Holiday Inn Express - Bicester, an IHG Hotel

This was a great hotel, definitely one of my best hotel experiences in a UK hotel, possibly the best. Upon arrival the staff were very accommodating and helpful in answering my questions. We checked in late and the bar is open all hours, so were able to get a drink at that time, which was a pleasant surprise. Parking is reasonably priced at £5 per night, the room was lovely and quiet and the beds very comfortable. The rooms were cleaned very well also. I requested a twin bed instead of a double a few days prior to the stay (which was subject to availability), and we did get a room with twin beds. I was delighted that my request was listened to, which can often not be the case in hotels. The reception/dining/bar area is very large with plenty of comfortable seating- I found it to be a nice hangout spot. I would happily stay again if in the area and would gladly recommend to anyone!

Just one detail that would take it from a 9/10 to a 10/10 is that there was only cow's milk in the room for the tea/coffee. Many people can't have dairy or choose not to, so I would have loved to be able to have a dairy free alternative like soy or oat milk for a coffee.

I think Holiday Inn must have upped their game as this hotel was a lot better than we were expecting! Not sure whether it's a newish one but it looked it, with a smart and stylish interior, quirky design flourishes, quality fixtures and fittings and an attractive landscaped area between the hotel and car park. We were given a friendly welcome and everything worked as it should. Room was large enough with a little seating area, the bathroom was quite posh with Dove-brand products and the buffet breakfast was quite good, with more choice than anticipated and no queues!

Having to pay extra for the car park (£5 for 24 hours) and doing so via an app, which took a short while to upload. Biscuits with our in-room tea/coffee would have been nice!

I always like Holiday Inn Express due to the value for money and general comfort in the rooms. The room was modern and had a strong, powerful shower. Breakfast was a good buffet, but could have had a few more items in the hot food selection and more pastries.

I was in a room next to the main road and could hear some road noise in the evenings, but not overnight. Checkout was slow because there was only one person dealing with a major problem for the person in front of me - having pre-paid, it would have been good to have the option to just drop the room key in a box.

Rooms are clean and neat. The food from hotel restaurant is not bad.

Location is a bit far from Bicester village and there is no restaurant or convenience store near the hotel. Tap water has a strange taste and had to walk about 1 km to buy bottled water. Getting a cab is not very easy as well. On the day we arrived we couldn't get a taxi on Uber. Bicester Visitor Center at the station helped to call a Taxi for us. On the day we were leaving, the hotel staff just gave me the name of the taxi company and asked me to google for the number and call myself.

When we booked in there had been a double booking which wasn’t our fault . Two members off staff Carmen & Tammy were so kind and helpful on a busy bank holiday weekend, witH visitors needing rooms with issues with other visitors planes being delayed, could not do enough for us who kept calm , calmed me down and sorted the situation with no bother at all . Not only that our stay was for my daughter’s wedding, and they were super caring and friendly to my family and friends who also stayed wonderful staff wonderful hotel , highly recommend.

Nothing!

Breakfast was a budget breakfast but more than filling and plenty available. The dining area was huge and split into two sections, one just off reception which we were allowed to sit in with our 8 month old pup.

Nothing - staff were extremely polite and friendly

Room was spacious and bright. The window actually allowed a good breeze which is often rare. The bathroom was well appointed, the shower was great, very spacious! The staff were friendly and informative. Very clean throughout.

The only downsides were, the tap was oddly positioned and caused a lot of water to spray over the surfaces of the bathroom. And sadly there was an issue with food delivery so there were no eggs at breakfast. The staff were informative about this on arrival at breakfast and everything else was fab.

Nice warm friendly hotel with good location for Bicester.

The restaurant in the evening, ordered food 1st night, got starter straight away then waited over 30 minutes for main, the veg was all dried up and cold, even I told the waitress she said I will change it, cave back with the same dried up food that had just been pinged in the microwave. 2nd night was told there was a delay in the food arriving, after 55 mins I had still not received my starter, when I asked the waiter he said the ticket role had tab out and the list my order, then he brought it both starter and main virtually the same time which wasn't practical, plush I did not think the veg cottage pie was worth anywhere near the price I was charged, plus I got the same order on both nights but was charged over a £1 more the 2nd night All pillows were too hard for a comfortable sleep.

Ideally sited and clean and comfortable nicely designed and recently built, friendly helpful staff and a satisfying breakfast. (Do not rely on a Tom Tom or Garmin sat navy to get you there as it seems the development is too recent but Google Maps got us there.)

Just one teeny tiny complaint, the pillows are obviously very good quality but extremely well filled and rather firm other than that absolutely nothing to dislike. We will certainly be returning as it is ideally situated for our requirements, we will just be bringing our own pillows from home though..

The breakfast was actually really good. There was a lot more variety than we expected which was nice. Staff were also friendly and helpful. The TV was a smart TV which was good. The price we paid for our stay was very reasonable.

The tables weren't being cleaned during breakfast service so we had to sit at a table full of the previous people's plates and cups etc. It was extremely busy and tables should have been cleared quicker to make room for more people to sit. One cleaning lady actually saw us sitting in the mess and didn't stop to clear it. The next cleaner thankfully did take notice and offered to remove the extra plates and mess but we were almost done by then. Also the cot given to us in our room for our baby was more like a big travel play pen and didn't have a mattress just some sheets so it was too hard and big for our 4 month old. We basically couldn't use it because it wasn't suitable or comfortable so that wasn't ideal. Luckily we were only staying one night or this would have been an issue.