Holiday Inn

In 2012 and in 2014 I vacationed in London. On both trips I stayed in university dorms and either shared a shower room or had an en suite room. In both instances the rooms had hand basins, and the management provided wash cloths and bath towels. Hence, I am a bit surprised that there are hotels that do not provide these items. When you book a hotel room they might state what type of towels they provide.

It's common for European hotels, including in the UK, to not provide a face cloth (what in the UK is, as Emma said, called a flannel. Hotels are different over there: the rooms are usually smaller, they don't always have AC, or window screens.
If you want, you can bring them with you or even buy them when you get there.
Rick Steves recommends bringing them from home, if that's important to you. That might be preferable to paying way more for an American chain hotel, and even then you won't know until you get into the room whether they provide them.

As Kent and Emma said , you will not find washcloths in the UK ( or the continent ) except on rare occasions . Just pack one in a plastic bag ( as we do ) or do without ( not a big deal ) . I have used the Holiday Inn chain in Europe frequently , and the quality of the European version is at least as good as in the States and frankly , usually a notch better . No worry , plenty of towels and toiletries.

Just to add...typically I have found that most hotels, at bare minimum, provide towels, shampoo and shower gel in a dispenser on the wall, and that's about it. Sometimes you'll also get a hair dryer but that isn't consistent. Don't expect to see washcloths, bar soap, or lotion like you would expect in an American hotel in the States.

Would this hold true for an American chain in England

Holiday Inn is owned by a British company.

I have never understood hotels providing towels and not face flannels - but you can use a towel as one in an emergency ... or even one end if they don't provide two or more.

Higher end chain hotels do tend to have them.

Thank you All - I realize the question may have sounded like minutia but I very much appreciate you taking the time to answer (and educate!) me. Many thanks.