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The budget hotel that is blowing my mind.

a lamp with a white shade

I am in Seattle right now for the Freddie Awards and the Frequent Traveler University. I’m here with my friend Hottie, and of course we are hotel hopping so that we can maximize hotel promos. Last night we were at the Kimpton Hotel Vintage (it was the final night Hottie needed to earn a free Kimpton night), and tonight we are at the Holiday Inn Seattle Airport (as part of the IHG Big Win promo).

Guess which one we prefer? Here’s a hint: I’m shocked.

This Holiday Inn is amazing. We are on the remodeled 10th floor, and our room is immaculate, modern, and bright. We love it. And I’m picky. I have to admit that I was not looking forward to this stay, but I am very pleasantly surprised.

For a little over a hundred dollars, we have a room that is super comfortable, with little extras (like breakfast and free bottled water) that just make me happy. The staff has been great, and we have everything we need. I would absolutely return.

Here are some photos of our room here at the Holiday Inn:

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And here are some photos of our room at the Kimpton:

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So yes – the TV is a little bigger at the Kimpton, and there is a more interesting rug and art on the walls…but do we care, if we aren’t going to be in the room? And is it worth $150 more per night????

I think not.

What do you think? Have you been in a Holiday Inn lately? Was it as fabulous at this one was?

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41 Comments

    1. MilesFromBlighty – That is our next stop on this 3-hotel tour 🙂 I will let you know what I think.

  1. I felt the same about the HI Mexico City Zocalo. $100 1 night to earn points, the 2nd on points (only 10K). Perfect location, lovely rooftop bar/rest. With views to die for.

  2. Actually, I’m quite glad to read this about Holiday Inn as I had completely sworn off of them. Once in Phoenix we were upgraded to a “suite”. Living area was nothing to write home about and we didn’t use it, just passed through it on our way to sleep. But the bedroom was astounding and baffling. Three feet away from the side of the bed was a deep, in the floor, whirlpool tub. And the bathroom had a HUGE dressing area lined with counters and mirrors. It was a room in itself.

    We brought our friends in to see it and dubbed it the “porn” suite. 🙂 It really did look like they possibly made movies in there.

  3. I totally had the same experience with my recent stay at the Holiday Inn in Elk Grove! the stay was exceptional for only $89/night. I do feel that some of these smaller operations actually have staff that are more warm (which I’d prefer) instead of more scripted treatments towards customers. I haven’t stayed at a Holiday Inn for over 20 years and bac then, the Hiliday Inn image in my mind was not very good back then.

  4. Thx for the review, haven’t stayed at a Hol Inn in decades, since the 80s. Looks like they’ve upgraded!

  5. I am glad that you had a positive experience at a Holiday Inn hotel property, Kendra.

    My experience has been that Holiday Inns can be wildly inconsistent — more so than competing lodging chains.

    Perhaps with the ongoing renovations to the brand, Holiday Inn hotel properties will become more consistent — and for the better.

    1. Brian – Yes, it does seem as if they are in the middle of a brand overhaul. So far it seems like they are moving up quickly.

  6. That’s good to hear because that hotel was a nightmare during most of the renovation. Makeshift check in area with very poor to little recognition of elites. I’ve switched to the Radisson for my early Seatac flights, but I prefer walking to the HI from the light rail.

  7. How did you get the free breakfast? I’m staying there too and did not get the breakfast rate because advance purchase was significantly cheaper.

    1. Calwatch – We booked a rate that included breakfast – in our case it was only a couple of dollars more than the rate without breakfast. Total was right around $100.

  8. In my experience, Holiday Inn brand is very uneven in quality, very much hit or miss. We stayed in two Holiday Inns to complete our IHG Big Win promo, and they couldn’t have been more different. The last stay was awesome, almost upscale! The breakfast was to die for, at a Holiday Inn off all places. Salmon and eggs on a bagel, so good! The hotel has won a Torchbearer award, which apparently is a highly sought distinction in IHG brand.

  9. HI can be very inconsistent. I used to stay about ten nights a year at HI and HI Express. Our last stay was several years ago at the HI in Long Beach. Filthy, smelly, doors would not lock, wretched in every way. I also found out that HI does not stand behind their guarantees, but instead turned it over to the general manager of the hotel to satisfy any problems. HE WAS THE PROBLEM IN THE FIRST PLACE and after filing complaints with HI, we NEVER heard back from the GM at the Long Beach hotel and never had any satisfaction. It was the first time I tried to use the HI guarantee about it’s perfect or it’s free and found out that the hotel GM is the only one who can do this. NO RESPONSE FROM HIM…PERIOD.

    HI would need to do something spectacular to win me back.

  10. I agree with your impressions of the HI at Seatac having stayed there in March. When I remarked on the renovation, the front desk guy told me they will be rebranding to a Crowne Plaza after the renovation is complete. Crossing fingers the rates don’t go up With the new brand!

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