I have stayed at this hotel many times and amazed by the number of negative comments . I have always enjoyed my stay and any little niggles or issues have always been dealt with efficently and without fuss by its friendly staff.
I think the hotel's location is really good and is one of the reasons I prefer to stay at the Holiday Inn when I am in Lincoln.
I know there can be some noise from outside particularly at the weekends but this has always been dealt with straight away when I have complained. I have stayed in many hotels with central locations and generally expect some noise!
I have recommended this hotel to many friends who have also enjoyed their stay and I look forward to my next stay!

A hotel well in need of a re-furb and does not warrant the night rate charged. The first room 405, hung in black cobwebs from the ceiling and smelt just like a nursing home. The heaters were inadequate - the first one had to be switched off as it constantly knocked and banged throughout the night and kept us awake. The second electric wall heater flashed orange, we felt very unsafe and switched it off also. Not good on a cold January night. This heater had created a black line of smoke up to the ceiling.
Changing rooms the next morning to 417 we were allocated one further along the corridor ,once again with a view of the Marina. Should have smelt a rat as it had an interconnecting door. At 3.30 in the morning we were woken by a couple having a loud domestic dispute, banging doors, screaming and shouting and swearing . We called security twice over the next hour and finally the noise stopped at 5.30 am only to start again at 6.30. The security man was less than helpful actually trying to convince me that there was only one man staying in this room and that the noise was from 2 girls below us that they had just ejected from the hotel! It certainly was not. He also tried to say that the noise was the sound of lovemaking from another room and "you have to expect that when staying in a hotel"!!!! Not quite the comments we wanted to hear at 4.30 in the morning.
Breakfast is the usual overcooked luke warm chain hotel breakfast. Gordon Ramsay would have a field day, the mushrooms were greasy and dropped in the fryer , the scrambled eggs were a pile of mush, Please also train for a marathon before your stay or better still choose a table close to the buffet as you will walk about 5 miles fetching firstly your drinks, then your frozen fresh fruit salad or cereals, Next go back for your cooked breakfast, then go back to burn your toast - theres only one setting!. Dont forget to clear your own plates as no one else does !!!
Beware also of paying extra for a view of the Marina. yes it is lovely but bear in mind these rooms are at the front of the hotel and a Friday and Saturday night stay will ensure no sleep as all the drunks and yobs will still be shouting bawling and spewing at 2.30 a.m!!! From these rooms you will get the full benefit.
Bear in mind also they will add £3 a day parking fee to your bill.

Basic hotel, in a good location for shoppers, and nightclubbers, but definately not the best location for Lincoln tourists. It is at the bottom of the hill, just on the edge of the town centre. The waterfront has several new restaurants, but they're nothing special. There is a cinema two minutes' walk from the hotel, that's cool. But the area can get rough at night. We know Lincoln well, and often visit friends here. We wouldn't have chosen to stay here but unfortunately we booked last minute and the hotels worth staying in on the hill were full. We spent most of our stay driving around Lincolnshire villages visiting friends, so it didn't really matter that we weren't in the nicest area of town, and as I say, we already know Lincoln. But if you don't know Lincoln, and you want to get a good taste of this lovely medieval town, I recommend you stay in the charming old part of the town at the top of the hill, in the cathedral/castle district - very romantic, safe area, with the best restaurants in Lincoln and traditional cosy pubs with live music! It's a nice (ten minute) walk down to the town centre during the day for all the high street shops (or you can get the bus!), it is a bit of a climb to walk back up the hill (again - there's always the bus!) but unless you're clubbing, you wouldn't want to be in the centre at night. The holiday inn is no better than an ibis hotel (2 star rated hotels), so I have no idea how it got its' three stars. Ibis hotels are ok - they're cheap and cheerful, and they don't break the bank. But I would resent paying these prices for them! This holiday inn charges unjustifiably high prices for nothing more than basic travelodge accomodation, and on top of all that you have to pay extra to park in the hotel car park, and a £2.50 is added to your bill each time you order room service, on top of the already expensive £6 supermarket-style sandwiches!) And the food is TERRIBLE - I mean: cold watery beans and dry, stale bread used to make sandwiches - and that was just what I ate so I didn't dare try the rest, but reading the other reviews it would seem it's just as nasty. The breakfast was ok - basic service station quality buffet, but not great. we wouldn't have paid for it if it wasn't included in our room-rate. As for the noise factor of being next to a student night club, we had opted for a room at the back of the hotel, and we weren't disturbed by street noise, however, we were disturbed almost every night (until 2/3am) by the opening and closing of doors and talking in the corridor. One reviewer said that this place was good for families - you can certainly hear that from your room - the place was full of screaming kids when we were there, and the rooms are not soundproof. The worst time for the noise though, was in the morning when the cleaners chatted loudly and played the music channel in the bedrooms as they cleaned. Luckily, they didn't start too early in the morning, but if you're counting on a quiet lie in, this is not the place for you! On the plus side, the rooms are clean, and big enough. The car park has CCTV which deters thieves.The staff are ok - if you're lucky you'll get the nice ones, if you're not, they'll be grumpy - a bit hit and miss, but no horror stories to tell there.There are even a few 'gems' - really lovely, helpful people who should really be working in a five star place. And the rooms are warm and well lit, but this shouldn't be a plus, it should be standard! As for leisure amenities, the 'gym' is a joke (not so funny when you're paying for it) - 4/5 machines shoved together in tiny room (little bigger that a bathroom). I'm not surprised Marriott got rid of this hotel - it can't have done their reputation any good! I'm not a hotel snob - I like good hotels whether they be cheap or luxurious, it's just that when I pay upwards of £100 in small towns like Lincoln, I expect something nice. At the end of the day, if this place was cheap (£45-50 per night including breakfast would be fair), you'd expect these negatives, (not to mention a cheaper room service menu!) but at the prices they're charging, it's not acceptable. Needless to say, we won't be staying here again!

We stayed at the Holiday Inn on December the 9th for the Christmas market and booked two double rooms with breakfast at £98.00 per room.

We arrived early and was allocated upgraded rooms to executive suites which was a nice surprise.

Although we get the larger executive rooms they were nothing special and were not much larger than the standard rooms, just had a table and a small sofa in the corner.

One small annoying point, was that there was only one bedside table so I had to put my drink and glasses on the floor at the side of the bed, not something you would expect in an 'executive' room.

The rooms were a bit dated and need modernising, the room had a large noisy wall mounted heater under the window which was obviously on its last legs!

The room was very clean and tidy, as was the rest of the hotel and all the staff were very friendly.

Breakfast was good and had a good selection of food to suit all tastes.

A hotel with a great location but needs modernisation and seems a little expensive for what you get.