Holiday Inn Barnsley M1, JCT.37 by IHG - Barnsley

carolinebW1838UP

A family get together was arranged at this hotel, mostly due to its convenient location just off the M1, considering where various people were coming from. There were about 25 people for an afternoon event, 2-6pm on Saturday. It was a memorial for my mother in law, who died, and coincidentally my husband's birthday! The hotel staff were so kind and helpful. They could not do enough for us, even when we asked if they could change some of the food choices I'd made last minute. Can't thank them enough for their flexibility and great service. All staff were very welcoming from as soon as we arrived! The finger buffet was really good too. We also had 4 rooms as a number of us stayed overnight and were very comfortable. One thing ... the automatic doors at the front entrance could do with a bit of WD40!! 🙂

M9410ENvictoriac

Lovely staff. But many other problems. A door handle hanging off. Broken air con making a racket. A window which cut my hand. A child bed with metal poking in his back. Lifts out of order. Never have i been on such a Faulty Towers experience.

colettebE2634NW

Hotel staff really lovely bar food excellent value. Breakfast very nice buffet and food hot and well presented. |On the down side hotel really needs updated badly,very dated and grubby in most areas throughout. Public areas have very basic seating and appearance I would say soulless throughout. Definitely not what I have witnessed in other holiday inn group hotels.|Stayed in premium king but some type of generator outside prevented keeping windows open on a very hot night.|Beds super comfy and room size excellent but again decor let's it down.|I have stayed on a number of occasions and will likely do so again

Jamie A.

This is by far the worse and lowest grade IHG Hotel I have ever stayed at.
Hotel is stuck in the 1970's
Rooms dated, poor quality, old furniture needs replacing.
Staff very strange and unhelpful on the whole.
Dinner was very good.
Breakfast was poor, dirty jugs with juice and literally no service.

To cap this off at 4.45am a lorry arrived to empty their glass bins and did this for 15mins waking me up, how is this ever acceptable.

I repeat! Avoid this hotel.

kirstyhM8585ZW

I visit Barnsley alot to see family habing moved away and always where possible opt to stay at this hotel.|The rooms are clean and staff are friendly and super helpful.|I tried to book via booking.com which tried to charge me for 2 rooms when only one was needed. I called the hotel directly spoke to an absolute wonderful gentleman called Harvey who could not have been more helpful. He sorted my stay hassle free within a couple of minutes. Was great upon my arrival and very welcoming. I recently stayed in a 4 star hotel in Stratford there service, people and atmosphere was not a patch on what has been provided by Harvey and the team! ||Delightful stay, thank you all very much.

Sammy E.

**No Pool**

Very clean rooms, the barman was lovely to chat to (didn't catch his name), and a nice pool table in the bar but no swimming pool. Fell ill first night, and the staff were very nice and approachable with any issues. Decent parking too

WLU51

Visited for a business meeting so can’t comment on accommodation etc. lots of free parking and easily found off J37 of the M1. Lovely entrance foyer but the strangest eerie atmosphere despite it being early Saturday morning. Silent and no one in sight. No one checking out, going for breakfast…just very bizarre. A lady appeared at the reception desk but didn’t give the friendliest welcome. Lovely piano in foyer - ‘do not play’ sign on it. Why have a piano if you don’t allow a guest to play if they can - should be a ‘if you are able to play feel free to give us a tune’ sign. There was just no ambience at all - they needed some quiet music playing or something. |Went upstairs to a nice air conditioned meeting room, came back down to the foyer for our lunch break….to find it exactly the same despite one sweet old couple having a cuppa and a sandwich in the foyer….in the silence. We had a coffee and sandwich and then finished the meeting.|So nothing wrong, lovely foyer…:but don’t expect a warm welcome or a nice feel about being there!

cuauht_mocr956

I have been a loyal IHG Diamond Elite (formerly Spire Elite) member for over 12 years, with more than 1,000 nights stayed and an average of 100 nights per year. Across countless IHG properties worldwide, I’ve always felt welcomed, valued, and at home—until now.||On the morning of 5th September (between 9–10 am), I encountered what was without doubt the worst staff experience I have had in all my years with IHG. The woman on duty at reception was dismissive, unhelpful, and openly rude—completely at odds with the IHG service standard.||As a Diamond Elite member, I am entitled (subject to availability) to check in from 10am. Arriving early, I politely asked if a room might be ready. I was told the hotel was fully booked the night before. This was demonstrably untrue—I had personally checked the website at 2am and saw availability. The explanation then shifted to “I just sold those rooms now.”||When I asked if she could simply contact housekeeping to see when the next available room would be ready (a normal courtesy at other IHG hotels), she refused. Instead, she insisted—absurdly—that all rooms magically become available at the same time, 3pm. Any experienced traveler knows that rooms are released as they are cleaned, and in my years with IHG the longest I’ve ever waited was an hour.||What shocked me most was not the refusal itself, but her attitude. She was unprofessional, unfriendly, and dismissive from the start. There was no recognition of loyalty or status, no attempt to accommodate, and not even a simple gesture of hospitality—when I asked where the toilets were, I was told they were “only for guests.” I was, in fact, a guest.||This behaviour goes far beyond poor service: it was needlessly hostile, obstructive, and showed complete disregard for both IHG values and basic courtesy. It cost me dearly—I missed an important meeting because of her unwillingness to help.||For 12+ years IHG has been my hotel brand of choice, because of the professionalism, warmth, and consistency of its staff worldwide. To encounter such negativity and discrimination at one of your properties is deeply disappointing.||To fellow IHG members, especially those with elite status: do not expect the signature IHG welcome at this property. For me, it has tarnished an otherwise impeccable loyalty experience. To the individual in question: friendliness and helpfulness cost nothing. What you put into the world comes back to you.||With a heavy heart, I can only recommend that those considering this hotel make alternative arrangements. No guest—especially one who has given over a decade of loyalty—should have their day ruined by such treatment.