Dickson City - Scranton, Pennsylvania / Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites

May 2012, Weekday, 2-nights, Extended king guestroom #316

Status perks

I reserved a basic king room, and received an upgrade to an extended king room. I also received a bottle of water, and a choice of one snack item.

Guestroom

Guestroom 316 is located near the elevator and not on the top floor, so I was initially worried about noise overhead and in the hall. The room is quite soundproof, and I did not hear any bothersome noise. I have stayed in hotels when I could see quite a bit of light around the guestroom door coming from the hall, when the door is not a tight fit, and light was barely visible around this guestroom door. The door fit snugly, and blocked the hallway noise well. I did not hear any noise overheard during my stay, although I do not know if there were guests above me.

This guestroom looked like a HIX suite to me, although that is not what it said on the paper I signed at check-in. It had a small fridge, microwave, sink, table with two chairs, couch, and coffee and end tables in the living area. The bedroom area contained a soft chair and footstool, flatscreen TV (which could be swiveled to view from both rooms), suitcase bench, nightstands, an armoire, and desk and chair. The furniture was all very comfortable. I especially liked the soft chair in the bedroom area. The closet in the living area had a nice mirrored door. There were plenty of outlets in all areas of the guestroom. There was an ethernet cord on the desk, and the wired and wireless Internet connection speeds were both good. The one bad thing about this room is that it overlooks the entrance roof, so there is no view.

The bathroom was a good size with built in shelves next to the vanity. It contained a tub/shower combination. The hairdryer was only a basic style, which served it's purpose and nothing more. Even though this hotel was a year old at the time of my stay, the guestroom still had that new smell--just like a new car. It was clean and comfortable. I am writing this review from my next hotel, and wish I was still back at the Holiday Inn Express.

Food & Beverage

I thought breakfast was disappointing both mornings of my stay. The first morning the hot items were scrambled eggs, sausage gravy, and biscuits. The bananas were brown, so I did not have one of those. Fortunately, the milk was fresh. The second morning the food items were similar except that there were also ham slices--which were good, and the bananas were fresh! Fresh cinnamon rolls were out both mornings, as well as a pancake maker, cold cereals and breads.

Tuesday evening was a pleasant surprise. When I checked in, I received a flyer in my packet that said there is a manager's reception at this hotel on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Tuesday, the beverages included: bottled water, soda, draft beer, and wine. The red wine was kind of sweet, but not too bad. Food items were: three cheeses, pepperoni slices, crackers, and tossed chicken salad and chicken wrap pieces from Ruby Tuesday.

Ruby Tuesday and Uno Chicago Grill are next door to the Holiday Inn Express. They both give guests a discount, and Ruby Tuesday delivered my order for no added delivery charge (I would have walked to get it myself, except it was raining out). Other restaurants I observed next door or across the street were Panera Bread, Subway, Starbucks, Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden.

Public areas

The breakfast room furniture was comfortable, and the look is chic. I did not see anyone using the outside patio since it was raining during most of my stay, although the seating looked comfortable.

Business center

The business center contained two working computers and printers. I was able to print what I needed, although there were no other business supplies in the room.

Fitness center

The fitness center was impressive for a Holiday Inn Express, I thought. The flatscreen TV and remote worked, as did all the cardio machines, which were also equipped with cardio theater. There were two treadmills, and a stair stepper. I think there may have also been a bike, although I do not recall for sure. The room also contained hand weights, a workout bench, water cooler, scale, towels, headsets, and sani-wipes. The temperature was comfortable.

Overall

I was impressed with this hotel, and if I need to visit this area again, this hotel will be my first choice. I am currently staying at the Residence Inn just down the road (I moved to get one nights credit and take advantage of a Gold offer from Marriott), and the Holiday Inn Express is a much nicer hotel than the Marriott property.

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