Holiday Inn in Southend-on-Sea

If you want to set yourself up for the day, pré-book breakfast. You are shown to your table and asked if you wanted tea or coffee - I asked for a double espresso which was no trouble or extra cost. I then had some berries and yogurt followed by a full English. You can keep going back for more and for a small extra fee, they do specials like scrambled eggs nd smoked salmon or pancakes,

Sadly I have stayed before even got married here but last night wasn't good. Lights out in bathroom, tear in the bottom sheet, girls in another room shrieking at 11.15. Woken by loud telly at 6.45 and 3 hours later it's still going. Rattling if a room service trolley after 11pm and banging of doors...so not restful, disappointing really. Plus now £8.50 to park it used to be free for guests...

Staff were very accommodating when we went here for a colleagues birthday celebration. Food was good and the birthday girl was given a free bottle of "bubbly" and birthday cake. We weren't rushed which was great as we chilled out and chatted after dinner.

Great place to sit and unwind :) We ordered chicken Kiev and tempura veggies with a bottle of red! The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. Waiters are quite attentive. A little wait on the food, but it was great food to eat!

Nice hotel, good customer services, nice clean rooms, good location close to the transport facilities, recommend this hotel to the traveller, parking facilities, McDonald opposite to the hotel open 24 hours for any one feeling hungry. Happy to recommend this hotel

A great location for our flights and brilliant service from the team ... very accommodating and helpful as my booking needed amendments last minute, my fault! Diner in the restaurant and kids meal available

We stayed at the Holiday Inn before an early flight to Malaga. Well worth the cost a parked right outside and then a very short walk to the Airport. Rooms very nice and clean and overall very impressed

Really good place to stay if you need to be up early to catch a plane - not much to do in the area but location suits my needs

Really pleased I have found Southend Airport, only 45 minutes from London Liverpool street and a fabulous hotel at the airport forvearly morning flights. The restaurant was a revelation with really good food. The room is exactly what you would expect from an airport hotel. Would stay again

A very good value dinner for four adults with excellent service and quality food and drinks. We would recommend this restaurant.

We booked an executive room with breakfast. The room was spotless and well appointed. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Breakfast the next day was really good lots of choice and the staff very attentive. I would recommend this hotel.

Had a weekend stay in southend weather was great had a relaxing stay in hotel good food and a great veiw from restaurant of airport

Absolutely shocking meal. Inedible food sent it back. beef stroganoff so chewy it couldn’t be swallowed, soggy chips and chicken Kiev seeped in deep fat fryer oil and filled with white creamy revolting garlic paste. Waiters need a refresher course in customer service and also how to serve a wine cooler (not filled with ice and then rest the bottle on top of it all) they took 50% off our food bill. Should have gone to Macdonalds.

We are regulars at the holiday inn southend for breakfast and although the produce is of good quality compared to most buffet breakfast, the service is generally slow and unattentive. They always serve you at least one rock solid pancake and never replenish the croissants etc after 9.30 even though breakfast is served until 10.30. The staff generally seem to be too busy. However, we visted this morning and we are served by Jean - the most wonderful lady. Jean was so kind, friendly and attentive. Jean is a credit to the holiday inn and should be your model employee. I'd suggest she trains your global brand in her approach to customer service. So although the food was of the normal standard, we received excellent value for money through meeting Jean and having her brighten up our day. For this reason, we will return.

Loved it. Fast food type thing. But a Great meal on a budget. Would definitely recommend. Instead of McDonald's

Went for Christmas meal last week. There were about 50 of us. They said arrive at 1 30 for sit down at 2. Exactly at 2o'clock the starters came out. The food was absolutely delicious. Service was brilliant. I had to leave a few minutes early when the waitress came round and asked who wanted tea or coffee . I explained I proberly wouldn't have enough time to drink it but she said order it anyway. So I ordered coffee. Although we were the last table to order we were the first to be served so I got to drink my coffee after all. That is what I call service.

Very comfortable and worth a visit if you want to see planes at Southend airport

Have already done so in the main review for this hotel. It is very convenient for the Airport and visits to Southend and London. The alternative train route from Southend to Fenchurch Street is useful for Tower hill and the Tower of London

Very new hotel and therefore very clean. We had booked the meeting room and a nights stay and both were good experiences. Helpful staff, clean rooms and excellent views of the airport. We will definitely return.

Aparecimos para un café en un lluvioso domingo. El servicio que recibimos de Luke era muy atento. Nos hizo sentir muy bienvenidos y comprometido con mi hija de tres años en el borde de grizzles. Luke recomendó el restaurante para la cena y estamos seguros de que nos visite de nuevo. Ya he reservado para el té de la tarde. A veces no me siento bienvenido si en un café sólo para café, pero nos trataron como si en un acto especial.

Muy buena comida servida en el restaurante 5 ª con vistas al aeropuerto. Mi esposa tenía el risotto entrantes duplicamos como plato principal y yo tuvimos el cordero duo. Ambos eran excelentes. En mi próxima estancia en Southend el Holiday Inn es la opción obvia.

Booked a 2 night stay at the Holiday Inn (Southend Airport). Room good size,very clean,comfy bed,nice en-suite with powerful shower. Tea,coffee,etc supplied in room plus room safe. Don't be put off by it being close to the airport,good windows ment very little outside noise. First...

Can't realy fault anything about our 2 nights stay here , lovely clean helpfull staff especially cleaning lady didn't catch her name but was so helpful to us providing us with what we needed , great views and sound proof windows so couldn't hear planes etc , only negative thing would be having to pay £7.50 night to park which shuld be added in the price , . We have loved staying here for weekend and would definitely recommend you stay here .✈

We were staying at the hotel overnight before flying out of Southend, we had time at the bar and had a meal (starter and mains), we enjoyed it, no issues, very nice and the staff all being fairly young were very professional for a new hotel, there were non residents also, I would stay and eat here again if flying out.

My wife and I stayed three nights. The room was nice and clean. The housekeeping staff does a good job. The front desk staff was always helpful. The location directly opposite the airport isn't for everyone. Parking on Saturday night can be a problem as they usually have large parties on that night. However, all in all this hotel is a nice, clean place to stay in Southend.

Pleasantly surprised with the food: fresh and well presented, nice flavours and seasonal. The lamb main course was extremely good. I don't normally like lamb, in my experience it's often fatty and over cooked. But this was amazing. Tender and fantastically flavoured. Well informed and polite staff. Thank you.

Staff on reception were very helpful ,professional .Room service was one of the most efficient I have experienced ,and food was good .Breakfast was also good ,and again very helpful staff .Rooms immaculate I will be back ,for sure

Living locally, I have heard one or two reports, generally favourable, about the rooftop restaurant - 19 Thirty Five. It is certainly a five-star setting overlooking London Southend airport terminal and runway but the food on the day I went for the first time didn't really get off the ground.It was a special menu for the group who were there to support the worthy causes of the Mayor of Southend. The main courses on offer were chicken breasts with a pepper sauce and fresh vegatables or cod on a bed of mashed potato. Everthing was already on the plate so the portions were not exactly generous. My cod was cooked well and very tasty but, oh dear, it was luke warm when served. For me, hot food is essential and I would also prefer vegetables to be on separate serving dishes.My dessert was bread and butter pudding with custard. Again, it was only warm, suggesting that it had been standing for some time in the kitchen. I hope this is not something that would happen if it was a la carte dining.The bar area is small and the drinks are not cheap. A medium Pinot Grigio glass of wine at £5.25 is a bit steep. And tonic at £1.70 to go with the £2.95 single shot of Gin is also pricey.Was it worth it? Not really - even allowing for the view. Perhaps more attention should be paid to serving hot food looking again at the price of the drinks.at the bar.

Had a very enjoyable sunday lunch .Very Good view over the airport (best to go around 12.30 lots of activity at the airport. Service was very friendly even chatted about the football match which was on later.We also had a bottle of Red Wine which went down very well .the only down side was that we were sat very close to another couple who moaned all the way through the meal . The seating was a bit in your face close . All in all 10/10 . oh did I mention the wine ?

Beautiful view over southend airport from the restaurant.Had to make a reservation .Service was quite erratic .First person took order and drinks .Second person arrived with some of the order.Third person arrived with some more .....There was a steak sauce missing , a request for bread never arrived and I had to ask for water for the table .The meal was hot tasty and would recommend.This was a monday night .

Sono stato in questo ristorante in attesa dell'arrivo di mia moglie da Venezia. Ho mangiato delle cozze come antipasto ed un branzino di secondo ed è stato tutto ottimo .Perfetto anche il servizio di Elisabeth! Inoltre con il conto non ho dovuto pagare il parcheggio. Veramente ottimo

great modern hotel with friendly staff good food free internet and nice bar with big selection of wine, spirits and what is more important, home marinated olives. They taste amazing

Stayed in the hotel the night before we flew from Southend airport. Weren't expecting anything exciting from a Holiday Inn restaurant but we were honestly shocked by the wonderful service and the standard of the food! We both want to thank you for making the start of our holiday perfect.

The restaurant is on the 5th floor giving brilliant views, especially of the airport arrivals and departures. My husband and I had a roast which was very tastey, my son had a dish off of the children's menu which was a chicken, broccoli and pasta dish, it was very simple, quite plain, a runny cheese sauce which sat at the bottom of the bowl, would suit my nephew who likes his pasta plain. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Our main meal arrived very quickly but dessert took about an hour, no idea why it was quite a simple order, my husband chose a sponge cake with custard, the sponge was a rather small helping and he said the custard tasted like warm milk. My son ordered marshmallows with fruit and a chocolate dipping sauce, there were no marshmallows when the dish arrived. I asked about them when the waiter came for the plates and he said did my colleague not tell you we are out of marshmallows, we ran out of them Friday night and no one has had the time to get any. They certainly weren't rushed off their feet and this was Sunday evening. All in all we had a lovely meal and my son would like to return. I'm less enthusiastic to but wouldn't say no to a return visit.

8 of us visited this restaurant last saturday 25th july 2015 . the views were fantastic , we had the private dining room which was lovely and good for a bit of privacy . the food was lovely n very prompt . i had the lamb duo which was very tasty , the staff couldnt have been more helpful n pleasant . will definatly be eating there again .

Really good for an overnight stay before flying from London Southend Airport. Parking deal is good value.

Our family arranged a surprise Ruby Anniversary celebration,we had the private area in 1935 restaurant.We would like to thank all the staff from management and waiting for their attention and service. Everything went well the food was excellent we were not rushed all the food was served at the same time.Would like to give special thank you to Laura our waitress for the evening she was very friendly and nothing was to much trouble.We would certainly recommend this venue for a celebration or get together.Thanking you Daphne &Dave King

Enjoyed the evening. Good food, of limited choice. Good prompt service. Nose decor inside and everything was clean. Would use for a function or party again.

Experienced as part of wedding package. Food was outstanding quality - roast beef, veg, Yorkshires etc. staff were friendly and helpful. Great experience - we would highly recommend.

Popped in for Sunday lunch and tellingly plenty of tables despite not booking. We had a roast each and it appears that Holiday Inn think it is appropriate to pay £13 for 2 roast potatoes and 2 slices of meat. It's a shame as these were nice and actually the vegetables came in a good sized portion but they really must be laughing all the way to the bank with that profit margin. Not again though- there are too many better options around

Nice relatively new hotel with top floor restaurant overlooking the airport. However, very few tables have a view of the airport which is a great pity. The menu is quite varied but a little on the expensive side. Staff were very friendly and efficient and considering we visited on a busy Saturday night there were no lengthy delays. All the main courses were hot and delicious and I must mention the Eton Mess we all had for dessert, which was fabulous.

After a day of interviewing we decided to have a meal before leaving. Two of us chose the poached salmon salad priced at £10.95. It was really odd....what was served was a dessert size spoonful of salmon mousse on a pile of leaves, half a red cherry tomato and half a yellow cherry tomato and 4 thin segments of a cold potato which was described as potato salad!! It looked like a starter but without the bread!

Took my mum dad an family for there 47 th wedding anniversary meal . Food was ok over priced . After our meal I went to pay the bill to be over charged by £69 Three times it took before I got the rite bill the staff are rude will never go there again I emailed the manger was not helpfull. An found him rude too offered us to come back with25% off so you want me to spend more money where there staff are rude an I get over charged just so I get 25 % off why would I wat to bring my family back no way

After winning at golf on Sunday morning against my wife it was time for a coffee so it was nice to go to the holiday inn top floor at Southend airport. It's clean the view across the airport is ok. A pot of tea £2.45 coffee £3.00 it's just relaxing. Theres a nice bar for drinks and staff are well presented bit slow but that adds to the calm of the place. But don't get in the way of the plane spotters the look could kill.

Had a lovely, leisurely afternoon tea in the 1935 restaurant. Ivan served us with friendly attention to detail. The sandwiches were fresh and delicious and the cakes etc. pretty and yummy. As much tea or coffee as you wish was delivered elegantly. Lovely surroundings overlooking the airport. A thoroughly pleasant experience. Would recommend!

My daughter gave me vouchers for Mother's Day and we had afternoon tea at the airport the views are lovely. But as for the tea well we are still looking for the sandwiches you only get 2 fillings if you can call it fillings it's bread and butter the filling is so little. the scones and cakes are so small you have to put your glasses on to see them this place is a rip off don't go if you are hungry you will need a bag of chips when you leave

Visited this place as had never been here before and the food as ok I guess - not much on offer & expected better. The waiter was pleasant but the Indian manager wasn't as much. Not very cheerful and too serious & only just about cracked a smile. Felt a little bit uncomfortable by his presence and seemed to not really do much just walk around. I can see how this place has gone from a 4* to a 3* with such poor management. Only good thing about this place was the view of the airport apron but then again the view may not been appealing to everyone. Won't be visiting again in the near future with a manger like that around. Mangers should set a good example to their staff - how can you expect your staff to be cheerful if the boss isn't? Sack may be in order. Have friends who visited and said a similar thing

A Sunday lunch visit to the restaurant overlooking Southend Airport was a disappointment. The service was excellent but the food was very mediocre and not good value for money.

We stayed the evening prior to an early morning flight, at the checking we were greeted by a friendly receptionist who acknowledge our rewards club membership and explained the parking and how long the walk would take to the airport the next morning.The room was nice but the bed was small and not to normal IHG.We would definitely us again if we had a flight from the airport

We decided to try the hotel restaurant for Sunday lunch. When you sat and counted the number of staff there were quiet a few, however, trying to find one when you wanted one or get their attention was another matter. The majority of the staff are VERY young and there appeared to be no one with actual 'experience' available to mentor or provide help as required.Tables and chairs are reminiscent of a slightly up market café. On the whole the service was pleasant but very very slow. We did have one issue when we came to pay and that was the attitude of the young lady who processed the payment - I'm not sure if she was still suffering from the night before but she was one comment away from a 'can I speak to the manger' - oh and she had to ask what 10% of the bill was!!!The lunch menu looked good 4 of each - starters, main & dessert, and the price looked good for 3 courses as well. It took ages to get drinks and then they forgot the water, we had to ask twice and then they corked the wine *sigh*. As to the food, starters and dessert excellent, mains not up to scratch, ok but only just passable - the potatoes were chewy, the vegetables undercooked - I like al dente, but, just warmed through is not enough. The parsnips were limp and still hard at the thickest point, gravy was whatever they put on the plate and horseradish and mint sauces when requested took 5 minutes to arrive.Timings well starters took 20 minutes to arrive (a little slow), main another 45 minutes (way to long - in fact one of our party went passed being hunger - which was just as well as they didn't miss much, see above), dessert arrived within 10 minutes of ordering (bang on). Would we go back? Maybe, to give it one more chance but I wouldn't go out of my way and certainly wouldn't recommend it as a place to go there are far better in Southend, Leigh, Westcliff for the price.

Well I was in a group of 12 people among many other tables. We came here because we had a good experience last year. The ambience was good when lights were down when we entered the food was delivered in a great co-ordinated effort. Food tasted good but not very generous portions so don't expect to be full if you are hungry. Sadly the dance floor was not in the same room so this killed the atmosphere completely. I don't think I would return for a Christmas event again unless improvements were made.

A bunch of us (four) visited the resturant, situated on the top floor of the new airport hotel at lunchtime last Friday, 8th Nov. I was lucky with the car park; one space left. A choice of two or three course meals - priced reasonaby - with a selection of five choices satisified everybody. We elected the three course meal. Starters - prawn coctail for three and soup for the fourth was served promptly. Three of us enjoyed an excellent beef stew; not overdone, with good well prepared and cooked vegetables, whilst the other had a generous helping of mussles - moule mariner style. Dessert, well complimented the whole meal. Service was just right. Wine, a little on the expensive side, but a good selection.Charles Hall - Thriller writer of; 'BAD FACES' & 'SEA FORT'

I booked a table 2 weeks ago . I did this 2 weeks in advance as I wanted a window table. I arrived this evening to find nothing was written down so there was no table booked. What incompetence I will not be back . Check your booking very carefully before you arrive. We went just up the road to the bell where we had a lovely meal. Half the price too.

If you're staying at the Holiday Inn and want a night in then the restaurant is very pleasant. Located on the 5th floor it overlooks the Airport and has a smart bar and restaurant.A La Carte and specials menu - 3 courses and a drink came in at £27.00. Food is very good, menu has a bit of something for everyone - I enjoyed potted shrimp starter, fillet beef stir fry main and sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel ice cream.Staff were friendly and welcoming too on a Wednesday evening. Would recommend and eat there again if I found myself staying at the hotel.

Been a few times as I like the airport views. Food is excellent and staff have always been good and service has been great in the restaurant. Been there for coffee at the weekend but seems to be quite busy with lots of young children...loud young children, sorry!

Booked a table for a family Sunday dinner, and was very impressed with the whole experience.The food was beautifully cooked, we sat at a lovely table with fantastic views over the airport and although busy the tables were very well spaced. The service was excellent and the prices although slightly high were a reflection on this type of establishment and overall were fair for a very good dining experience. Would definitely return and have no hesitation in recommending.

Loved everything totally magnificent, would recommend to anyone.Fabulous hotel in a fabulous location.

We stayed here for three nights at the beginning of June. Check in was very easy and all the staff throughout were very helpful. We stayed in an executive room that over looked the runway. There aren't a great deal of planes take off and land at southend airport so there is hardly any aircraft noise. The room was spacious and very clean. Wifi is £5 for 24 hours as is the parking. The breakfast was very good as was the evening meal. We enjoyed our stay very much, the only criticism was that there was no local information pamphlets

Firstly one bit of advice, when you read all the bad & average reviews don't discount them like I did. The reviews are all accurate though the references to MacDonalds makes them appear trivial. This restaurant is truely awful in both quality, portion size & value. Never in my whole life, having had a 3 course meal have I gone home hungry.Everything seems to come in tiny 3" pannikins, my wife had the smallest shephards pie I have ever seen & miniscule portion of cabbage. That was it, £12.95. Its in Pannikins because it wouldn't have filled a side plate. I had a Beef & ale pie. It came in a pie dish, 7 bits of veg came in a pannikin & I had 10 chips in a seperate bowl, all on a wooden slab. So I'm eating my dinner out of 3 different dishes which are too small to get a knife into to cut to size & I can't have gravy on my pie as there is no plate to tip it into. Again the whole meal wouldn't have filled a sideplateDesserts, Apple & blackberry crumble. One blackberry, several pieces of very undercooked apple all served in .... a 3" pannikin. It also came with a jug of custard, the size you would get enough milk for two cups of tea in. Sherry trifle, sponge, jelly & cream. Thats it, no fruit, no custard, no sherry. The bread & butter pudding was smaller than a small jam jar lid. The table next door complained much as we did I & the staff actually started backtrack. Apparently this is a new menu, I can only guess it was compiled by a partially sited anorexic. The chef should hang his head in shame. Every member of staff should jump in a cab & go to the Rose Garden in Leigh (behind the Harry pub on the A 13). The food there is exquisite, cooked to absolute perfection, excellent presentation, fantastic service & far superior value to the below par pub food on offer at 1935 last night. I would go as far as saying the Rose Garden is on a par with Claridges.As we left another group of people from a different table joined us in the lift. They complained of a bad overpriced meal as well & won't be going back eitherTo summarise, overpriced, small portioned, mediocre food served by a team who's sole aim is to give you as little as possible. They may try to hide behind the term "haute cuisine" but believe me, Shepherds pie is not haute cuisine. At a push, this is on a par with some "pseudo pub grub". Don't say you haven't been warned.

We decided to try the new hotel restaurant for lunch. Only two staff for a packed bar and busy restaurant. Pleasant service but very very slow. Lunch menu was very strong and average price. Food was very enjoyable but with no waitresses available it took too long to get drinks and when they forgot the Chips that come with the salad - they took so long we had almost finished the salad before they arrived. Tables and chairs dirty from breakfast but overall nice place with interesting view of runway. We would go back for lunch for sure - to give it one more chance but not sure it's an evening destination

Unfortunately booked a meal with our in-laws for the day after Valentine's so it was a set menu costing £39.95 which wouldn't be a problem if the food lived up to the cost. It was advertised as 5 courses which was an absolute joke. The starter was average 2 small pieces of what tasted like chopped tinned ham. This was followed by a 'refresher course' the glass of sorbet was so small you couldn't get the tea spoon in it! The main course was even more disappointing. We chose Monkfish, this consisted of an extremely small monkfish tail with approx 3 carrot pieces and some lentils, I asked what was to accompany the main and told that was it!! There was absolutely no way it would have fed a child let alone an adult. Desert was the best part of the meal & I never usually eat desert but was still so hungry had the crumble. The fifth course was a small chocolate, it was quite laughable, and as we had invited our family we did complain but didn't make a big fuss. Such a shame because it is a lovely setting and the staff were friendly. Have to say the whole meal would not enough to feed our Grandaughters who are 4 & 6. We came home and I gave our guests cheese biscuits and nibbles as we were all hungry. Would I go again? Maybe but they would have to seriously improve considering what they charge.

We had a wonderful Lunch at the Restaurant on the Top Floor of the Holiday Inn at Southend Airport.Food was excellent, really good and varied choice and fair prices too for 1 / 2 / or 3 Courses.Restaurant overlooks the Airport Runways and Apron. OK it's not as busy as many Airports, but for a good meal and an outlook that's a bit different......try Lunch here.

I took my mum to the rooftop restaurant for lunch on Friday. It's worth it for the view of southend airport. It's a set menu at lunch time which was fine, but I have never had such slow service for a restaurant that was so empty! So slow that it detracted from the enjoyment of the occasion. I can only think that the kitchen was understaffed. When it arrived the food was lovely but I won't be rushing back.

Colleagues and I have stayed several times and the rooms are good if basic. But the restaurant lets the place down.. no one seems to be in charge and food is very variable. You can have a poor starter followed by undercooked main and very small desert. Next time the starter is superb and main small with a fantastic desert. Breakfast is also variable and not everything promised is actually available every time.The hotel has been open for months and needs to get the restaurant sorted.If it was consistent it could be superb.

Having read an article in local free magazine "The Oracle", we decided to try out breakfast at this new hotel. Fair to say it was a typical hotel breakfast, i.e. a selection of hot and cold food from the buffet including the staple full English options plus black pudding, with a choice of pastries, cold meats/cheeses, fruit and yoghurts, but the quality of the food on offer was particularly good, especially the sausages and bacon! We were greeted by friendly and attentive staff and had a couple of small requests which were dealt with efficiently and with a smile. On the 5th floor of the hotel, the venue offers good views of the airport and runway if you're lucky enough to be seated in the viewing area. We intend to return for an evening meal at some point in the future.