Holiday Inn London – West

The recently renovated Holiday Inn London West has a new glass and metal building alongside its older original structure. There are floor-to-ceiling windows that allow in a lot of natural light, both in guest rooms and public areas. The lobby is a large space and houses the hotel’s bar, coffee shop, restaurant, and reception desk. Although the hotel is aimed at business travelers, the trendy furniture and neutral color scheme with the odd splash of color makes it feel less corporate and more welcoming than the average business chain property. 

The hotel is set in Park Royal Business Park, where a lot of large companies have offices, just off a busy six-lane road, and the entrance can be hard to find. There aren't many attractions in the local area, apart from the Ealing Golf Range a few minutes' drive away, although there is a take-away pizza place opposite the hotel and a small grocery store a couple of minutes' walk away. North Acton Underground station is just a four-minute walk away, from which central London can be reached in around 25 minutes. Heathrow Airport is a half-hour drive away.  

The guest rooms here understandably have a generic chain-hotel feel to them, but they are modern, clean, and stylish and get lots of natural light. Features include fashionable light fittings, contemporary striped carpets or wooden flooring, and lots of closet space. All rooms are equipped with flat-screen TVs (some wall-mounted), air-conditioning, tea- and coffee-making facilities, minibars, safes, desks, and comfortable work chairs. Bathrooms are comparably modern and stylish, with stone-colored tiles, wall-mounted sinks, and trendy touches such as blue glass wall paneling, under-counter spotlights, and frosted-glass doors. Although Wi-Fi is free in higher category rooms, guests staying in Standard Rooms have to pay extra for Internet, and some previous guests have complained of slow and spotty connections. Executive Rooms are more spacious and tend to be quieter than the Standard Rooms, and include free Wi-Fi. It’s worth noting that rooms at the front of the hotel get a lot of traffic noise from the busy road outside. 

The hotel is well set-up for business guests, with seven meeting rooms that can hold up to 120 people, a business center, and an event space that opens out to a roof terrace with views over West London. There's also free Wi-Fi in the lobby, and an "eBar”, where guests can use one of the hotel's Macs. There's also a small fitness center with good views over the area’s skyline. Parking is available for a fee, but spaces are limited and the lot fills quickly, leaving guests with nowhere to park. There's also a hot and cold breakfast buffet, but it's not included in room rates, and the restaurant offers an all-day menu as well as 24-hour room service. Previous guests have complained of slow service and low-quality food. There’s also a coffee shop which serves snacks such as pizza, panini, and pasta.