Holiday Inn London - Kensington High St. by IHG

Fabulous good value hotel. Excellent facilities. Spotlessly clean. Comfortabble beds. Fabulous 3 nights sleep! Good soundproofing. Proximity to all Kensington High Street has to offer. And just a few yards from the tube station. Spa wonderful. Massage magic hands by Kimberly, absolute bliss!! Restaurant good. Nice ambience in the bar. Would highly recommend this hotel and will definitely stay here again next time I'm in London. Most enjoyable

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed my stay at this Holiday Inn! I was initially worried about booking because of some of the reviews, but I thought I might test it out for one night before booking additional nights. The service staff really are really what set this hotel apart. I arrived late from a Paris flight and Ali was an absolute superstar at helping with check in, making sure that my room was OK and explaining what was on offer. His attitude felt like he really enjoyed working in guest relations and it really swept away the burden of a delayed flight and the worries I had around booking this hotel. He was really kind to offer breakfast as well, despite the fact that I wasn't asking for it to be complimentary (I was merely querying the price). A summary of the experience of the hotel: (Positives) + Close to two Tube stations (Earl's Court (Piccadilly Line) is a 10 minute walk or High Street Kensington (District/Circle Line) 3 minutes) + Absolutely amazing staff + Starbucks located in the lobby is pretty good + The Fitness Center is well equipped with free weight barbells (it's not just a Smith Machine) or small dumbbells) - you can get a full proper workout + The breakfast is amazing with a wide range of hot buffet items and cold cuts. (Negatives - unfortunately both together lost a star) - The A/C can be a bit hit and miss sometimes with the room leaning towards the slightly chillier side. I tried blasting it on high at 32 degrees celsius with heat mode, but the room never felt warmer than 15 degrees celsius. - The baggage claim at the concierge could do with some improvement. I went to collect my bags and there were two staff members who were just talking there. I wasn't really acknowledged despite standing there for a good two minutes until another staff member came along, who I supposed was the concierge as he took my tickets and grabbed my bags, but all together this took about 10 minutes despite being the only guest there. The other two gentlemen may not have been responsible for concierge services, but it just felt jarring standing there there unacknowledged for a few minutes and worried about my flight while they carried on laughing and conversing.