Holiday Inn was founded by Kemmons Wilson, a Memphis, Tennessee native inspired to build his own motel after a disappointing motel stay during a family road trip. His hotel was initially named the Holiday Inn by the original architect Eddie Bluestein as a joke, in reference to the 1942 film Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. The first Holiday Inn opened in Nashville in August 1952 as Holiday Inn Hotel Courts. Today, as one of the world’s most popular hotel brands under Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), Holiday Inn is the most recognizable tier of service. It has two distinct types: high-rise, full-service plaza hotels and low-rise, full-service hotels. The former also included many high-rises with round, central-core construction—instantly recognizable from the traditional 1970s model. Both offer a restaurant, pools at most locations, room service, an exercise room, and functional but comfortable rooms.

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The Good

Hotel types
Accommodations
Rewards program

A unique aspect of Holiday Inn is the fact that they offer a wide range of hotel "types" in an effort to help as many travelers as possible. For example, some Holiday Inn locations are labeled as luxurious four star hotels while other a more standard service for a lower price. Holiday Inn an ever-expanding global brand with 3 people checking into a Holiday Inn hotel every second. With such high traffic moving in and out of their hotels, Holiday Inn works to provide their guests with all the necessary services and amenities. They offer guests friendly amenities, such as:

on-site restaurants and bars
free local and toll-free calls from your room
access to business services like printing and faxing

Holiday hotels offer accommodations catered to both business and casual travelers' specific interests and needs. Examples:

Airport hotels
Beach hotels
Holidone/WaterPark hotels
Pet-friendly hotels

Positive feedback from guests typically consists of:

Good breakfast (hot eggs, sausage, and potatoes, yogurt, fruit, cereal, juice, and coffee
Clean rooms
Comfortable beds
Pool is nice and warm
Staff was really friendly and accommodating
Decent price

The Holiday Inn brand also spans into Holiday Inn Express and Holiday Inn Resorts. While associated together, each "type" of Holiday Inn does somewhat differ in price, services, and other amenities. This reach of brands allows Holiday Inn guests the opportunity to find the right property for their traveling needs. With thousands of Holiday Inn properties servicing a range of guest types, the Holiday Inn rewards program is something that can benefit the frequent traveler. Each qualified stay allows guests to accumulate points. The number of points earned may vary depending on the hotel rating and how much the nightly rate is. Once a guest has earned a certain number of points, they are then eligible to redeem their rewards for free night stays or other rewards.

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The Bad

Varying amenities
Complaints

Holiday Inn offers many nice modern full-service amenities, but there are people who would beg to differ. For example, amenities can vary per room. One room may have a mini-fridge while another does not. A few other concerns and/or common complaints:

no free breakfast and the breakfast buffet was $12.00
dated design and amenities. Needs an upgrade
rooms not ready on time of arrival
pool is right next to where breakfast is served

The hotel's saving grace seems to be the super-friendly and helpful staff. Most guests claim that they would stay there again, but would check out some of the neighboring hotels first if they are looking for more individualized attention or more luxurious services.

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The Bottom Line

Holiday Inn Hotels & Suites is a leading global midscale brand with 3 people checking in to a hotel every second. A major highlight of Holiday Inn hotels is that they're very kid-friendly. Kids eat and stay free. Another highlight is special accommodation hotels, i.e. pet-friendly hotels. There seems to be some issues with rooms being ready on time and accommodating "booking mishaps" appropriately. Some hotels fall short of its updated, modern public image. Guests that stay at Holiday Inn can typically expect the following from their service:

Varied level of hotel types: guests can choose between staying at a more up-scale location or a more economy style hotel.
Standard amenities: guests can enjoy a continental breakfast, pool, fitness center, and other typical services
Locations: with so many Holiday Inn hotels or resorts to choose from, guests will likely find a property where they are traveling
Possible booking issues: this is a common complaint for frequent travelers due to a high volume of guests

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User Reviews

Star Rating

4.4

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292 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

54%

4 grade

32%

3 grade

11%

2 grade

1 grade

Sentiment Criteria

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Rajashree Balachandran ,

Terrible experience at check in when I was kept waiting in the rain and the managerial staff was sniggering at seeing my ID. The room I was in was just next to housekeeping and the entire night I was unable to sleep properly. On making a complaint, I was told that the hotel was overflowing and it was certainly not the case.

6 years ago

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Brayden Ibert Houston, TX

I had the worst hotel experience while staying at a holiday inn. The room smelled of smoke in a non smoking hotel, the breakfast was cold, and my room was never refilled with towels. Definitely not worth the price.

6 years ago

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Previn T Marquez

mistakenly booked the wrong room rate...less than 1 minute later i called them to cancel or change it and they refused, so I had to use the credit card company to assist.

7 years ago

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M. Toth Minneapolis, MN

Customer service very unprofessional and the hotel is very dirty

7 years ago