Croydon – Ibis Styles
I’ve stayed at this hotel before as it’s a useful accommodation option which is located between Gatwick Airport and London. It’s also quite a quirky hotel, a cross between somewhere where clearly money has been spent and where shortcuts have also been taken.
A sink pedestal which is the wrong shape for the sink and the newly painted ceiling in the bathroom was also badly flaking.
The room itself though was clean and well presented, with a modern feel to it. The television seemed slightly small, but since I never turn them on, it didn’t make any difference to me. The coffee here is dreadful though, I don’t know where they’ve got their sachets from. I made a cup of coffee and had to immediately pour it down the sink after trying it.
The welcome drink is generous in terms of the options and this was provided without my needing to ask for it. There was no welcome gift, but these are often missing in Ibis Styles and Ibis Hotels. The check-in process also required me to present ID, which was fine as I had my passport as I was coming back from Spain, but I’m not sure why they were doing this and it concerned me that they’ve been having problems. It’s also the first Accor Hotel in the UK that has sought to check my ID before, a habit they could perhaps abandon or explain.
There was a choice of Becks or Stella in terms of the beer, both options which are, well, not exactly to my palate. The staff member sat for 75 seconds (yeah, I timed it as I’m dull like that) staring at his phone before he noticed me at the bar.
The hotel clearly doesn’t have any Becks glasses, as that’s what I ordered and was poured. That’s a mispour, way too much head and no attempt to correct it. But, to be honest, it was more than enough Becks.
The breakfast was included in the room rate and was entirely adequate. There’s no cooked breakfast, which is fine by me, but there was ham and cheese, along with muffins, pastries, fruit salads and yoghurt. The fruit salads were quite bland, as were some of the pastries, but the ham and cheese was of a decent quality. The hotel staff did get a complaint when I was there that there was no hot option, but taking the price point of the hotel into account, this doesn’t feel unreasonable to me.
My healthy choices….
I had a little read of their TripAdvisor reviews as I like a bit of drama.
“Just left the hotel and I’m so upset needed a nice hot breakfast this morning to come to the restaurant and have hard bread and a little piece of cheese and ham and cereal was not what I needed”
Do people really get “so upset” about this? Although, actually, since I get grumpy when I’m given a cold chicken bake at Greggs instead of a lovely hot one, I take their point….
“I didn’t realise the rooms where like a attic the Ceiling was very low. I felt costa-phobic. I asked the reception if I can be moved they said all rooms are booked now. I couldn’t really sleep much as I felt anxious.”
Costa-phobic? I quite like attic rooms, adds a bit of character, as long I don’t hit my head.
Overall, I don’t entirely get this hotel, there are some excellent intentions and some mixed service standards from the staff. But, bearing in mind the price point, it’s hard to really complain, especially as the room was clean and the bed was comfortable.
