Good value - and no surprises - at Express by Holiday Inn, Amiens
Written: Aug 26 '02 (Updated Sep 10 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good value. Clean. Comfortable. Free breakfast. You know what to expect.
Cons: Ever been to a HI Express? You might as well have been to this one.
The Bottom Line: Cheap; you can't complain! Anybody who's stayed in a HI Express will know what to expect. Amiens is a lesser-known French town but is, nonetheless, well worth a visit.
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| andymcf's Full Review: Holiday Inn Express Amiens |
On a whim, we decided to visit France for a few days away; this really is the way you should conduct your business! Just go! We caught the ferry, drove to St Omer, sat outside a pleasant pavement cafe, opened up a map and stuck a pin in it. Well - it might have been a pen. It's mightier than the sword and, by chance, it selected Amiens. Totally at random. Off we went.
We arrived and were impressed; it's a great place to visit. Now to find somewhere to stay. A trip to the VERY helpful local tourist information office, and we selected the Holiday Inn Express, turned up and tried to book two rooms. Simple!
"Yes - we have rooms" they said. "But our computer's down", they added. "Come back in half an hour!" We did, a few drinks later. The computer, miraculously, was "up". The rooms were free - well, available and cheap - and we gladly took them. End of both gloom and doom. Time to explore the city in comfort!
The room rate was very good value and the room was clean, comfortable and - as we subsequently found - exactly the same as any room in any HI Express anywhere in the world; and I mean "exactly". It's a tried and trusted formula. You get a very clean en-suite bathroom, a really comfortable double bed, a colour TV with the usual channels and decorations which are strangely familiar to anyone who's stayed in a HI Express anywhere in the world!. We could have been anywhere, to be honest. Quite frankly, though, we didn't mind - it was a very comfortable room with which one couldn't really quibble.
Breakfast was included. Great, buffet style breakfast which suited this particular non-breakfast fan down to the ground. Tea, OJ, croissants etc. Pretty French. And we were in France. When in Rome......yet we were in Amiens. It's a bit colder than Rome.
We again picked up the infamous map and pin and it chose Reims as our next destination. Another very successful choice of location. Nice pin! Another HI Express. It was identical, internally, to the one at Amiens. I probably won't write another review, since one HI Express is identical to another - and there is the only criticism. It's a minor one. At least, at the end of the day, you know what to expect.
The bottom line...We really enjoyed it. Nothing terribly special, but it was very comfortable and superb value. I think they've probably got the formula spot on. We returned at a later date which, I guess, speaks "recommendation".
By the way, there's no decent hotel restaurant but don't let that put you off. Go to the beautiful cathedral and find a restaurant called "La Taupe". Their Creme Brulee is to die for!
Andrew
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
andymcf
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Member: Andrew McFall
Location: Canterbury, Kent, England
Reviews written: 74
Trusted by: 132 members
About Me:
Maths teacher. Father of young Josh. See below!
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