Battle Creek, Michigan / Holiday Inn

July 2018, Weekday, 1-night, 2-queen guestroom 512

In 2011, I stayed in this hotel and received an upgrade to the Honeymoon Suite! You can read about that stay in my previous blog post. Although this is a nice hotel, this stay was not as fabulous, and I encountered a couple of minor issues.

View of the Holiday Inn from the Meijer parking lot in the morning

Platinum perks and check-in

During check-in, the agent recognized my status, and asked if I wanted the bonus points for my Platinum perk, which I gladly accepted. She spoke in a huge rush, and I had a difficult time understanding her. I made a pleasant remark about needing to think about what she had said before replying because she spoke so fast. She did not respond to this, and she did not slow down, as she had me initial the check-in sheet. She did not offer any information about the guestroom or hotel before handing me the keys to my room.

Quiet Zone sign on floor 5

2-queen guestroom 512

I had reserved a room with two queen beds, because it was less expensive than a king guestroom, and a queen size bed is perfectly fine with me. I did not realize until after I got to my room, that the queen guestrooms do not have a work desk. I returned to the front desk after I had entered the guestroom to inquire about a guestroom with a work desk. The agent told me that the only rooms that have a desk are the king guestrooms, and they are $30 more per night. I was surprised by the price difference, because I had thought there was only $10 difference when I made my reservation. I told her that was more than I expected, and she stuck with the price of $165 per night that she had initially quoted. I then inquired about an upgrade, which she said was not available. So, I returned to my room to make the best of the situation.

Guestroom 512

This guestroom is comfortable for sleeping. The bed was comfortable, and I did not hear any disruptive hallway noise. It was not comfortable for working on a laptop, as the chairs did not adjust in height. The lighting was not very bright in the guestroom, and there were not enough outlets. Not counting the nightlight I usually put in the bathroom, I have three items to plug in, which includes my laptop.

Guestroom diagram from back of door

The guestrom contained a table with two chairs, Keuring K-cup coffee maker, flatscreen TV, small fridge, and a night stand with clock and lamp. Often, when a guestroom has a fridge, there is also a microwave in the room. I did not notice that there was not a microwave in this guestroom until the next morning. The guestroom diagram on back of the door was not 100% accurate, because this guestroom is a rectangle; it does not have a protrusion, like what is shown in the diagram.

Guestroom 512; view from entrance

The view from the guestroom was pleasant. It overlooked the outside pool sitting area and a pond.

View from guestroom 512

The bathroom had a tile floor, and it was a decent size with a tub/shower combination. Bath amenities were provided. I had to prop the bathroom door open with a towel when I was at the sink because it did not stay open.

Food & Beverage

The second disappointment for me at this hotel was the lack of dining availability. One reason I chose this hotel over the Marriott Courtyard across the street was for the onsite restaurant and bar. I had been driving most of the day before my arrival, and had not stopped for lunch. I expected to be able to order something from the bar to take back to my room in the afternoon, or at least be able to order room service. I arrived in the late afternoon (around 3 or 4 PM), and the restaurant did not open until 6:00 PM! No food was available via room service until after 6 PM, as well. Their website does list dinner as starting at 6:00 PM, so this is partially my fault for not reading the details more closely.

Nearby restaurants include Ruby Tuesday, Chili's, and Los Aztecas.

Misc. and overall

I do not think I would choose this hotel again when working, since the queen guestroom does not work well for that purpose. I would have paid $10 more to be switched to a king guestroom when I found that out; however, I thought $30 more for a desk was ridiculous.

Meijer is located immediately next door to this hotel, and if I had realized that when I first arrived, I would have walked to their deli to get something to eat. Instead, I ordered from Chili's, and then walked over to pick up my order. That is when I realized Meijer is so close!

Battle Creek Holiday Inn entrance

This Holiday Inn is well maintained outside and tastefully landscaped.