Express By Holiday Inn Derby - Derby, United Kingdom 

This is my 2nd stay at the hotel, and both have been very positive. The location is fantastic for getting around. There is ample car parking space, but it literally takes about 4 minutes from the hotel entrance to the platforms at Derby station - just leave via the rear exit of the station towards Pride Park (opposite end of the footbridge to the booking office!). The reception is bright and modern, with 2 big screen televisions showing sporting events, and a nice bar area. Check-in was instant and the assistant on the desk was friendly. The corridors and rooms have just been recarpeted (you can smell the newness!), which is a nice enhancement. The room itself was fairly large, with a comfortable double bed, a sofa for watching the television and a spotlessly clean bathroom. The only (tiny) criticism I would have would be the shower, which responded very slowly to temperature changes made on the dial! But it was still pleasant. In terms of eating, there are several places right opposite the hotel. On my previous stay, the Harvester proved very nice and excellent value. This time I just had a drink and a bite to eat in Old Orleans, which is also opposite the hotel. I can't comment on the main courses, but the cheesecake was lovely, and the place had a nice atmosphere with pleasant staff. Breakfast in the hotel was basic (as it always is in a Holiday Inn Express), but tasty, and kept me going well into the day. Expect toast, yoghurts, fruit, croissants, pastries, cereals, coffee/tea and fruit juice. Overall, I'd really rate this hotel, which is ideally placed for the train station. It's also very good value for money!

We stayed here last weekend. The hotel is situated in a convenient area, with easy access to the A52 and M1. There are a number of restaurants in the vicinity, and is also close to a retail park and the football stadium. The check in was very efficient. There are free newspapers at the front desk (The Independent and a local paper too). The room was not huge, but clean and comfortable. It looked newly decorated (apart from the tiles in the shower which were a little dated). There was no bath in the 'bathroom', only a shower - but this is all we needed (the shower was quite a good powerful one - not a trickle), and it had a nice 'corian' sink. The TV had a few sky channels on it (you could pay extra for movies if required). Tea/ coffee making facilities were provided in our room. Our only gripe was that the hairdryer didn't work. The breakfast was included in the price of the room. It was a continental breakfast, but had lots of choice - cereals, toast, croissant, muffins, fruit, yoghurt, juice, tea & coffee. The quality of the food was very good. The dining area was clean and modern, and had a huge TV in it - so you could watch the morning news. The hotel also has a bar (although we didn't use this facility). You can buy cold drinks and snacks from reception, and they will give you complimentary dental kits, sewing kits, toiletries etc if you need them. The hotel was also very quiet - we didn't hear any noise when we were in our room. Overall a great stay, and well worth the money (we paid ?49 a room through the Holiday Inn Express website). They often have offers on the room rates - check the adverts in the national papers. We would definately stay again.