Traveling as a woman alone with two teens, I am always looking for a hotel that is affordable but safe enough for the teens to venture out at night. I found this with the Holiday Inn. The location was perfect, the staff very nice and the room was comfortable and clean. The lobby area is attractive. There is a restaurant on site. You can safely walk to the Charlotte downtown attractions.

location: 5 stars

All hotels in uptown Charlotte (the downtown part of Charlotte) will get a score of 4 or 5 stars. Charlotte uptown is too small and you can easily walk any place.

The service: 5 stars
*The management are excellent and they try their best. They are very accomodating.
*Free shuttle within uptown (nice)
* Room service knocked at our door at 8:00AM in the morning!

Rooms: 1 star
* The room was adequate in size.
* The internet was free but horrible. it is not suitable for either business or otherwise.
* The room was clean but it smelled badly (Dingy).
* The beds were not comfortable at all.
* The bathroom was clean.
* There was a coffee maker and an iron
* Not that quiet. It is quiter than the aloft though

Breakfast: adequate 4 stars
* lot of fruits
* eggs
* oatmeal
* buffet breakfast

Pool: Overrated and not inviting.

If the hotel could fix the smell in rooms, offer more comfortable beds, and replace their internet infrastructure, they could get 4 star rating. The service was excellent though. There is a lot of potential for this property.

Finding the hotel was so easy considering " in the city" and no worry about parking, they have a parking garage. Upon entering the hotel, a welcome from the staff, and a look around I knew I could relax. The staff was very professional yet made you feel like they were your friends and willing to help with whatever you needed.
Opening the door to the room was pleasing, very nice and first impression was correct, comfortable beds, clean bathroom, excellent maid service.
The restaurant in the hotel, hours, food, and staff all superb. There was a small store also where you could pick up those late night snacks or the little items you forgot. Pool on the roof, what a view, and a track if you are a runner.
All in all you would not have to leave the hotel if you were just chilling, but in that city who would chill? Anything you want I think is there-and the hotel is amazingly close to everything, walking is no problem.
Before closing I do need to say I did miss the frig in the room-I can do without the microwave but I do think all rooms should have a frig..
Hope this helps you in your plans, do stay at this hotel, you will have a good, relaxing, peaceful time once you shut your door even if your day was frustrating.

I stayed at this hotel for two days for a business conference on internet marketing & media. The internet connections throughout - both in room and in conference hall - were pitiful. That's my one big complaint. Business travelers today want to stay connected. This turned out to be very difficult at this hotel.

Other negative points were:

The conference room(s) were roasting, inadequately air conditioned for a room full of people during a Charlotte summer. Many attendees couldn't survive all the way through to the final presentations.
Room configuration (King Leisure) : The vanity sink is located "outside" of the bathroom, and the pedestal sink would be completely inaccessible to anyone 5 feet or under. I'm 5'4 and had to stretch a bit just to wash my face.
Limited power outlets. The work desk provided for an outlet - which you could either use for your computer, OR for the coffee maker. I had to move the coffee maker to the tiny space next to the sink and use the outlet there to make the coffee.
Although there is a rooftop swimming pool and fitness center, you have to go to the front desk or some other rigmarole to get there. I brought my bathing suit but never used it.
Parking was expensive (to me) at $14 per night. I couldn't see any alternatives, so be aware of this extra expense.

Average:

Amenities and features of the room & lobby, room/food/beverage prices (considering it's located in the middle of a nice part of Charlotte - I am a country mouse and thought the prices were very high 'to me', but I believe they are average for downtown hotels.)

Positive points:

The Front Desk, bartender and restaurant servers were all very friendly and helpful. I did order room service one night, it arrived promptly and the food was good.
The free breakfast and boxed lunches provided to conference attendees (I assume they were organized by the hotel, not an outside service hired for the event) were quite good, and plentiful.
The hotel is well-situated if you are going to the next-door convention center, and the neighborhood is very nice with many attractive shops and restaurants and cultural sites. It is easy to get to, BUT - the directions on the hotel's web site are too sketchy and there are a lot of one-way streets. Definitely call for directions or use an online map service to get a street map before going. I went around the block a few times before finding the entrance.

Overall:
Adequate is the best I can say, and an expensive adequate at that. The horrible internet service is my deciding factor for not recommending this hotel for business.