My wife and I and my 13 year old son stayed the weekend at this Hoilday Inn due to a sporting event which I was participating in.
The hotel was booked by someone else as this was where all the players were staying.

The hotel is a typical "station hotel style hotel" and if run by a suitable hotel chain could be excellent.
But, it is a Holiday Inn and I can see why I do not choose to stay with them when I travel independently.

Negatives

On arrival the reservation the hotel held was incorrect as there was not enough beds for all 3 of us. I had phoned a week previous to our arrival and reconfirmed our reservation. Anyway we got upgraded (apparently) to an executive room.But had to put up with a sofa bed rather than a normal bed.
The sofa bed we waited to be conveyed to our room.And we waited.We spoke to reception etc..still no joy. I took it on myself to search out a chambermaid who installed the sofa bed for me.Well unpacked it and chucked down a double duvet on top of it and then left. The duvet was not even for this sofa bed.We managed to get some more towels as there were only 2 towels for 3 of us.I left notes next day for more towels, coffee,tea, milk etc as the supplies were very minimal.

The bedroom was very dusty and smelt of a musty smell.
The chambermaid told us he had just come on and had 9 rooms to make up quickly for people who were waiting for their room. He was chasing around and rushing to do the rooms.Obviously he would not clean and was just changing the bed linen.

The Tv reception was poor and the pay for movies was not working. I reported this to reception and got a half soaked apology and I asked for this to be rectified.Reception said they would put it on the maintenance list. There was even a card in the room which I put out on the door which stated they would rectify problems within 24 hours. 36 hours later it was still not working.

The hotel is run like one in the 1980's when it would take a resident numerous phone calls, visits to reception to rectify a problem.

The hotel bedrooms are not cleaned properly as they seem to have inadequate numbers of staff to fullfill this role properly.

The literature relating to hotel services is of poor condition and looks like it has been touched by every guest since the hotel opened and never been replaced.

Positives

The buffet breakfast.
location.
Carparking.

Overview

A hotel chain 20 years behind the times with standards, facilities and customer service.

For example when staying at Premier travel Inn's you know what to expect.They do not try and be something they are not..

Holiday Inn need to be more realistic with what they want to offer people and how they should deliver it.
Does the Holiday Inn want to be a luxury hotel with high standards or a middle range hotel with poor standards which it portrays now.

Really enjoyed our stay in this beautiful building with so much character. We stayed on the third floor in a family room which had nice decor and a really lovely new modern bathroom. Minor downside was the room was booked for four of us but there were only two bath towels,two cups,two glasses,one packet of two biscuits,obviously the room was made up for two people. This was soon remedied though.
The staff were great,so friendly and helpful. We had a meal in the Victorian restaurant and were very impressed how the restaurant manager,I think, made our two girls so welcome and treated them like little ladies.
The Friday night had a disco on downstairs which we could hear slightly until midnight,so I was pleased we were on the top floor.
Breakfast was excellant,masses of choice and plenty of helpful staff again.
We will definately go back if we visit Sheffield again.

The Holiday Inn is a nice hotel with a good restaurant and very attentive staff.

However, we booked for an Executive Room which we thought would be luxurious - it was, but on the two nights we were there we heard the music from the ballroom. It was on a Thursday (noise until 12 midnight) and Friday until 1am. It was loud enough to guess the tune and we were on the second floor. So please be warned this was in room 210. We did tell the reception. It would be a serious matter if you had young children or liked to sleep early.

The location of the hotel is hard to find even with a sat nav - the hotel sits on a hill and the entrance is about 200 yards away up a slope. The best way is to put the Hilton Hotel in the sat nav as this closest to the entrance. The signs were missing owing to road works.Plenty of parking.

The gym is ok with modern items and tv but there was nothing else eg no pool etc.

We spent 2 nights in Sheffield for a friend's 40th. As I was a student there in the early 90s it was great to go back and see how the city has changed. Many of the designer stores moved out when Meadowhall first opened, and it all started getting a bit run down, but all the modern new developments around West Street, the Winter Garden and the Peace Garden are really helping bring the city back to life.

The Holiday Inn is located about ten minutes walk from the Cathedral and within 5 minutes drive of the train station. The listed building is beautiful, retaining its period features. Although our room was in a newer wing, we had a very large double room with high ceilings. The bathroom was nice and modern, but as I am small I could not reach the bath/shower taps without getting into the bath as the glass shower screen got in the way!

Tea and coffee making facilities (and biscuits) , hairdryer and a safe were provided in the room. There was also a choice of pillows, which I really liked. Room service was efficient and really quick, as was housekeeping (we borrowed an iron and board and they arrived within minutes).

The breakfast buffet was very good, offering a nice selection of cereals, fruit, cold meats and cheeses, patisserie and traditional cooked breakfast.

I would definitely recommend this hotel and will stay there next time I visit Sheffield.