We were in Oceanside for a paintball tournament over Veteran's Day weekend held at Camp Pendleton and after much research of the area, we chose the Holiday Inn Express because they offered free breakfasts and rooms with kitchenettes, although the drive to the Marine base was a little further than we thought (about 10 minutes). We arrived on Thursday evening and were happy to find our room located in the back, away from the highway noise. One note, there are no elevators, so if stairs are a problem you may want to request a room on the ground floor. Our room was spacious, had a microwave, almost full-size refrigerator with freezer, a 2 burner cooktop, and sink with a little bit of counter space. The hotel supplied a set of pots and pans and dishes and silverware, but there were no paper towels, sponge or dishwashing soap. We had to pick that up at the Von's across the highway.

The breakfast runs daily from 6:30-9:30 and offers cereal, juices and milk, pastries, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, scramble eggs and bacon. One morning I took some hard boiled eggs back to the room and whipped up some egg salad for sandwiches for lunchtime. They also had small tubs of peanut butter and jelly so I made pb&j sandwiches another day. The breakfast area was clean and constantly replenished over the breakfast period.

Our friends had a regular 2 queen room (127 & 129) and it was even larger than ours. Some of the rooms have balconies and I suppose those rooms are slightly smaller. One thing I noticed most was the rooms were very clean. The pool is unheated so in November it was like ice. We tried the hot tub and while it was warm, the jets did not work.

There is a brand new Hooters next door and the food there was very good. Fuddruckers is a short walk up the hill, but if you've got a car there is tons of shopping within blocks. Lots of places to eat, too. As stated in another review, parking is tight at this hotel. When we were there, there were lots of AT&T guys staying there trying to repair the lines from all the SoCal fires. That meant their trucks were taking up alot of spaces. It's too bad they couldn't have made arrangements to park the trucks at the Country Club directly behind the hotel.

It was a pleasant stay, the beds were comfortable and the staff was very friendly. If I ever find myself in Oceanside again, I would stay here.