Grand Rapids, Michigan: Holiday Inn Downtown

 April 2022, weekday, 1-night, king premium room 606

I have previously written several posts with information about downtown Grand Rapids. I suggest clicking on the Grand Rapids label at the bottom of this post, if you are interested in more detail than what is provided here. This is just a brief post to share a few updates about the Holiday Inn Downtown.

Reservation info

When IHG remodeled this hotel in 2020, the guestroom descriptions changed slightly. This guestroom used to be called an executive suite, and now it is called a premium room. The agent actually referred to the room as an executive room when I checked in. 

Using points for a stay at this property is a great value, because you can choose any room type at the time of booking. The value was even better this stay, as IHG had lowered the points needed at many of their properties. We booked this room for only 23,000 points, and it is usually 40,000 points.

Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown, king premium guestroom 606

King premium room 606

I like the way this guestroom has been remodeled with the entrance door around the corner in the hall, rather than directly across from the elevator. The open bar area in the room was a nice setup before; however, the current room layout makes the bed location quieter for sleeping.

Holiday Inn Grand Rapids Downtown, premium room 606

The only problem we had with this guestroom is that the safe was locked shut. I knew that would most likely mean a call to a locksmith, so we went without, and I informed the front desk clerk of this upon checkout.

Food & Beverage

We purchased breakfast as an add-on to our room, which I would not do again. The cost was $10 for two, which initially sounded like a good deal; however, the voucher did not include tax or tip. I knew this when I agreed to purchase breakfast, although I did not realize the outrageous breakfast cost for a mediocre meal, at best. With the cost of the voucher, tax, and tip, we paid more for breakfast than we would have paid for fresh bagel sandwiches at a nearby cafe. The restaurant did not have any healthy breakfast foods: no skim milk, turkey bacon, or whole grain breads.

Shuttle and misc. 

This hotel is still the only hotel downtown Grand Rapids that does not charge for parking. They also have a new complimentary shuttle bus that runs from 7:30 AM - 10:30 PM within a 2-mile radius. It ran every half hour, and we needed to sign up for the shuttle. We took the bus to Mitten Brewing, which is in Reel Craft Pass. This brewery is just under 1¾ of a mile away.

Let me know if you have any questions!