Miami, Florida: InterContinental

January 2025, two nights, weekend

Beautiful sculpture in the lobby at InterContinental Miami.

Reservations, arrival, platinum perks

InterContinantal has an ambassador program, and elite level IHG members do not usually receive perks if not also an ambassador member. I am not a member of the ambassador program, because there is a cost to join, and the program is only good at IC hotels. I received the platinum on-site 600 bonus points at check-in, and I opted to pay for club access. I had booked this stay with points, and the only points room available when booking was a basic guestroom. The club upgrade was a bit pricey, so we only added this for one night of our stay.

Floor 28 in InterContinental Miami hotel

Guestroom on floor 28

This guestroom is one of the corner rooms with a partial view, so I suppose we also received a slight room upgrade. The guestroom did not seem particularly large, although the corner rooms do look larger in the guestroom diagram (see photo above).

Guestroom on floor 28 in InterContinental Miami hotel

Niles, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express

February 2024, weekday, one night

Platinum perks and arrival

I reserved a 2 queen bed suite at this location because the price was reasonable, and we wanted a room with a sitting area (there were no king suites available). We had an excellent arrival experience and received an upgrade to a family suite. Before the front desk agent gave us the upgrade, she asked if a room on the second floor was okay, since my profile request is for the top floor. 

Suite 213 in Holiday Inn Express in Niles, Michigan

Queen family suite #213

This guestroom is huge! We loved the sitting area, and the separate bedroom. The guestroom diagram, which shows that this guestroom has a connecting door is incorrect. This room does not have a connecting room door.

Suite 213 in Holiday Inn Express in Niles, Michigan

Plainfield, Indiana: Staybridge Suites

February 2024, weekdays, 2 nights

View from guestroom 418 in Staybridge Suites Plainfield, Indiana

Platinum perks and check in

I reserved a king studio, and received a nice upgrade to a one bedroom suite before arrival. Check-in was efficient, and I received my bonus points within a few hours of check-in.

Guestroom 418 in Staybridge Suites Plainfield, Indiana

King one bedroom suite 418

This guestroom is located on the top floor. The sunset both nights of our stay was amazing. The couple of photos I am sharing do not fully capture the beauty we witnessed.

Guestroom 418 in Staybridge Suites Plainfield, Indiana

Miamisburg, Ohio: Staybridge Suites

January 2024, weekday, one night

Arrival and platinum perks

I reserved a king studio suite, and received an upgrade to a one-bedroom suite before I arrived. I saw this update online the day before. During check-in, the agent asked which platinum amenity I wanted. I chose points, and they posted to my account that day.

Staybridge Suites guestroom 310 in Miamisburg, Ohio

King one-bedroom suite #310

This guestroom was clean, comfortable, and well soundproofed. The living area was comfortable and spacious. We even received a package of microwave popcorn with the kitchen amenities. All extended stay properties used to provide popcorn; however, it has been a few years since I have received this.

Bedroom and view in guestroom 310 Staybridge Suites, Miamisburg, Ohio

Berea, Kentucky: Holiday Inn Express

January 2024, Sunday & Monday, two nights

Arrival and platinum perks

Check-in was easy, and my bonus points posted to my account right away. I had reserved a suite when I made the reservation, as the cost was reasonable.

Holiday Inn Express guestroom 309 in Berea, Kentucky

King bed suite #309

This suite is spacious, although I wonder if it is really any larger than a basic guestroom. Looking at the guestroom diagram and external building photos, it looks like the guestrooms are all the same size (other than one wider room shown on the diagram near the elevator).

Holiday Inn Express guestroom 309 in Berea, Kentucky

Sterling Heights, Michigan: Staybridge Suites

December 2023, weekend, one night, king studio 303

Adjoining room next to breakfast room in Staybridge Suites Sterling Heights

Reservations, arrival, platinum perks

I made an online reservation for a king studio guestroom at this hotel with points. The hotel parking lot and lobby seemed very busy when we arrive shortly after check-in time. We waited briefly behind another guest, and then the agent quickly checked us in. I received an amenity bag with a small Kind granola bar, small pack of Cheez-it crackers, and two small bottles of water. The agent sincerely thanked me for my loyalty, and 500 bonus points posted to my account after we got to the guestroom.

Guestroom 303 in Staybridge Suites Sterling Heights, Michigan

King studio guestroom 303

This hotel has four floors, and we were happy with this 3rd floor guestroom. The room is located almost at the end of the hall, and it was quite soundproof. Even though the windows faced the parking lot and M-53, we did not hear any outside noise.

Guestroom 303 in Staybridge Suites Sterling Heights, Michigan

Cuero, Texas: Holiday Inn Express and Suites

October 2023, weeknight, king studio guestroom 211

Reservations, arrival, platinum perks

The rates at this hotel were reasonable, and the check-in process went smoothly. Platinum bonus points posted to my account right away.

Holiday Inn Express guestroom 211 in Cuero, Texas 

Guestroom 211

This guestroom is located on the second floor of this three-story hotel. It is on the front side of the building overlooking the parking lot and pool.

Holiday Inn Express guestroom 211 in Cuero, Texas 

Warren, Ohio: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Youngstown North (Warren/Niles)

Weekday, one night, king guestroom #331

Fountain in outside courtyard in Holiday Inn Express & Suites Youngstown N (Warren/Niles)

Arrival and platinum perks

We received a great welcome and platinum perks at this hotel: upgraded room, bottled water, and snacks. 

King guestroom 331

Unfortunately, I did not take any photos of the guestroom. It was the usual Holiday Inn Express type room, except that it was by far, one of the cleanest, quietest, and most comfortable rooms I have ever had.

Whirlpool tub in Holiday Inn Express & Suites Youngstown N (Warren/Niles)

Florence, Kentucky: Staybridge Suites Cincinatti South

August 2023, weeknight, one night, king studio suite #302

King studio #302 in Staybridge Suites Cincinnati South

Arrival and platinum perks

We received no welcome or status recognition at this hotel. In fact, our room had not even been preassigned when we arrived after check-in time. The 500 platinum points automatically posted to my account after check-in.

King studio #302 in Staybridge Suites Cincinnati South

Maryland Heights, Missouri: Staybridge Suites St Louis-Westport

 August 2023, weeknight, one night, king 1-bedroom suite #322

King suite 322 in Staybridge Suites Westport--St. Louis

Arrival and platinum perks

We received a great welcome at this hotel, along with an upgrade from a queen studio guestroom to a one-bedroom king suite.

King suite 322 in Staybridge Suites Westport--St. Louis

Guestroom 322

This guestroom was the cleanest and most comfortable guestroom we stayed in this trip. The hotel was actually a few miles out of our way; however, when I was looking for hotels just south of St. Louis, this looked like one of the best options. We were happy with our decision to choose this hotel!

Rolla, Missouri: Holiday Inn Express

August 2023, Sunday night, king guestroom 322

View of Gateway Arch in St Louis from our car

We stayed at this hotel for just one night on our way south several weeks ago. I do not remember much about the stay, so it must have been okay, with no delightful or negative experiences. I have a few photos, so I am sharing those, along with the few things I do recall for sure. 

Guestroom 322 in Holiday Inn Express Rolla, Missouri

The hotel is next to I-44, with easy access to and from the expressway. It is about 1½ hours south of St Louis and Six Flags. I had also considered the Holiday Inn near Six Flags for our stop, but decided against that hotel because I thought it might have more families. I have nothing against families or children, although I do think traveling business guests tend to be quieter neighbors. The next morning, I was glad we had not chosen the Holiday Inn, because there was a fire at that hotel overnight. I do not think anyone got hurt; however, I imagine being displaced in the middle of the night must have been an ordeal for those guests.

Detroit, Michigan: Hotel Indigo, downtown

November 2022, weekday, one night, king guestroom, floor 10?

We stayed in this hotel with a free night certificate, and I do not recall our guestroom number. We were on floor 10 or 11, and the view faced east toward Campus Martius Park.

View from guestroom in Hotel Indigo Detroit, Michigan 

Arrival and platinum perks

I received 600 bonus points at check-in. The agent did not say anything to me about this; I received the email notification that the points had been deposited before we checked out. 

Guestroom in Hotel Indigo Detroit, Michigan 

Petoskey, Michigan: Holiday Inn Express & Suites

October 2022, Sunday, one night, suite guestroom 507

Valley view from suite 507 in Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Petoskey, Michigan

Arrival and platinum perks

A front desk agent called me the day of check-in just after 2:00 PM to ask what time we were going to check-in. Check-in is 3:00 PM, so I hesitated briefly, as I considered why she would be calling to ask me this. She did not really say, and I did not directly ask. I initially told her that we were in the area, and that we could check in any time between now and this evening. It sounded like maybe they were behind on cleaning rooms, and that she wanted us to arrive later. I then told her that we were not in a rush to get to the room, so it would be an hour or two. After this conversation, I inquired about a suite upgrade. We had booked a king valley view guestroom. She said they would be able to upgrade us to a high floor suite, and I said great. 

Sunset view from hall in Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Petoskey
Non-valley view guest rooms have sunset views

We arrived around 4:30 PM, and our room had not been pre-assigned. As the agent was preparing our keys, I asked if our room was a suite. I said that someone had called me a few hours ago, and said she could give us a suite upgrade. We then waited several minutes while he did something on the computer, and then he looked at some information in another area behind the counter against the wall. During this time, another employee arrived behind the counter and asked if we needed help. I told her I thought he was getting our room keys. He had not said anything to us after the initial greeting, so I was not actually sure what was going on! The first employee provided our keys a short time later, and we headed to the room (with no information from him about what kind of guestroom we had been assigned).

Guestroom diagram in Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Petoskey, Michigan

Suite 507

This guestroom is on the top floor across from the elevator. The guestroom was spacious and comfortable for the most part. The bedroom is located up front near the entrance, so we could easily hear hallway noise while in the bedroom. According to the guestroom diagram, the only top floor suite (other than the larger suites) with the bedroom located away from the hall is guestroom 509.

Suite 507 in Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Petoskey, Michigan

Troy, Ohio: Holiday Inn Express, Greenville Falls, Moeller Brew Barn

August 2022, weekdays, 2-nights

View from guestroom 333 in Holiday Inn Express Troy, Ohio

Holiday Inn Express, king guestroom 333

This is an extended guestroom near the center of the hall, overlooking the hotel entrance. 

King guestroom 333 in Holiday Inn Express Troy, Ohio

The guestroom was comfortable, spacious, and clean. 

King guestroom 333 in Holiday Inn Express Troy, Ohio