We came to this hotel for a w/e getaway. We live in Frederick and wanted a place with an indoor pool for the little one. My wife came across this awesome Holiday Inn Express. We were excited for the pool because it had a slide.
When we arrived we noticed lots of kids, teens, and the matching parents. My initial old man thought was, "Great!!! All these whipper snappers running around being noisy, hogging the pool slide. This is gonna be bad!!!"
We got checked in, with no problems at all. The room was big, comfortable, clean and QUIET. I was very pleased. No time wasted however, we were off to the pool with our 6yo.
When we walked in no places to sit were available, but some quickly opened up. The biggest perk was the life guard on duty. I have never seen this at a hotel. It was great, she kept the pool area in check and the little heathens were behaving for the most part. Our little one was up and down the slide who knows how many times. Despite the crowd, there seemed to be plenty of room to play around. Just what we had envisioned.
Finally, the staff at this HIE was to the level of The Drake or Four Seasons. Truly made us feel special. Melody and Leona were top notch. So helpful in providing us with service not normally associated with a chain hotel. The little snack kiosk in the front lobby was sufficiently stocked, but didn't have apple juice. I was going to go out and get it and Melody offered me some from the kitchen. Whaaaaat? What an amazing gesture. Certainly one she didn't have to do for me. It made my little girl very happy.
The only con to this place is the elevator. There was only one, and it was very slow. The hotel is only three floors so,taking the stairs was not an issue.
Overall, this place is really tremendous. Very quiet, despite the huge lot of people at the hotel. Very clean. The location is also very convenient for the local shopping. Melody and Leona are super nice, qualified, and really personable. I wish every hotel treated people like we were treated here at this HIE......