Grange Holborn Hotel

My husband stayed here for the weekend of 30th and 31st Oct 09 checking out on the 1st Nov 09. I had checked out a few of the previous reviews on this hotel and it seemed ok and we wanted somewhere close to Covent Garden and the theatre area. Reason for short break was to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday with a theatre show and general sightseeing around the city. First impressions of the hotel seemed quite grand, we had travelled on the tube it wasn't too far from Holborn underground, about a 5 min walk (if that) so location could not really be faulted. We had booked through expedia to get some points for our Nectar card account and booked a Superior Room with 1 queen sized bed. I had emailed the hotel in advance to let them know of the special occasion we were celebrating and they had acknowledged that they might be able to do "something" for us. On checking in we were asked if we wanted to upgrade our room (at an extra cost I might add), but I mentioned that I had already sent an email explaining the purpose of our special visit and was informed that they would upgrade us to a "Superior Room", funny as I thought at the time that's what we had already booked but as I didn't bring the details with me I couldn't check. On checking out on the Sunday I asked at the desk what they had our original booking as and was told we had booked a "Standard Room" but on looking on their website I cannot seem to find "Standard Room" descriptions or prices so I'm now wondering if we ever did get a free upgrade?? On another note, we asked on 2 occasions at the front desk if we could have a couple of mugs sent up as we found the cups and saucers provided for tea/coffee in the room too small, we were looked at in a blank expression as if they weren't too sure what we were talking about but assured they would be sent up to our room - nothing ever appeared. Also although the room was quite as we were on the 3rd floor the view left something to be desired, we had a rather dull view of the side of what I think was an office block and on the Saturday morning was awoken by the sound of the refuse truck reversing down the side street, good job I'm used to waking early but it would've been nice to have a bit of a lie in for a change! We also found the housekeeping service was a bit late on the Saturday, we had gone out for nearly the whole day returning about 5pm only too find that the room had not been cleaned or the bed made, we thought maybe it was because we hadn't put the card on the door to do so but on previous hotel experiences found that they would come and knock on the door and do it if you weren't there. Anyhow, we had a knock on the door around 5.30pm asking if they could clean the room but we had to ask them to come back about 6.30pm when we would be going out again, the housekeeping lady promptly returned at this time. But then on returning to the room later that evening found that although she had cleaned the very small bathroom we had, she had forgotten to empty the already overflowing small waste bin in the bedroom, probably a minor oversight. Another thing was the basic hairdryer they supply in the room, it is hidden away in a drawer which is also where it is plugged into so you only have one area to dry & style your hair, it only had 2 heat/speed settings on it so if you wanted any heat out of it you had to have the air speed on full blast and it got so hot that the nozzle starting melting! We had also asked for a small jug of fresh milk as we don't like the uht milk they give you in those small pots for tea and coffee, on trying to keep in cool I had to move some items round in the fridge not realising that it was register that I was using drinks out of the mini-bar, but after explaining they made sure we weren't charged. My advice is if you want a hotel near to Covent Garden and Theatre land then this is ideal but it is a bit pricey, breakfast is almost £28 each so we went out to Covent Garden to Maxwells for the same full english with tea and fresh juice and it came to about the same for the both of us.

I have stayed at the Grange City quite a few times and opted to try the Grange Holborn for a change. It's fine, just not as new, the rooms are not as opulent and the pool and spa not quite as good either (there is no jacuzzi, be warned!).

We initially were given a very small twin room on the front of the hotel which was incredibly noisy. After a not very good night's sleep we requested to change rooms and we were upgraded to a twin queen room at the back which was quieter. This was a large room with two queen size beds, a definite plus.

The staff are absolutely fantastic here though. They are friendly, positive and extremely helpful. I couldn't fault their professionalism and customer service.

The location of the hotel is very good. Room was cleaned with enough amenities in the bath.

Good choice of items in the mini bar, Optional pay TV and tea coffee making facility in room was excellent.

Breakfast was busy but we received a superb service from breakfast staff members and had a good selection of food. One bad point, £23 for English breakfast is bit expensive.

We had a couple of drinks at the lobby bar. Good selection of drinks with wonderful service from friendly bar staff.

We had room service dinner, which arrived without incident and was consumed and enjoyed by all without complaint. Room service order delivery person was well trained and he was very helpful.

The waiting staff were really attentive and made us feel at ease during our stay. Even when we passed a member of staff in the corridor or lobby bar area they were very welcoming.

Check in and out was quick and handled in friendly manner.

We will recommend this hotel to all our friends and we will come back.