaper to book a Holiday Inn that's more central. If not, then I'd recommend this hotel if you're travelling by car, or for a long weekend providing you don't mind the DLR and frequent tube changes.. If we could have picked this hotel up, and dropped it to a place nearer the attractions, it would have been near perfect for our needs. Our stay cost us £159 for 3 nights B&B, but look around for any offers at the Holiday Inn site.

Thank you to all at the hotel and I hope this has been of some help to any readers.