Winchester is a city known for its rich history, stunning architecture, and charming English countryside. It was also my home for the three years I studied at university. I have fond memories of Winchester and all the wonderful treasures in this amazing city. It was wonderful to be able to take my family back to the place where I spent so much time in my late teens and early twenties and to see how much it had changed.
Our accommodation for this wonderful mini-break was the delightful Holiday Inn in Winchester. We were invited to stay as guests of the hotel and try out the facilities. Our stay was complimentary, but our opinions, as always, are our own. The hotel lies just on the outskirts of the main town area, so it has lots of easy parking, perfect for when you mini-break like us – that is – with lots of luggage!
Location of the Holiday Inn, Winchester
Situated on the outskirts of Winchester, the Holiday Inn enjoys a prime location that offers a perfect balance between tranquillity and convenience. Just a short drive from the city centre, the hotel provides easy access to attractions worth visiting, like Winchester Cathedral, Marwell Zoo and Winchester Science Centre & Planetarium. It’s only a few minutes’ drive into the town centre should you want to visit for a bite to eat or some shopping. Winchester town centre is a bustling place, full of life, and unlike a lot of town centres which seem to be empty and quiet, there’s a lot to see and do there.
Rooms
The Holiday Inn Winchester boasts a good variety of rooms. There are standard rooms, family rooms, accessible rooms and executive rooms. We stayed in one of the executive rooms for the two nights that we were there. The executive rooms are very spacious with a king-size bed, a pull-out sofa bed – which Austin loved and plenty of space for us to put up our travel cot with still lots leftover for Autumn to play on the floor. The rooms are en-suite with a full-size bath, a power shower and lovely toiletries included. There was wifi and a flatscreen TV, as well as air-conditioning—the perfect set-up. There were also some other lovely bits, like some complimentary soft drinks and chocolates in the mini-fridge and tea & coffee facilities.
The room was tastefully decorated, and the beds were crisp, clean and comfy. The kingsize was big. When all four of us were snuggled in there in the morning, it was much roomier than at home, where one of us usually gets shoved out!
As the room was quite large, there was enough space to get some downtime, even for a family of four. Austin could snuggle in his pull-out bed and watch a little bit of his tablet as we showered and got ready in the morning. Autumn was happy bum shuffling around the floor, playing with the selection of toys that we had brought with us. She was also fascinated by the laptop safe, as it had buttons – sorry about that Holiday Inn; she may have inadvertently set the code and locked it.
Once the kids had gone to bed, we could chill out with a glass of wine and chat without the fear of waking them up. It wasn’t possible that we could have the TV on whilst they were asleep, but that’s the magic of staying away – you get time to relax and chat as a couple without having to put a load of washing on or wash up from dinner. We can watch TV at home at any time.
The People
We were greeted with such a warm welcome, and everyone was really friendly and helpful. We can’t fault the service we received whilst we stayed there. The waiting staff in the restaurant were really good at helping us to find some options for Austin – as he can’t eat both dairy and wheat. It was quite busy the second night we were there, but it looked like a good team as everyone seemed to muck in to help all the guests to have a good time.
The housekeeping team ensured our rooms were impeccably clean on arrival. They knocked the morning after our first night to see if we needed a room clean and fresh towels – we didn’t, but it was lovely to be asked. Although I wished I’d asked for some more milk as, when I made tea on the second morning, I realised we had used all our milk, but that made me enjoy my tea at breakfast even more!
Dining Experience
The hotel’s dining experience is lovely. The on-site restaurant, The Odyssey, offers a delectable dinner menu featuring a wide range of dishes. We dined at the hotel both evenings and tried a couple of different dishes whilst we were there. On the first night, I had the Caesar Salad, and my husband had the Spaghetti Carbonara. Both were well-prepared and tasted yummy. On the second night, I had the Cajun Burger, and my husband had Thai Green Curry. They were both excellent. We also had desserts in the form of a Sticky Toffee Pudding and A Chocolate Truffle Brownie Torte. The desserts were nice, although quite large, but my husband had no trouble polishing off what I couldn’t eat!
At the Holiday Inn Winchester, children under 12 dine for free when dining with the adults. There’s a kids menu in which the kids can choose dishes like fish & chips or a burger. The kids get three courses which include a starter like houmous and veggie sticks and a dessert like ice cream. Ideal for keeping the little ones happy.
As Austin has more complex dietary needs due to his EoE, we spoke to the waitress looking after us, and she went and had a chat with the chef. They came back with some lovely options, and he chose a gluten-free pizza with dairy-free cheese, ham and pineapple. This wasn’t something that was on the standard menu, so it was made especially for him. It was so thoughtful that they had this as an option for him. He could have the houmous and vegetable crudites and a fruit sorbet as well. On the second night, they grilled him some chicken, which he had with chips and peas. Autumn didn’t have any dietary requirements, so she had the houmous and vegetables, a burger patty, chips and peas. She also enjoyed some sorbet – much to our regret, as she was then all sugared up for the next couple of hours and rolled around the cot chatting to herself. We don’t tend to let her have much in the way of sugary desserts yet, as she’s still quite young. The second night she had fish and mashed potatoes, with some fruit for dessert.
Breakfast Time
The breakfast options are impressive at the Holiday Inn Winchester, and we were spoilt for choice. You can have a traditional full English with your eggs cooked to order. There are continental options with pastries, cheeses, meats and a whole range of fruits. Lots of cereal choices, toast with spreads. There are even other dishes cooked to order, like eggs Benedict and scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.
Austin and I had a chat with the breakfast chef Chris who was so helpful about what he could and couldn’t have. She looked after him well. There were a lot of options he could have, but he decided he wanted some cereal, melon, an apple, some orange segments, plus a hash brown with baked beans. How one four-year-old can fit so much in, I’ll never know! He was thrilled that they had green apples, as he told me ‘they are his favourite’. He also tried both of the fruit juices on offer.
As parents of two young children, we took full advantage of the self-service tea and coffee options on offer. Rob and I enjoyed smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and toast one day and then the other was the cooked breakfast options – my poached eggs were perfect! Autumn had a little bit of everything – salmon, fruit, toast, and pastries. You name it, she tried it.
Facilities
There are lots of other facilities within the hotel that we didn’t try out. There’s an impressive-looking spa with treatments available. The hotel also features a fully equipped fitness centre, allowing you to get a workout in whilst you are staying there. If we were travelling with older children, I definitely would have liked a bit of me time to try out the spa.
If you are staying there for work purposes, which we saw a few people that looked like they were, there’s a conference room with all the equipment needed. There’s also complimentary wifi which will allow you to do all you need whilst staying.
Value for Money
The room prices do vary, depending on when you are staying and the room you book, from around £80 to £160 a night, but they are very reasonable when you compare them to other accommodation in Winchester. I think the Holiday Inn Winchester offers great value for money. The location, the facilities and, most of all, the lovely, welcoming and helpful people who work there made this a beautiful stay for us. We have made family memories we will treasure forever. We wouldn’t hesitate to stay again as it was perfect for our mini-break.
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