Stayed at this hotel while doing a weekend getaway to the local vineyards and Montauk. The hotel itself was clean and the room was very spacious and clean. The morning breakfast buffet was great and well maintained. The Great Room where the breakfast is held is a nice space with a large TV, tables/chairs and couches. The hotel is on Old Country Road which is a main commercial strip with stores, restaurants and outlet shopping. It is around 45 minutes to the vineyards on the North Fork and a little over an hour to Montauk, so the location is central to everything. The only complaint was that the front desk staff could be a little warmer. They barely made eye contact the entire check-in and check-out process. I don't need an overly warm welcome but in the hospitality business, especially at a Holiday Inn brand of hotel (even Express), where I have always received the warmest of welcomes with smiles, the interaction needs a little more warmth. Otherwise, we had a great stay.

Had to attend a wedding in the area. Price was better than Hilton and the breakfast buffet was value added and convenient.Room was spacious and clean, pool looked inviting but time didn't permit. Staff wasn't all that friendly but businesslike. Breakfast buffet needed more attention/staffing but it was acceptable.

Close to vineyards and some good restaurants. Pool was clean and breakfast excellent. Stayed only one night but could easily have added one night, time permitting.
Got some help with printouts at no extra cost.

This year my family split our summer vacation up into two areas, Long Island and Washington D.C. I tend to choose Holiday Inn properties because I am a rewards member. This was our choice for our first 4 nights of vacation (Sun-Wed).

Positives:
1. My main beef with my previous visits to Long Island has been how long it takes to drive from one place to another. It seems like half my visit is spent in the car. The HIE Riverhead is located an awesome minute or two off the end of the Long Island Expressway. This seriously reduced the amount of time I spent in the car this year.
2. Lots of restaurants and shopping areas just a minute or two from the hotel. There is a 7-11 you can walk to for snacks and sundries, and a proper grocery store just a few minutes down the road.
3. The pool was clean, the area around the pool was tidy, and there were very few other users of the pool. I went swimming two evenings to cool off and sunbathed for a couple hours one afternoon and never once was bothered by other patrons. The other people using the pool were friendly and quiet.
4. Free breakfasts are great. Its a huge time and money saver for the family to be able to get up, get ready, and head down for breakfast at their own pace.
5. The staff was super friendly. We were greeted with a small Priority Rewards gift bag a check in and never had a problem getting a question answered.

Negatives:
1. We had 4 people staying in the room but housekeeping never gave us 4 towels. We ended up just going down to the pool and grabbing some of those towels for our showers or else having to call each day for more towels.
2. We were unable to get a luggage rack for our room, which meant we had to use the ironing board to hold some of our bags.
3. The television was pretty old (not HD or flatscreen) and more than half the channels weren't working. I know there is a war going on between some of the cable companies and the dish providers, but some of the missing channels (All the HBOs, the main ESPN) weren't part of that. Since we didn't use the television that much anyway, I never bothered to call and complain about it, but its something to keep in mind if you plan on spending a lot of time in the room.

Overall: While I am not happy with the rate we had to pay for the room, I realize that it's just the cost of doing business in Long Island. When I am forced to pay these higher rates I really just want my trip to go smoothly and not have to drag a good experience out of anyone. The HIE in Riverhead did just that and we will make it our first choice the next time we visit.