Holiday Inn Colchester, an IHG Hotel

Yep, a good just put side town hotel, with good service, smallish bar, but good sized conference spaces, relaxed efficient front of house and chamber staff, cheerful!!! a shout out for debbie, very helpful at check in... even has a small book swap area and children's play area (indoor)!

Really lovely hotel, extremely child friendly lovely little play area in reception and a well maintained play area outside. also she received a little welcome pack and a free drink wrist band on arrival , excellent polite staff! the pool, gym, sauna and jacuzzi are free to guess and well maintained and opens at six in the morning until 10 pm. breakfast was really good. although the presentation with the fresh breakfast could’ve been a little better displayed, ie, the fried eggs were piled on top of each other, starting to solidify, and there were two types of sausages, which were just thrown together, so you weren’t sure which type you were choosing. just a few things need to be changed, the paint work in the hallways and stairways really needs refreshing, as does the floor in the shower room and the paint work also. although it’s dog friendly, dogs are not allowed in the bar or restaurant area, and it would be helpful if there was a notice on the door informing you of this. also, you need to give you a registration number at reception i saw quite a few people struggling with this ie people with hire cars and people with friends that weren’t sure of the registration , this is something that should definitely be on the reservation information.

A handy stop adjacent to the a12 & nearby tollgates shopping center. the restaurant is very clean, intense wooden decor ... western us / scandi maybe. great food with decent staff & service that is attentive. the gym & pool is up to a good standard , pick your times as these are moderately sized & can get busy, sauna & steam room are great. the jacuzzi pool has been broken for a while car parking is easy, i believe you need to register on arrival. access seems to be good for disabled patrons. food is above average on pricing, but here the kitchen does excell. a very comfortable environment, didn't use the accomodation so no reference on that.

Very comfortable rooms. the staff were friendly and helpful. meals were tasty, with very generous portions. the chef made a special effort to accommodate my dietary preferences, not an easy feat when feeding numerous guests at dinnertime. thank you, chef! i especially enjoyed the use of the pool in the fitness suite. it was heated, with 3 full lanes to accommodate lane-only swimming.

Nice room, restaurant and generally all in good order. take a torch if you go at night in the winter, the car park was dimly lit. plenty of parking to be had, hopefully, they will be getting some chargers soon. it was on the cards apparently. the closest charger is b&q, not needed it yet, we were deisel the last time we visited. we will this time though. oh, hope you like trains, it's next to a reasonably busy line, keep the window closed.