Holiday Inn Runcorn

First of all let me say that what staff there were looked over worked, under supported by a management team. They were pleasant and helpful and tried their best with what they had to work with. The bar although well decorated had staff that had not been trained and seeing as it was a busy weekend this was very unfair to not only the clients but also the staff themselves. When a bar person says they have not been trained to serve a tonic water with ice and lemon things are really bad. We asked for a wine list and were presented with a bottle of red and told there was no wine list (we later found this to be incorrect). We were asked to choose from a very good selection of fine gin only to be told they were short of tonic waters. The food on our first night was so bad I had only rolls and butter all night. Our inclusive three-course meal consisted of a starter of salad (just salad) or a brown tomato soup. Lasagne or fish. The lasagna I could not eat due as it was the worst I have seen. I don't think any of our party ate it. There was a choice of three cheese cakes. I do not know if there was coffee as we headed for bed. The following night we decided to miss out on our inclusive dinner and head into the grill room and pay for our dinner. there were two girls for the whole place and they had to deal will the overflow from the overflow from the bus trips. We ordered a bottle of wine at 7:30pm it arrived at 8:10pm with an apology as they could not find it, (as it turned out it was not what we ordered) the waitress them explained they had been unable to find a corkscrew which added to the delay, Our meal was fine and we had no complaints but once again we suffered from a shortage of tonic water. After falling asleep in our room we were woken by the fire alarm going off. I appeared that children playing in the corridors in the early hours had set it off. Breakfast were a farce. Our first breakfast was supposed to be at 8am we went down at 8am and were told that our party should come down at 8:30am we went down at 8:30 and found the place full and most of the food had gone. Refills on the pass were late arriving, no cups, no milk no bowls on the second day we ate our breakfast in the dark due to there being no lights on. The food was cold and overcooked. ON the any we left there were no porters to help the driver move our cases to the coach. we mucked in and helped, I understand that our tour company had paid for porters to be available. To sum up I was shocked that a hotel bearing the name Holiday Inn could underperform to this level. My personal opinion is that the staff were left to struggle on their own, there was no strong management team, insufficient training, lack of coordination, to be honest, it is sad to see what could be a thriving business struggle in this way. I shall not just post this here but make my views known to the main board. If the management post a comment about this review please do not leave it there, train your staff and be more active in making sure you guest are given the treatment they have paid for.

The hotel is close to the Motorway exit, but not affected by any noise from the Motorway. The choice and quality of food was great as was the value of it. In addition to the Restaurant, food is also available in the Bar Area. F&B manager NELSON (who appeared always to be doing a 24 hour shift) was a credit to the hotel! The room was very comfortable and the air-condition worked too! Whatever their department was, the staff worked very hard, but yet had time to say hello.

I stayed here for one night with a colleague following a 2 day sales road trip around the north west. From arriving and having a really warm welcome, through to a well earned beer or seven at the bar (shout out to Ellis - she's a star!) and some pretty decent food, everything was fantastic. All of this in a proper hotel that costs the same as a premier inn! The next morning a trip to the gym and a dip in the better than expected pool shook off the cobwebs and we went for breakfast. We didn't have to be back in London until the afternoon so weren't in a hurry over breakfast, even through breakfast stops at 9:30 (a bit early really.....) they weren't in a hurry to get us out of there and the breakfast staff were really friendly and chatty. The food was top notch and all in all we were set up perfectly for a trip back down south in the pouring rain. Kudos to Holiday Inn, it's a great place and we'll be back

Enjoyed my stay here, the staff were very welcoming and friendly. The restaurant was also excellent, had the salt aged Irish sirloin steak and triple cooked chips with some lovely peppercorn sauce on the side, I highly recommend this dish. The room and bathroom were very well kept, clean with the feel of it being spacious, although the mattress was a little on the soft side for my liking. The room I stayed in was room 527 modern air conditioning fitted in the room but I preferred to keep the windows open to let the breeze in through the night, very nice. Break fast was also your usual standard but very well presented. I will definitely be staying here when in the area.

Great value holiday inn. Communal areas are beautiful and appear as though they have been redecorated. Rooms however could do with a freshening up as the last decorators clear haven't done a good job at all. Breakfast was good no complaints and the staff very friendly and attentive.

This is the first Holiday Inn with a pool table in the bar that I have been to, fantastic. The staff are very helpful and friendly, the rooms (my room) very clean and welcoming with a nice large screen TV. Nice relaxing atmosphere, just what you need at the end of a long day. Well done guys, keep it up.

The accommodation was good, the health club facilities were very good. The evening food tasted nice - if you had hours to spare - but this was overshadowed by the really poor table service. On arrival reception were very helpful. When booking online, we'd asked for a put-up for our 11 year old to be added to our double executive room and reception were very vigilant in ensuring that this had been done for us. Not a great deal of space left in the room but it was still functional and very comfortable. The health club was very good but if I'm being critical, it could have done with having more than 2 private changing areas - especially when there are a lot of kids using the facilities. The staff were very helpful in explaining where everything was and making sure we were happy. The swimming pool had childrens swimming lessons booked but even with one lane closed off, there was still more than enough space for everyone to have a swim around. The Jacuzzi was relaxingly warm but we didn't use the sauna or steam room since our son wasn't keen. The location was excellent - 5 minutes from the motorway and 10 minutes from the centre of Runcorn - exactly as it says on the tin. Plenty of parking - even on a Friday/Saturday. The food was delicious - we had the large steak. Unfortunately, the restaurant service let it down quite badly. We had to ask for water for the table on 3 occasions before it finally arrived 45 minutes later. When we entered the waiter asked if we'd like the wine menu - I replied, 'no thank you but I would like to order a half carafe of house white please'. Turns out he wasn't the wine waiter as when our drinks arrived, I got a glass of white. I but I didn't quibble since 1. My Scottish accent could have contributed towards his lack of understanding and 2. There were 4 tables in and one of them was in process of complaining that they had to wait an hour for something and that there had been a mix up with their bill. However, when our steak finally arrived (we expected it to take around 20-30 mins due to our order but 50 minutes later, we were starting to worry, but it was delicious. Only critical thing I could say was that although it was a sharing steak (£49), we would have appreciated plates to eat from, rather than having the juices flow over the edge of the serving board onto the table under our glasses etc. But, when we asked for 2 plates, they were given. Seeing 2 servers setting a table for one or seeing 3 servers standing joking over the till whilst other tables were waiting so long for service wasn't what we had expected from such a nice venue. Would we stay here again - yes - but I think we would make other arrangements for evening meals.

Lovely room, clean bedding , and very comfy , shower perfect ! , the evening meal definatly needs attention, quite yucky ! who serves silverskin onion quiche !! breakfast was good , little things need attention , warm the plates, make sure plates are available, and fill things up quicker, orange juice, hot water , toast , only one jam available ( apricot ) , have to say the chef looked so tired, late service/early service , if you read this holiday inn runcorn, look after your staff better, they are your first and best force , with your customers

Yes the hotel is a little tied in a few corners, but investment is ongoing and starting to make a significant difference. What makes this average hotel special is the staff, very welcoming, accommodating and friendly (without being forced). Greetings at the reception is personalized and warm, but the breakfast team are outstanding and always willing to engage with conversation or if required leave you to sit quietly to enjoy your food. The staff at the hotel are a credit to the management. This hotel definitely fits in the category - "never judge a book by its cover". It is good value for money. Keep up the good work and investments...!! I will be back