I stayed here from Jan 1 till Jan 9, 2006. Moved from Melia White House which I stayed two nights before. They both rated as 4 stars. Paid $100 + tax for MWH probably because of new year's eve, $70 for Holiday Inn for the 8th days. I have no complains about the price because I bidded late and found out several other hotels mentioned in this forum has been fully booked (through their websites, and Orbitz). The room is certainly not as good or classy as MWH. Room is plain, no nice decor. Clean enough for me. They don't give small botels of shampoo, lotions, etc. They mount the shampoo/body wash on the wall, like at Hotel Ibis which I happened to stayed in last year in Madrid. The staff at the front desk is not the nicest. I think they look tired. It's a big hotel with a lot of group coming in and out, and airline crews. I don't blame them and I only need to talk to them once after checking in because the phone in the room stopped working. The concierge service is nice but their information is not always accurate. For example, I was told it was "Bank Holiday" on Jan 2nd, and the train operates on Sunday schedule. But later I found out it was incorrect. Also another time a guy confidently told me the wrong time the Underground station opened, and the time the first train arrived. So, double check the info with another source would be a good idea. The surrounding area is very nice, with many places to eat. Fast food, English, Italian, Indian, Singaporean, cafe, etc. The Sainsbury supermarket is 10 minutes walk away, very nice place to shop for snacks, drinks, etc. There is also a small mall, with another super marker, next to the tube station. 110v and 220v outlets in the room, but still good to bring socket convertor so you can use the 220v outlets for your universal powersupplies. TV channels are good enough. I especially like the London channel, lots of tourist infomation. Pub downstair good place to catch soccer games. They play EPL and La Liga, and maybe other matches.
