I guess I was wrong, they aren't all top notch
Written: Nov 13 '06 (Updated Feb 17 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Plenty of parking, a fantastic pool slide and pillows-pillows-pillows!
Cons: Could have been cleaner carpet by doors and food a bit fresher.
The Bottom Line: A little cleaning and prompter service would bring this Holiday Inn right up to speed in no time at all!
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| grneyedcwboy's Full Review: Holiday Inn Hays |
I can remember going to the Holiday Inn in Golden Colorado as a child and even as an adult and I often wondered how many times they had to remodel over the years. I think it was simply this: The cleaner you kept the hotel, the less you had to remodel. In my opinion and memory, I believe they remodeled about every 6-10 years. That being said, my recent stay made me believe a remodel was in order. Either that, or they needed to hire a new cleaning crew.
Many of you know from my previous review that I was to meet my long lost best friend at a central point between us and Hays just happened to be the winner. I booked my reservations online at www.HolidayInn.com and was ready for the time of my life.
Prepare Yourself to be Disappointed
I have made the trek across Kansas so many times I could do it with my eyes closed. I have stayed in many hotels in Kansas as a result. I was disgusted by every one of them except for the Holiday Inn. Now the review of the hotel you are about to read is about a hotel in a small town in Kansas. We aren't talking Palo Alto, California or even Palm Springs. This is Kansas folks, and, no offense to Kansas intended, you can't expect much from the hotels in the smaller towns.
Arrival
I got there a couple hours before Pam so I had a chance to look around. Upon entering the lobby I could smell the chlorine and feel the humidity in the air from the swimming pool. To me, that was always a major downfall of the Holidome type Holiday Inns. An indoor pool should be sequestered to one end of the hotel, not smack dab in the center. But, as you know, this is Epinions and my Opinion is just that, mine. I am sure most people don't mind it, I just don't care for it that much. In the defense of the hotel, you can get a room that doesn't face the pool and is on the outer limits of the hotel or you could even get a room in an annex they built that isn't even in the main area.
Check In
I gave my confirmation number and handed her my credit card. I was checked in within a matter of about 2 minutes. It has always been a fast check in at the Holiday Inn for me. I was given 2 room keys and directions to the room.
Follow the road around
I was told to go around the building to the door in the back. Well, there were 3 doors in the back and I chose the center one. There was a key pad entry for that door that activated at night so you had to use a key to get in and out of the hotel when going through that door after dark. It didn't work or wasn't activated as I later found out. I opened the door and immediately noticed the filthy carpet by the door. It was as if someone had changed their oil right by the door on the carpet. I walked around the spots and went up the stairs to my room.
Knock Knock
I slid the key in, opened the door and took a deep breath in. No smoke, what a relief. There were two double beds, an ample sized television, a chair in the corner by a lamp then a small table with a chair. Hmmm, no internet access? That was weird. I didn't bother climbing on the floor on my hands and knees but I could see that if there was high speed access, it wouldn't be easy to hook into. There was a computer with internet access by the front desk in the lobby for guest use so I am assuming that is what they meant by free high speed internet access. The bath had the standard complimentary mini coffee pot but it only gave single servings and you had to put your cup under the machine rather than a carafe. There was soap, lotion and shampoo and ample towels. There was the standard ironing board and iron and also a hair dryer.
One thing that was missing that I was accustomed to having at my stays at the Holiday Inn was a microwave/minifridge. I called in advance about the microwave because my back has been bothering me and I used it to heat up a pad I put on my back so I wanted to know if they had one. They said for a $20.00 deposit I could have one in my room. $20.00 for a microwave deposit? Come on people, it's not like someone is gonna tote the dang thing out to their car after you give it to them. If its not in the room, you have all their information and you can come after them. Oh well, I brought a heating pad instead. On the double beds, there were 3 pillows each with a note that said if we needed another pillow or even a special pillow such as a cervical pillow, they would be happy to provide one. That was a nice touch as the pillows and mattresses are the two things that make for a miserable night in a hotel normally.
The shower was probably the most unpleasant experience of the room. There was no water pressure to speak of, and it felt like it took forever to get the soap off your body. I am assuming they used a water softener in conjunction with the water heater as you almost felt slimy when you were rinsing off. Heck, I felt slimy even before I put any soap on my body! Soft water does that too, but this seemed to be more than soft water.
Outside the room
This was a typical Holidome as it had the swimming pool with an AWESOME slide, a whirlpool, video games, air hockey and a patio area that you could sit at to watch the kiddies when they were swimming.
There was also the standard exercise room with the usual work out equipment. Around the corner from that was a huge atrium that was just a wide open area. I have never seen these areas utilized for anything in all my years of staying at the Holiday Inn so I really don't know why they do it. I am guessing they are for wedding receptions and such. Although, there was a wedding on Saturday night and they weren't using the area, so who knows!
Near the pool was the Stadium Lounge and the restaurant. Both were closed in mid afternoon as I am sure they didn't receive enough business to remain open during those hours. We had breakfast only one morning there. We waited for an eternity for service and finally someone came up and asked us if we wanted coffee. We said yes and asked for a menu. We were told by an older waitress that it was buffet only on weekends and were assured they would get the coffee right out. Well, we went to the buffet, served ourselves and came back with a sampling of bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, french toast sticks and biscuits and gravy. There was also fruit, yogurt and cereal but we didn't get any of that. We sat back at the table only to find still no coffee. Finally, it came via the manager with an explanation that they were short handed. Good enough for me and I began to nibble at the breakfast. All of it was what I would consider average. I mean, there really isn't a spectacular way to make bacon or sausage or even scrambled eggs. I will say however, that the things they considered french toast strips were hard enough to crack a tooth and were just awful. After paying about $6.50 a person for breakfast, we went back to the room. On the way out, I read something that said the restaurant was independently owned so I suppose I cannot fault the hotel for the rock-hard french toast.
Silence is Golden
There were children enjoying the pool all weekend and there were plenty of hunters around since it was opening season for pheasant and quail hunting. The hotel had a bird cleaning station in the back of the parking lot which I thought was very nice of them to provide. But at the end of a long day, you get a bunch of kids mixed with a slew of intoxicated hunters, it can get rather loud at night. Thank goodness the pool closed at 9:00 p.m. and the whirlpool closed at 11:00 otherwise we would have never slept. Speaking of whirlpool, aren't they supposed to be hot? This jacuzzi was probably a tepid 95 degrees. I was very disappointed that it wasn't warm enough to soothe my aching back or bones. It was getting a LOT of use though so I did take that into account. I also imagined they might be trying to avoid a lawsuit by having it too hot. We didn't go into the pool but I asked someone if they thought it was warm and they were satisfied with it.
Hey, Where is My Newspaper?
I didn't get my standard paper at my door every morning. I went to the front desk and they joked that they just wanted to see me so they wanted me to come to them to get it. No big deal, but I sure didn't like having to go to the desk to get it.
Room Service and Service in General!
There was one plus that I enjoyed. The restaurant served until 11:00 p.m. and delivered room service for a $2.00 charge with an 18% gratuity. Not bad since they didn't inflate the menu prices for room service. The food was again just average and the portions were ample. It was a lot like eating at your neighborhood diner, nothing special but definitely edible. Speaking of service, we got a few prank phone calls from other rooms from some kids. We had our voice mail light blinking, checked the messages and listened to the kids rambling on and making idiots of themselves. It wasn't too annoying but it did bug me enough to call the front desk. I told them of it and they said they would look into it. Its obvious that looking into it means nothing since it happened again and they said basically they couldn't do anything about it. They were polite and apologetic though so that was okay.
I Don't Wanna Go!
Since it had been 10 years since Pam and I had been around each other, time flew by and we certainly didn't want to leave. We agreed to use our Priority Club perk and call the front desk and request extended check out. We didn't have to leave until 2:00 p.m. instead of the standard 12:00 p.m. checkout. Our bill was at the door the morning we were to leave. That is one of the standard services the Priority Club membership provides. Once again, since we signed our credit card statement at check-in, there was no need to check out at the front desk. You just take your bill and skedaddle!
Looking back
This wasn't the cleanest lobby, room or even hallways in a Holiday Inn nor was it the quietest. It wasn't the best food or the most comfortable beds. They didn't provide ALL the things I am accustomed to having when I stay at a Holiday Inn, but they did have some things I don't normally get. The vending machine on our floor was broken but the one on the first floor was loaded with snacks at reasonable prices. It was a bit chilly in the huge atrium that held the pool. But, I had my best friend there for the first time in such a long time so all that seemed so trivial to me. I guess if I were a weary traveler, I might be disgusted by the mediocre standards they held on some levels, but all in all, it wasn't a bad hotel. It wasn't the best Holiday Inn I had stayed at, but it was most certainly the best weekend I have had in a very very long time.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
grneyedcwboy
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Member: Teresa Whitaker
Location: LaCygne KS
Reviews written: 107
Trusted by: 101 members
About Me:
I have a tendency to show up here at the strangest times!
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