There are not a lot of lodging options in this little marina area and town. We used to stay at this hotel many years ago so I was hesitant to stay there in case it had not been maintained. Was pleasantly surprised to fine new lobby carpet, nice remodeled rooms, clean feeling throughout the hotel. Front desk staff was good and every one in the hotel from bar tender to maids was very friendly. It has a restaurant and bar which is nice if you don't want to leave the facility once you are checked in, although the food is only fair. Would recommend this hotel overall.

For the past several years, along with thousands of people, we paid paid "VIP" or "Presidential" level tickets (unlimited drinks) to various sponsored New Year's Eve events in one of DC's multi themed hotel ballrooms. These huge events suit us because we like a variety of social dancing and a sit down dinner (vs buffet). Lately we've been disappointed in the quality of the bands at the DC hotels and we came across a flyer to see "Fabulous Hubcaps" at Holiday Inn, Solomons Island. We had not seen the band but friends liked them. This hotel was an easy (70 min drive after work) from NoVA/DC and it was an all-inclusive price with room, buffet dinner, dancing, 3 drinks each, champagne toast, favors, breakfast & late checkout. When we arrived, the hotel Mgr was very welcoming. Nice room with King sized bed. Food was basic Italian and some seafood. Like the DC hotels, you sit at a table for 10. Without any diversions like early admittance to the various international ballrooms & caricature artists, palm reading, etc.. it seemed like a long wait after dinner for the band to start. The New Year's Eve party favors here were dull & they ran out of headpieces. A handful of women wore their own fancier NYE headbands. While it's fun to load up on a variety of glitzy party favors & unlimited drinks at the DC hotels, you can't beat the price for this event. We missed the sit down dinner too. What we liked was the band's music (people were dancing from the 1st song), the large wooden dance floor, easy parking & ambiance. The staff at breakfast were so warm & friendly. We would definitely return and spend another New Year's Eve here.

All was good until we got back to the room the second night and discovered that nobody cleaned our room! Dirty towels everywhere, unmaid bed, trash in trash cans and no shampoo. WHAT? After calling downstairs, we received an "I don't care attitude" from the clerk. WHAT?! Breakfast was a joke. Asked for an eggwhite omelet and received one egg white barely wrapped in bell pepper. They couldn't spare a 2nd egg? Never again.

We stayed over the holiday and enjoyed the restaurant's Thanksgiving buffet. The hotel is easy to find with lots of fre parking. From the moment we arrived the staff were superb. Check-in was easy and quick, the rooms are nice but not luxurious, and we had a great water view on the East side of the hotel.

Let me point out that the price we paid on an Internet special from Holiday Inns was LESS than the local Sleep Inn or Comfort Inn and we had better rooms, better service, etc.

The holiday buffet was good but uneven. They had a carving station with very good truley and an excellent pork loin, and the usual Thanksgiving food done respectably. Unexpected highlights were jumbo steamed Gulf shrimp done PERFECTLY with not too much Old Bay (a pet peeve of mine), Macaroni and cheese with crab meat (I KNOW!), and fresh bread pudding for dessert. However, there was no salad bar; in fact, there were no fresh fruit or fresh vegetables of any kind. When queried, the manager explained that the locals simply don't eat them.

Good
+ Great staff very knowledgeable and attentive
+ Comfortable room with quality bedding and pillows
+ Free local phone calls
+ Free WiFi - very strong signal throughout the building
+ Well-placed ice and vending
+ Very minor room issues handled courteously and promptly
+ Solid restaurant that knows seafood
+ Decent free breakfast - much better than limited service hotels.

Bad
- Vending machines have only PEPSI products (feh!)
- This is a 30+-year-old property that has been kept up, but needs some updating - the common area carpets are a psychedelic mess
- Needs better food variety on buffets