An Inn for your Holiday (Holiday Inn Chessington)

Member Name: abbadabbado

Product:	Holiday Inn Chessington
Date:	22/09/08 (110 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: a comfy nights sleep

Disadvantages: expensive for what it is

During my weekend away in London, we stayed in the Holiday Inn at Chessington. The hotel is a fairly new build, being opened in July 07. It's situated right next door to Chessington World of Adventures, and even from the back garden in the hotel you can see through to the zoo in the park.

We had booked this hotel as part of our weekend package so didn't actually choose it ourselves, but the stay was both pleasant and comfortable.
A standard double room will cost you in the region of £100 per night. The best way I can describe a Holiday Inn is to call it a posh Travelodge. The room layouts are almost identical, but done up to a better standard, with extra features.

The hotel has leisure facilities attached which is available for guests to use. Sadly we didn't get time to use the pool or Jacuzzi but other members or our party managed a quick swim and said it was lovely. There are also beauty therapies available, a bar, wii fii access and pay per movies available as standard.
A continental breakfast is also available included in the price of the room.

Checking in was easy, just the surname required, and we were handed our envelopes with key cards. The hotel is situated on four floors, and of course we were on the third floor at the top. The lifts were easily accessible however and there wasn't a wait for them even at peak times.

The whole of the hotel is decorated minimalistic, with animal print decor. It was tastefully done however, and there was a fantastic wire sculpture of a giraffe in reception which towered up through the floors.

All rooms are accessed with key cards, and the card will also activate your lights. Again the rooms are decorated with minimalist animal print design, carrying on the theme.
A standard room consists of the usually bathroom with disabled features as standard, a wide screen TV with wii fii keyboard and access to pay per view music and movies on demand. A table and chairs, desk and small wardrobe space is also provided. It's nothing more than you would expect to see in a hotel room, yet it's done in a nice manner.

The cleanliness of our room was perfect and we couldn't fault them. We came across a problem when we entered the room to find we only had twin beds, and we'd booked a triple room. This was rectified quickly and efficiently with a call down to reception and an extra bed was brought up about half an hour later

On first inspection I found the bed to be quite hard and I was worried about sleeping on it. The duvet also seemed paper thin and I thought that if it was going to be a cold night I wouldn't sleep well. Both my worries were squashed when it came to actually going to sleep. The bed was very comfortable and the duvet ample. I did discover some self service heating controls in the room so I could have activated the heating should we have been cold.

Our check in time which was standard for all guests was 2pm, with a check out time of 11am. This gives you ample time in the mooring to have breakfast which opens from 6.30am. I was quite happy with our continental breakfast, however some of our party were grumbling at the hostess, as she was checking and double checking you were eating what you were supposed to be and not helping yourself to the full English buffet.
The continental breakfast consisted of self service toast, juice, coffee, tea, croissants, and jam rolls. My only quibble here was that the toaster kept burning the bread and the staff weren't overly keen on rushing to fix it all the time. Apart from that the food was fresh, tables laid out beautifully and the atmosphere was bright and friendly.

Room service was also available via our room, but the prices whilst not overly expensive for room service, we though the £5 tray charge was a bit steep so stayed away from this. The bar area was also quite expensive and the prices reflected on the hotels star rating which I believe to be a four star.

Overall we had a pleasant stay and the staff were all helpful, the rooms comfortable, and it's a perfect position to be in if you want to visit Chessingtons and stay overnight. You really couldn't get any closer.
The hotel is 12 miles away from central London, so would take you approx 45 minutes in traffic to get into London.
Holiday Inn Chessington
Leatherhead Road
Chessington
KT9 2NE

I would recommend this hotel as a place to stay for anyone looking for something a bit more luxurious than a travel lodge.
Reservations can be made online at holidayinn.co.uk

Summary: a place to stay