Declaring Independence on a Holiday
Written: Oct 26 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of restaurants nearby and not a long drive to major attractions.
Cons: No hot tub/in room movies. No mini bar or closet door. Not many frills.
The Bottom Line: No major frills, but a clean, comfortable, friendly place to stay. Not too far to drive to attractions that families like, but big time savings from downtown Cleveland hotels.
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| pokemonsick's Full Review: Holiday Inn CLEVELAND-S INDEPENDENCE |
Ok, let's establish that this is not the Ritz we are visiting here. This is not a 5 star, multiple amenity, luxury resort. What it is is a good old Holiday Inn of the old school variety.
What do I mean by that? I mean it is a clean, homey, dependable atmosphere in a nice, but busy neighborhood you will be checking yourself into. They also have extra hospitality to spare.
The rooms are typical hotel chain size with 2 full size beds per double room. A standard desk with phone and the now ever important internet hook up capability sits to the side. A wardrobe holds your tv, but no mini bar and has drawers at the bottom for clothes as well as a dresser. There is a closet for hang me ups, but there is no door on it which I did not like as we usually store our luggage within to keep it out of sight and my youngest usually uses it as a changing room as well to save time getting ready to go places (a modest lass). A chair, lamps and small table as well as the usual nightstands completes the picture. All your basic furnishings. Also a combination heater/air conditioner where you set the temperature and fan speed for climate control of the room.
The bathroom is pretty standard with a sink, tub/shower combination, and a toilet. On the counter you will find the now standard soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. In addition you will find a small 4 cup coffee pot with a decaf and a regular coffee packet which are complimentary. Little packages wrapped in plastic containing coffee stir, napkin, powdered creamer and sugar as well as cups and plastic water glasses complete the countertop. Plenty of towels and washcloths are near to hand.
The hotel does have a perk we enjoy. A good sized indoor swimming pool. Wasn't sure how I felt the first night we climbed in though and I felt I had just stepped into a rather cool hot tub or a nice warm bath! During our stay we noticed the temperature decreased by several degrees which was nice as I don't like a cold pool, but would like to exit feeling somewhat refreshed not sleepy. There is a dry sauna as well, but alas no jacuzzi or hot tub for those tuckered out muscles. A perk we missed was in room movies- none available.
This location has a restaurant on the premises which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner called Michaels Grille. Have to admit we only sampled breakfast and it was plenty tasty and not too badly priced. If memory serves around $28 tax and tip included for a family of 4 with none eating free as mine are over age 12- remember at Holiday Inns kids under 18 stay free in parents room and kids 12 and under eat free with an adult meal purchased from the menu. We all had the hot/cold buffet. Within a 4 block radius there had to be at least 15 other restaurants to eat at including some chains like Bob Evans and Dennys. One of my favorites was just a tad further down the road called the Winking Lizard Tavern.
Best of all by staying here rather than in downtown Cleveland which was our first choice was that we saved an average of $40-$100 per NIGHT from the downtown choices! It is only a 9-18 mile drive from just about all the attractions we wished to see including the Cleveland Zoo, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Natural History Museum, the Great Lakes Science Center, Geauga Lake Amusement Park (which is NO longer a Six Flags) and the Cleveland Amphitheater where we went for a concert.
On site there is also a gift shop that sells toiletries, snacks, newspapers, stuffed animals and the usual tourist paraphenalia. I believe we received USA today at our door each morning free of charge as well.
We did luck out on a corporate rate of $79 tax per night, but the AAA rate was only $89 per night and the best offer available was I believe $94.
Like I said, not a fancy, schmancy place, but a clean comfortable place for your family to stay.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
pokemonsick
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Member: Marla Hansen
Location: Niagara Falls, NY USA
Reviews written: 106
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
I'll be back sometime in mid July with some Myrtle Beach, SC reviews...
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