Waco, Texas / Holiday Inn & Suites Waco Northwest

November 2016, Weekday, 2-nights, King whirlpool guestroom 504

Check-in

The Holiday Inn & Suites in Waco, Texas is similar to a few other Holiday Inn & Suites I have stayed in: the one at the Denver airport, Ft. Myers Airport Town Center, and I do not recall the others for sure. I recall the lobby visual, and my exact experiences in the bar and dining room, in one of the other properties I stayed in; just not where it was!

Lobby view from elevator; restaurant and bar straight ahead

During check-in, the front desk agent recognized my status and mentioned a whirlpool, as she was talking about upgrades. I told her I probably would not use a whirlpool this stay; I said I was mainly interested in a guestroom in a quiet area with a nice workspace. I was uncertain about exactly which guestroom type I had received until I arrived at the guestroom. I also received a 10% discount dining coupon, and my choice of bonus points or an on-property amenity. 

Whirlpool guestroom 504

This spacious guestroom is located across from the elevators. The tile bathroom was on the right after entering the guestroom. It contained a large walk-in shower, and the vanity counter extended the length of the room. Bath & Body Works amenities were provided, and the towels were good quality.

View of bathroom just inside the entrance

A full length mirror was mounted on the wall outside the bathroom. A closet with doors was on the opposite wall next to the wet bar, which contained a sink, small fridge, microwave, and Keurig coffeemaker with supplies. The K-cup coffee quality was excellent. Powdered creamer was provided in the guestroom, and liquid creamer was available at the coffee station in the lobby between the front desk and restaurant. The cupboards in the guestroom were stocked with dish soap, a few disposable kitchen items, and a roll of paper towel.

A large whirlpool tub was located in the corner of the guestroom against the outside bathroom wall (apparently, I forgot to take a photo of that!). I did not use the tub, although I did partially fill it with water the first evening to get some moisture into the room because it was very dry in the guestroom.

Other items in the guestroom included a king size bed, two nightstands with lamps, an alarm clock, a telephone, flatscreen TV on an armoire, leather chair and footstool, and floor lamp. A desk with chair, lamp, and second telephone were located around the corner on the other side of the bed. There were two large windows in the guestroom, although they did not open.

The guestroom was clean and comfortable. There were outlets on the base of each table lamp, so there were plenty of outlets to plug in electronics. The Internet connection speed was good.

Diagram from back of guestroom door

Even though this guestroom is near the elevators and ice machine, I did not hear any noise from the hall. The walls between the guestrooms, however, are very thin. I could hear two guests talking in the room next door, 506. They were merely having a normal conversation, yet it was disturbing and kept me up (I retire and rise early, especially since I live in the eastern time zone). Likewise, I think my alarm awoke them the next morning. After my alarm went off, I heard a bit of conversation from next door, and then it got quiet again. Their evening conversation would not have kept me up, if the head of the bed in my guestroom had been against the opposite wall next to the stairwell. That placement might not work for all guests though, because then the TV in guestroom 504 would be against the wall between the two guestrooms, which might be the wall where the head of the bed in that room is located. I do not turn the TV on when I am traveling for work, although I am sure many guests do.

Before I left the next day, I called the front desk to ask if the guests next to me were checking out or staying another night. If they had been staying another night, I wanted to request a different guestroom. The front desk agent said they were checking out. I did not hear any noise the second night of my stay. I did not have housekeeping service during my stay because I arrived back at my guestroom in the early afternoon, and my room had not been cleaned yet. I had work to do, so when housekeeping knocked on the door a short time later, I merely requested coffee supplies.

Food & Beverage

As a Platinum member, I received one complimentary glass of wine or beer in the lounge each evening. Complimentary snacks were set up in the bar area both evenings for all guests: cheese, crackers, fresh vegetables, and dip.

Salad to-go

I ordered an entree salad to-go one evening, and soup of the day the next evening. Both items were very good. I do not recall the name of the salad I had. It was topped with fruit, vegetables, and feta cheese (protein could be added for an extra charge). It was served with raspberry vinaigrette and ciabatta bread.

I had the slider trio for breakfast, which was excellent! I was afraid this would be too much starch and fat for me; however, it worked out very well. The country potatoes side contained a good portion of cooked vegetables along with the potatoes; peppers, onions, and more. And, I opted not to finish the sausage slider. The other two sliders were not greasy at all.

Fitness center

I loved that the fitness center was open 24 hours. It was located behind the elevators across from the restaurant and lounge. There were a couple of cardio machines with cardio theater, hand weights, weight machine, workout bench, towels, drinking fountain, sani-wipes, and a TV on the wall. I used the fitness center a couple of times, and it did not appear that anyone had used it besides me.

Business center

The business center behind the front desk contained two computers and a printer. I was able to print a couple of documents with no trouble. If you download anything on a computer in the business center to print, be aware that the information is not cleared off when you log off, like it is in many hotels. The best you can do is to delete items from the download folder, and then empty the trash.

Let me know if you have any questions. Feel free to share this post for others!