Holiday Inn Express Manchester City Centre Arena

"I stayed at this hotel for five nights back in November and had a great experience. The gentleman who checked me in, Christian, was an absolute pleasure to deal with. He has top-notch customer service skills and made me feel genuinely welcome from the moment I arrived, which was a big bonus. I will definitely be staying at this hotel again. Big shout-out to Christian!"

"I have previously stayed with Holiday Inn in numerous cities and have never had an issue. This was one of my worst hotel experiences and I will never be returning to Holiday Inn as a result. Prior to booking this hotel, I specifically phoned the hotel to ask whether they are able to store expressed breastmilk for my baby, who is allergic to all the off-the-shelf formulas. Although she has a specific hypoallergenic prescription, she is not fully drinking this yet. The hotel advised me their rooms don't have a refrigerator however they could store it in the kitchen. I booked the hotel after being assured of this alternative. It was also put into the booking notes. On getting to the hotel, they changed their stance saying it would be a cross contamination risk, made up lame excuses, and refused to store my expressed breastmilk. They give me a bucket of ice to store the bottles of milk, which didn't last long. The trip, which was supposed to be a short break for my family, quickly became a mentally, emotionally and physically taxing trip. I was having to throw out litres of breastmilk down the sink daily and constantly express breastmilk to have it fresh for my baby, without access to a fridge. The other issue I had was that the baby cot that they provide has no bedding covers. On questioning this, the reception was unhelpful but a housekeeping staff provided us an extra set of full sized bedsheets which was folded and laid on top of the cot mattress. This was obviously unsafe and presents a suffocation hazard for babies so we ended up cosleeping with my baby which is also dangerous but felt safer than letting her sleep in an unhygienic babycot. Their restaurant downstairs for breakfast also does not have suitable baby highchairs. One side of the belt was broken, this seemed to be the case on all available highchairs at the time. Staff didn't know how the belts functioned and instead suggested that we tie our baby into the chair, rope-style. Overall, it was a poor experience. Holiday Inn express Manchester City Arena should be embarrassed of their poor service and staff. AVOID AVOID AVOID"

"My gosh where do I start I'm a contractor yes I was a bit grubby but my job isn't in a office being spoken to like a second class person who should feel grateful staying here...may I say to the little people on the reception . I earn in a day what you earn in a week"