Holiday Inn Express London – Wimbledon South

This was my first visit to the Holiday Inn Express London Wimbledon South, as I was going to a show at Wimbledon Theatre and decided to make a night out of it.
I arrived at the hotel around 1pm, and realising I was early was prepared to store my luggage and go and get something to eat. Having got to check in, I was greeted by the Duty Manager, who was very pleasant and helpful. He said my room was ready and said I had been allocated a quiet room on the third floor.
I got to my room and it was indeed in a quiet part of the hotel, overlooking the beer garden at the adjacent pub; perfect for my needs. It was spotlessly clean, equipped with everything you need (work desk, good bathroom with a shower, which was perfect for me), tea/​coffee making facilities, great bed and free wifi (for IHG members booking direct via an IHG website, or via their travel agent who does the same thing).
It is not a luxury hotel, but then no one ever said it would be. For me, the property more than served its purpose and I would not hesitate to return. I would highly recommend the Holiday Inn London Wimbledon South to anyone, and with a selection of bus routes, as well as being opposite Colliers Wood Underground Station, you can’t go wrong.
Breakfast is served between 06:30 and 10:00. Although I didn’t partake in it, as there was just not enough seats and too many people (my fault for choosing a busy time), it more than serves its purpose.
The two members of staff I encountered were polite and helpful, and made me feel welcome and my business valued.

I don’t usually complain unless I feel an experience is really really bad, however the whole weekend experience was very unpleasant.
* Person operating the front desk was the same person managing the bar, on his own and we had to wait for so long we decided to leave and approach then later with a request for a room key card.
* Had to come back 3 times to get a 2^nd key card for room as we were told there was a shortage.
* The room was very cold and had to call down to ask if they could help and were told they would adjust the temp but it made no difference.
* Very noisy we were on the 3^rd floor but could hear everything going on in pub next door and what sounded like above us however we were left wondering how that could be as we were on the 3^rd floor.
* Bed very uncomfortable as it sagged in the middle and we both rolled into the middle through out the night also the plastic mattress cover caused us to sweat during the night.
* Finally in the morning as we were about to go down to breakfast on the Sat morning for breakfast, the fire alarm went off and the staff did not have a clue as to what to do as people were wondering around the hotel wondering where to go. There did not seem to be a fire marshal or anyone making sure people were in a safe area. We thought there was a person holding a walkie talkie who might have been a staff member but it wasn’t evident as no one had a high visibility jacket on with any kind of identification. It was a mess.
The last time I stayed at the holiday in the experience was not so great as they were in the middle of a renovation, and it was very noisy with staff going out for a smoke just outside my room throughout the night.
Again customer service was very poor when I mentioned the room noise and the fact I had not booked a twin room (I booked a double on line) and was told then that they couldn’t do anything about it as that was what I had booked. Interestingly enough on our arrival on Friday 1^st March there was a gentleman customer in the middle of a heated discussion with a member of reception staff about the very same thing as per above.
But I figured it would be worth another try as both myself and my partner travel a lot around the US and Canada and have always had great experiences with Holiday Inn as they have high standards.
We are booked into stay in another Holiday Inn hotel in a few weeks and are a little concerned the experience will be the same.