LONDON DOCKLANDS HOTEL

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS

LONDON EXCEL

Always on the look out for a bargain, I was delighted to find the Holiday Inn Express London Excel for my recent trip to London. I was travelling up to London from my Essex home to attend the Telegraph Cruise and Travel show at the London Excel exhibition centre. Following an internet search of hotels near to London Excel, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Holiday Inn Express at a very reasonable price, which included breakfast. Although not the nearest hotel to the Excel, the Holiday Inn Express is still only an easy 10 minute walk.

Built within the last couple of years, the hotel is situated near the Gallions Point Marina area of this docklands development. With convenient access from the A1020 and within easy walking distance of the Docklands Light Railway, transport to and from the site is no problem. With such good road and public transport links, the hotel is not only an ideal stay for London Excel, but is also a good base for visiting the O2 Arena and surrounding area. London City Airport, which can be viewed from the hotel, is a 20 minute ride on the Docklands Light Railway, Canary Wharf is about 25 minutes away, and the Tower of London approximately 30 minutes.
 



 

 

The hotel has 204 guest rooms of which 21 are classed as accessible rooms. Guest rooms feature a TV, coffee/tea making facilities, hair dryer, sofa bed, desk, and a phone. There is free WI FI throughout the hotel and there is a daily housekeeping service. Some rooms have interconnecting doors, and cribs or infant beds are available. Other facilities within the hotel include a bar and lounge area, a restaurant serving breakfast and dinner, an outdoor terrace, front desk safe and free newspapers. Parking is available at the hotel for a £12 charge per 24 hour period.

 



As I was attending the travel show at the Excel, I arrived at the hotel just before 10am on the morning of my stay. Although this was too early for me to check into my room, I was able to book the parking for my car, and grab a much needed cup of coffee before I headed off to the show. The staff at reception were very friendly and most accomodating, both on this occasion and when I finally checked in later in the day.

Having spent a full day at London Excel, I returned to the hotel at 6.30pm. Check-in was quick and efficient, and the friendly receptionist went out of her way to explain everything to me and insure I was happy. I was given my room key and directions to my room. As I made my way to the lift I remembered I had forgotten to pack a toothbrush and toothpaste. I returned to the reception desk where I was given a complimentary toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as a complimentary razor. Great service!



 

 

 

Once in my room, which was very clean and comfortable, I unpacked my overnight bag and had a wash and brush up. My room was at the front of the building, on the second floor, which afforded me good views of the Docklands Light Railway line, with the river and London City Airport in the distance. I then returned to the reception area to enquire about dinner that evening.

The restaurant is situated next to the bar, and menus and table numbers are located on each table. Guests choose where they wish to sit, and order their food at the bar, giving the bartender their table number. The dinner menu, although not fine dining, is varied and reasonably priced. I chose the Chargrilled Chicken Burger served on a toasted bun with salad and chips. It proved to be both tasty and filling, and, at £12, very good value. The bartender was an extremely friendly lady, chatting and having a laugh with guests. The waitress was also very friendly and helpful, returning a few times after serving the food to enquire if everything was satisfactory. The lone chef also did an excellent job of getting the food out in good time, although, thankfully for the chef, the restaurant wasn't overly busy at that time. The appropriate level and choice of music playing in the restaurant area made for a very relaxing and welcoming environment.

On retiring to my room, I enjoyed a hot, welcome shower in the very spacious shower cubicle. The shower was powerful, and the complimentary shower gel a nice touch. My bed for the night was a little on the firm side for me, but nonetheless I had a very good nights sleep. Given its proximity to the airport and road, I had expected some noise. However, I was pleasantly surprised to have a very quiet and restful night, with no disturbances whatsoever.

The next morning, on looking out of my window, I was greeted with the sight of rowers racing on the river in the early morning sunshine. With the boats on the water, and the occassional train passing by at eye level, just yards from my window, it was a most pleasant vista. The breakfast room was busy this morning, many of the guests were either working at, or visiting, the travel show or the boat show at the Excel. Even though it was busy, the breakfast team managed to keep the food well stocked, and the tables clear. Breakfast consisted of both hot food as well as cereal, fruit etc. Coffee, tea and fruit juice were also available. The standard and variation of the food on offer was more than sufficient.

 

  

 



I checked out of the hotel at around 10.30am but as I was attending the travel show at the Excel again, I arranged with the reception staff to leave my car in the car park until later that day. Again, the staff were extremely accommodating and very polite. I found my entire stay at this hotel to be an enjoyable and relaxing one and I would certainly recommend it to anyone visiting the Excel or docklands area.

TripAdvisor has given this hotel a good rating of 4.0/5 and most reviews that I have read were very complimentary about the hotel. Details for getting to the hotel are: 1018 Docklands Road, London E16 2FQ and the telephone number for reservations is: 08714239001.

For further information on the hotel and room prices, please visit the hotel's own website at:
www.holidayinnexpress.co.uk