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When I booked our holiday to Majorca we were initially supposed to fly out on the Sunday but things got changed and we ended up flying on the Monday instead. Our flight was at 9am so this meant us having to be at the airport pretty early in the morning. Living in Norfolk and not driving meant that this was pretty impossible so we knew that we would need to stay in a hotel the night before. Although there are plenty of options at Stansted Airport we chose to stay at the Holiday Inn Express London – Stansted Airport Hotel.
We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express London – Stansted Airport Hotel on Sunday 14th April. Work has now started on a massive renovation project on the hotel rooms after public areas have already been completed. The look is fresh and modern and it really looks lovely. I have stayed in Holiday Inn Express hotels in the past and I have to say, the new look is so nice and when the rooms match, it will be even better.
Location
We got the train to Stansted Airport from London Liverpool Street and the Holiday Inn Express London – Stansted Airport isn’t very far away at all. However, I think it is really important to know to start with that in order to get to and from the hotel and Stansted Airport there is a shuttle bus which takes around 5 minutes and they run every 30 minutes. This costs £3 per adult but children under 16 are free. The first bus goes from the hotel at 4am and the last bus from the terminal is at midnight.
The Room
Sometimes with hotels we end up in a pretty uncomfortable situation with Erin. She is now too old for a travel cot really and most of the time, they’re really not very comfortable and regular hotel beds are too high up for Erin to sleep in on her own. I was so happy to see that this Holiday Inn Express had double rooms with sofa beds suitable for children. The sofa bed is slightly lower down than the bed so it was better suited for Erin and it was much more comfortable than a hard travel cot!
Erin and John happily shared the sofa bed meaning I got the other double bed all to myself. It was like a little bit of a treat really and being able to spread out and relax was absolutely perfect before having to get up really early for our flight.
The room, overall, was quite compact but it had everything we needed near enough. There is a large desk area although this was cut off by the sofa bed. I wasn’t working during our visit so this wasn’t a problem at all. There is also enough space for some clothes on shelves and to be hung up. As this is an airport hotel I don’t think there’s really any need for lots of space for these kinds of things people people don’t normally stay in them too long.
Something I really like about Holiday Inn Express rooms is that you can close off the toilet but still be able to use the shower at the same time. Things like this are quite important when you’re travelling with other people and you’re in a bit of a rush in the morning. The bathroom wasn’t large by any means but the shower was hot and there was enough space for what we needed to do.
My only negative about the room is the plug sockets. There were no sockets next to the beds, only 2 at the desk and one where the clothes were stored. This really wasn’t enough for a travelling family. However, as I said earlier, this hotel is over-going a major renovation and all of the rooms will be updated with new socks and USB charging areas in all rooms. I can see these changes being such a positive change and really, what people need now when they travel!
The Restaurant
Not many Holiday Inn Express hotels have a restaurant but it was great that this one did. The restaurant is open from 6pm and has a great menu. I’ll be reviewing the food at this Holiday Inn Express in a separate post so be sure to keep an eye out for that in a couple of days! What I will say though is Vladimir, our server was a delight and absolutely amazing with Erin!
Breakfast
When you’re flying early in the morning it’s great to know that breakfast is included in your stay at the Holiday Inn Express London – Stansted Airport Hotel. What’s even better is that it starts at 4am! This is a hotel that really understand it’s guests and what they need. We had to be at the airport by 7am at the very latest which meant having a pretty early start and a very early breakfast for us all. Between 4am and 6am cold options are available and then hot food is also available from 6am. We missed out on having hot food as we needed to get the bus to the airport at 6:30 but the food we did have was perfect for us at that time of the morning.
If you fancy a better look a the hotel then take a look at our tour video below:
Our stay at the Holiday Inn Express London – Stansted Airport Hotel was exactly what we needed for the night before a flight. I think it helped that the hotel had a restaurant so we didn’t have to worry about finding somewhere to eat and we also all had a really good night’s sleep. If we fly out of Stansted again this is definitely where I’d choose to stay!
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