Battle Creek, Michigan / Holiday Inn

Platinum perks and check-in

I called the morning of our stay to inquire about platinum perks because the rate at this hotel was a bit high. We had been considering driving home, rather than spending the night in the area. The agent who answered the telephone said they had given me a suite upgrade, and that we would receive breakfast coupons, as well. She cheerfully told me that my room was already ready, and that we could check-in any time. This was around 9:00 a.m.--impressive, I thought! When we arrived, we learned we had been upgraded to the Wedding Suite! I also received a 1,000 bonus points coupon, if we had dinner in the restaurant. Unfortunately, we had dinner plans, so we were not able to take advantage of that offer.

view from kitchen at entrance

Guestroom

This fabulous guestroom is located on the top floor. The living and dining area was larger than most hotel rooms. The kitchen area included: a full sink, medium sized fridge, microwave, and table with chairs and place settings for four. The coffee was good quality, although the creamer was powder.

view from bathroom; living room on right

There was a desk and chair between the kitchen and living area, as well as a sofa, chair, and footstool in the living room. A large flat screen TV hung on the wall above the fireplace. The fireplace was in the wall between the bedroom and living room, so that it was visible and warmed both areas. A second flat screen TV hung on the wall in the bedroom above the fireplace. There was a suitcase bench at  the foot of the bed, and a large safe in the closet. The bed was very comfortable, and we did not hear any noise during our stay. We slept very well.

from bedroom; shower & toilet on right

There were two entrances into the large bathroom--one from the bedroom, and one from the kitchen. The large whirlpool tub was clean and did not take long to fill. We liked the large walk in shower, and the double vanity. The toilet was off the main bathroom area, with a door of its own. The only thing I did not like about the guestroom is that the windows did not open, and the thermostat did not turn off. It was a good quality heating system; however, I prefer fresh air to breathing artificial air overnight.

Food & Beverage

We did not visit the restaurant or lounge in the evening because of our dinner plans. My husband went down to get a couple of champagne glasses from the bar to use in our room in the evening, and was impressed with the service/attention he received.

We used our breakfast coupons in the morning for the buffet. The buffet included: cold cereal, waffles, yogurt, cut fruit, two types of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, bread, milk and juices. I did not really care for any of the food; I thought the sausage was quite greasy, and I did not like the flavor of the eggs with the "extras." My husband was happy with the eggs and the bacon. The service was excellent.

Overall & misc.

There is an inside pool and an outside patio at this hotel, although we did not use either because we had plenty of room in our suite.

This hotel reminded me of a Holiday Inn & Suites, although it is listed as a Holiday Inn. I prefer Holiday Inn & Suites because they usually have nicer rooms, more suites, and a more intimate atmosphere in the lounge and dining area. This hotel had all of these things. In fact, the floor diagram on back of the guestroom door, showed that the room across the hall from ours was the same size, and it showed two more rooms at the end of the hall, which looked almost as large. I did not look at the diagrams for the other floors.

This hotel is located next to Meijer, in a shopping center with several new restaurants. It is just off the interstate, so it is easy to get to. We thought the service was just as great as the room. There was a water boiling advisory in Battle Creek during our stay, and when we returned to our room in the evening, there was a message on our telephone about this, along with a printed explanation, and a 6-pack of fresh bottled water. The front desk agent thanked me for being a Platinum member at check-in, and when I checked out. I will definitely stay at this hotel again!