It was nice to be back again in Bristol. I was here in September, 2022 for a work conference but this time I was here in a more personal capacity as I have a formal event to attend. Whilst last September I opted to stay at the Berkeley Suites, this time I opted to stay at the Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre at Bond Street, not far away from Cabot Circus and many shops and restaurants.
The main reason why I chose to stay here was because it is located less than 5 minutes away from where I needed to be. Secondly, I am a member of IHG One Reward Club Member. This means I get special perks and discounts when I stay at any of their hotels. The on-site NCP St. James Barton parking is also handy. The hotel also has some good online reviews. Other than an on-site parking, the hotel also has a restaurant, gym, concierge service, room service, housekeeping, and laundry service, and a business centre. Just so you know, the reception and the restaurant is located on the second floor. The desk on the ground floor is the concierge desk, which also doubles as reception should the main reception is unmanned. The gym is located on the first floor.
The Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre has several types of guest rooms, from standard rooms to suites. I opted to stay at their "1 King Bed 1 Bedroom Suite with Sofa Bed". It was located on the sixth floor, which is the Executive Club level, and overlooks the city centre.
The suite is humongous! It is huge! It may be the largest hotel suite of its kind in Bristol. Maybe. 57m² to be precise. By comparison, the Junior Suite at The Bristol Hotel is 25m². The Junior Suite at the Bristol Marriot Royal Hotel is 37m² whilst Radisson Blu's Suite with Terrace is 38m². Of course, Radisson Blu does have a Presidential Suite with 75m² but you cannot compare a Presidential Suite with these other suites I mentioned.
The Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre air-conditioned suites have a large kitchenette area with large workspace, a large living area with a sofa bed, a "bedroom", and a large en-suite bathroom. The kitchenette was equipped with the standard tea and coffee making facilities, with the addition of a nespresso coffee machine and a mini bar stocked with complementary Harrogate Spring Water
bottled water and Kit Kat.
There is also a laptop safe located in the cabinet next to the mini bar. There was ample sockets attached to the work area. It even has European sockets, usb socket, and HDMI and AV sockets. There was also a desk lamp, a telephone and an ergonomic chair, which I have to say, very comfortable to sit on. Complimentary WiFi was included. Other than the sofa bed, the living area also has a floor lamp, a television and a faux fireplace.
The bedroom also has a television and a faux fireplace, with a seating area in front. It has a large king-sized bed and a large wardrobe with a large dressing table on the side. On the bedside table was an all-in-one unit with phone, alarm clock radio, and wireless charging station. Also provided was ironing facility and a trouser press.
I did not try the wireless charger but the alarm clock radio was not working during my stay. On the other side of the bed was a housekeeping button. Usually in hotel rooms you would have door hangers you hang outside the door to ask for the room to be cleaned or if you do not want to be disturbed. At the Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre you do not have that. There is a switch next to the bed you can switch on for that, which I find more practical than the door hanger.
The en-suite bathroom is large. It has double sinks, closeup mirror, separate bath and walk-in shower area with rain shower, and even a television! There were plenty of towels available, together with robes and slippers. They uses Gilchrist and Soames toiletry. If you forgot any of your toiletry like shaver or tootbrush, They could provide you with a cmplimentary one. Not sure if it is for all rooms or only for the premium rooms.
The suite looks out towards the city centre and far beyond. Large floor-to-ceiling windows gives you a picturesque view of Bristol city centre. Even though the hotel is very close to the main road, it was not noisy. At least not during my stay. It helps to be on the upper floors. With modern furnitures and design, the suite was simply styled with the expected signs of wear and tear. It was however properly kept clean by their housekeeping team. It does however some little "quirks".
Other than the non-functioning radio alarm clock, I can tell that the phone on the desk was "nicked" from a different room. This presumably is to replace the phone before. I also noticed that the tap to the bath was missing a handle. Even though there is a television in the bathroom, the angle makes it difficult to watch whilst you are having a bath. It was alright if you sit upright in the bath, or on the throne. Speaking of having a bath, it does not seem that bath gel was provided.
Technically the Gilchrist and Soames gel was made for both shower and bath but since they are in wall-mounted container, a little fiddly to fill your bath with it. I bought one from a Poundland across the road, but then I forgot I could have just easily rang housekeeping to get me one. Whilst the two televisions in the living area and in the bedroom have their own remote control, they are pretty much the same model. Don't be surprise when you switch one on the other television will also switch on automatically!
My accomodation came with breakfast at their The Spot Kitchen and Bar, located on the second floor next to reception. It opens from 6:30 a.m. during the weekdays and from 7:30 a.m. during weekends and bank holidays. There was good choice of breakfast with choices of bread and pastries, cold cut meats and cheeses, fruits and yoghurts, and of course, full English - consists of sausages, bacons, black puddings, mushrooms, eggs (fried and scrambled), hash browns, vegetables and baked beans. If I wanted to, I could have also requested freshly prepared boiled eggs or even pancakes. Of course, there was also assorted juices and smoothies, coffees, and teas. Breakfast time was surprisingly not busy during my stay, with only a handful of people having them. I am not sure if the was low occupancy or if many simply opted not to include breakfast with their stay. But who could blame them? Plenty of cafes and restaurants around to choose from.
Whilst I did not have dinner at the restaurant I did however ordered room service after I had checked-in. I had the Stromboli Sourdough Pizetta with Spicy Salami and Peperoni (£14), which was surprisingly delicious.
The hotel will add service charge for all room service order, which apparently can be removed if requested. I did ask the guy delivering my room service if staff gets a share of it and he said yes. That was definitely good to know. Good on you Holiday Inn for taking care of your workforce.
My total bill came at £550 for the 3 nights stay with breakfast, with an additional £77.50 for parking and room service (£20 per overnight parking). I did purchase this in advanced using the IHG app on my phone.
In all, I had a really wonderful stay in the comfortable suite at the Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre. Staff were helpful and attentive, and I can see that they have a good team dynamic. May have been short-staffed on occassion but this is widespread with many hotels. The king bed was absolutely comfortable. One of the best sleeps I have had in hotels. The spacious work area with comfy ergonomic chair really helps with getting work done. Though, I do think the suite could use with a small microwave. Breakfast was also great, with plenty of selections offered. I am not however, entirely sure about their sausages. Not the best I have had. Overall however, excellent experience.
The Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre is a hotel that I would highly recommend.