Charleston, West Virginia / Holiday Inn & Suites Charleston West

December 2016, Weekend, 1-night, Queen bed kitchenette 612

Comedy Zone showroom - we attended the show that evening

Platinum perks and check-in

We arrived in the evening after the 3:00 p.m. check-in time. I inquired about the guestroom type during check-in, and whether we had been able to receive an upgrade. The agent recognized my status, and said he could upgrade us to a queen suite. A key packet had not been prepared before our arrival, and it did not appear as though a guestroom had been assigned before this. I had redeemed points for our stay at this Holiday Inn & Suites, and I also received the Platinum welcome amenity points.

Guestroom 612

This guestroom was barely large enough for basic guestroom furnishings, let alone a kitchen. It was the tiniest guestroom I have ever been in with a kitchen area. The kitchen was literally at the foot of the bed. I do not understand why we did not receive an upgrade with a king bed, as this hotel was not very full the night of our stay. The only king bed guestroom we had this entire trip was on our first night at the Holiday Inn Express in Wytheville (one of the most comfortable and spacious guestrooms this trip, as well).

Diagram from back of guestroom door

There was a partial hall from the entrance into the guestroom. An open closet (indentation in the wall with rack and hangers) was located immediately inside the entrance, and the bathroom was next.

Bathroom in guestroom 612

The bathroom was a good size. There was a long vanity and mirror along the entire wall. Bath & Body Works bathing amenities and good quality towels were provided. The tub/shower combination was located across from the vanity, and the toilet was in between the two.

Kitchenette in guestroom 612

The kitchen area in the guestroom contained a bar with two stools, sink, microwave, full size fridge, and Keuring coffeemaker with supplies.

A leather chair and floor lamp were located at the foot of the queen-size bed next to the kitchenette. Nightstands and lamps were located on both sides of the bed. A desk and chair, and flatscreen TV on an armoire were positioned along the wall next to the bed. The window next to the bed and desk overlooked the roof, west parking lot, and hotel next door.

Guestroom view from bar area

It was very close quarters in the guestroom. You could not walk by the desk if the chair was out, and we had to be careful not to run into the leather chair when walking by the foot of the bed.

The bar seats were comfortable; however, I would only suggest this type of guestroom to someone who wants to have bar seating. The hotel website says that all of the guestrooms have some type of fridge in them, so if we had received a regular king guestroom with a small fridge, I think the guestroom would have been the same size as this one, with a sofa instead of a bar and full size fridge.

Food, beverages, Comedy Zone

We had the quesadilla appetizer and beverages in the bar. The food flavor and prices were satisfactory, although we waited a very long time for our food. I had not checked the time when we placed the order, so I cannot state the exact amount of time we waited. We did check the time a bit later, and then waited 15 to 20 minutes after that for our food. We sat directly at the bar, yet the bartender never said anything to us about the status of our food, or why it was taking so long.

Comedy Zone stage

The bartender told us comedy show tickets were $10, and that we could get them at the front desk. This price was incorrect; see checkout section for details. The front desk is adjacent to the bar, and the employee area behind the front desk and bar is connected.  My husband got tickets from the front desk agent and asked him to put the charge on our room folio.

There were less than 15 patrons in the showroom that evening. The Comedy Show lasted almost 2 hours, and it was entertaining. Food and beverage service was available in the showroom with a separate specialty beverage menu than the one in the bar. Our specialty beverages were served in plastic cups, which did not make sense to me, as we were seated in an inside showroom near the bar. Additionally, patrons who ordered beer, received their beverages in glass beer glasses.

Pool, fitness center, entertainment (Comedy Zone in Food & Beverage section), misc.

The inside pool area is located across from the front desk. The area looked comfortable; however, it was not very clean. I observed what looked like a pile of sand in the corner of the whirlpool tub, and the entrance rugs had a considerable amount of debris on them. We had entered the room to check the water temperature, and did not return after seeing the debris in the whirlpool.

Close-up of whirlpool tub

The fitness center was located across from the pool. A room with several slot machines was located near the bar and front desk. A laundry room was located near the elevators. Comfortable seats and an arcade machine were in the laundry area.

Checkout and overall

When we received our folio under the door the next morning, we had been charged $15 each for Comedy Zone tickets. My husband said he did not recall if he had confirmed the cost when getting our tickets. Since the bar and front desk employees were often next to each other, he probably assumed they could hear each other's conversations. I mentioned the cost we had been told to the front desk agent when we checked out, and he gladly credited the difference to our bill.

This hotel was comfortable for our short stay. I do not think I would have been happy with the close quarters in the guestroom if we had been staying for more than one night. The hotel is close to the river, and we initially thought we would walk around a bit after our long drive before we arrived. We arrived after dark, and did not end up leaving the hotel after we checked in. If we had arrived earlier, we would have walked to the South Charleston Wine Shoppe less than ½ mile away.

Let me know if you have any questions. As always, feel free to share this post for others!