Holiday Inn Express Birch Run for an Express Vacation
Written: Aug 13 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice clean accommodations; nice amenities; and a good price.
Cons: Wish it had a restaurant on site.
The Bottom Line: This is a very nice hotel that is clean and that has a professional and friendly staff.
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| Prepoia's Full Review: Holiday Inn Express Birch Run |
Two years ago my daughter and I decided it was time to “get away” together and since we both love shopping, we selected to travel to the outlet stores at Birch Run, Michigan. We had been there many times when the kids were growing up and always included Frankenmuth, Michigan and Bronner’s Christmas store as part of the trip. So I made reservations at the Holiday Inn Express in Birch Run for our “get away” vacation. We just booked it for one night because while a fun trip, one night and a couple of days is all that the area promises. My husband and I just did the same kind of trip and though we didn’t stay at this hotel (we chose to stay at the Country Inn and Suites which is located inside the mall) we did check out this hotel as well. I liked the Holiday Inn Express but we were able to get the other hotel for a bit cheaper rate and most of the amenities were similar (although not as complete). This hotel costs $95.00 a night (without taxes) and the one we stayed at was $76.00 a night with taxes included.
My daughter and I enjoyed our night at the Holiday Inn Express very much. We didn’t spend a lot of time there but it was clean and the service was great. As far as cost, I consider any hotel in the area for under $100 a value. There are many hotels and the average cost is $120.
What It Offers
Location:
It is located right off of I-75 Expressway. You can see it from the expressway. It is just across the expressway from the Birch Run shopping outlet stores. It is 7 miles from the Bavarian village of Frankenmuth and the world famous Bronner’s Christmas store.
Check In/Check Out Times:
Check in is at 4:00 pm and check out is 11:00 am. I did find the check in time to be a bit late. We are not traveling a long distance to get to this area and so we had to plan out a day of activities before we were able to check in. They were good about letting us stay a bit later then the check out time and we didn’t actually leave the hotel until 1:00 pm.
Miscellaneous
The hotel offers a discount for government employees and seniors (and also gave us a discount for AAA even though it is not advertised). This saved us about $10.00.
There is no kennel and there are no pets (other than service pets) allowed.
Parking is on the premises and is free but not a covered parking structure. We actually had no problem parking near our room when we arrived but had to park a distance from our room location on occasion. All parking lots are well-lighted and handicapped is available.
The hotel accepts most major credit cards such as Visa, Master Card, Discover, American Express and Diners Club.
A free area newspaper was delivered to our door in the morning.
The hotel was renovated in 2002. On the Epinions listing it states that there is a casino and a few other amenities that the hotel doesn’t actually have. If you want a particular amenity, I suggest that you check out the website for this hotel or call ahead of booking a room or suite.
There is no restaurant on the site but the hotel offers a really nice Continental Breakfast in the morning that is included in your room price. You can also order pizza to be delivered and the hotel is surrounded by area restaurants such as Applebees, Big Boy, Tony’s, and more. If you like something different, try Tony’s. It is a very unpretentious restaurant that offers huge meal portions (picture a pound of bacon to go with 8 huge pieces of French toast for $6.95 or a banana split that serves four normal eating sweet fans.) There is also a movie theater nearby and an Exposition building that holds weekend events (like gun shows, etc.).
For those of you who like to workout, there is a small workout area with a few machines like a treadmill and weights. There is a small game room for the kids. There is a very nice pool area. Ice, snack, and pop machines are located on each floor.
The Rooms
The rooms are pretty standard fare hotel rooms. We did not have or see the suites. Ours had two queen sized beds; a desk, lamp and chair; coffee maker; microwave; and mini refrigerator. They also had an iron and ironing board and individually controlled air conditioning.
The bathroom had a tub/shower and hairdryer. It was large enough and had ample counter space.
There was a television that had colored, cable/satellite reception and it offered in room pay per view movies. There was a telephone and the hotel states that they have high-speed internet access (although we didn’t need or use it.)
They offer connecting rooms (again we didn’t need this but used to when we traveled as a family) and is a nice option to ask for when a group is traveling together.
The hotel says that their suites offer a dining table, sofa bed, separate living room, and kitchenette.
Negatives
There really weren’t any negatives. The only thing that we were looking specifically for was a balcony and we stopped at many hotels in that area and none had balconies. My daughter and I really enjoy sitting out on a balcony and relaxing when on vacation. Other hotels in the area cost more but still didn’t offer the one thing we were looking for. So, the cost of this one is a value (although we were willing to pay more for a balcony).
The staff was professional, friendly, and helpful.
If you are looking for overnight accommodations that offer bang for the buck, you’ll enjoy staying at this hotel.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Prepoia
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Michigan
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 319 members
About Me:
I Love My Family, Teaching, Reading, the Internet, and Travel (and Epinions of Course)!
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