LOCAL AREA

You can hire a punt to glide along the River Cam in Cambridge, 40 minutes' drive from the hotel. Join a walking tour to learn about the city's history and explore the university's medieval colleges. Take a look at the antiquities and art inside the free Fitzwilliam Museum, or pop inside the Parker Library on Thursday afternoons to view priceless medieval manuscripts.

There's easy access by road or rail from the hotel to central London, where you can explore the capital's museums and galleries, walk by the Thames and book dinner at a Soho restaurant or tickets for a West End show. Pick up a new outfit at the international designer stores in Oxford Street and Regent Street, or streetwise fashions at the markets in Camden, Spitalfields and Covent Garden..

Keen shoppers can search for bargains in the vast Westfield Stratford City shopping and leisure centre, less than 45 minutes' drive from the hotel. You can browse more than 250 stores for fashion, household goods and electronics, then treat yourself to a bite to eat, a blockbuster movie at the state-of-the-art, 17-screen cinema, or a friendly family game of 10-pin bowling.

Five minutes' drive from the airport terminal, Holiday Inn Express® London - Stansted Airport hotel offers modern rooms with free WiFi, soundproofing and breakfast included. There's a restaurant and sports bar if you're waiting for a flight, and Park, Stay and Fly packages are available. The nearby M11 and regular trains provide easy access to London and Cambridge, both less than an hour away.