Holiday Inn Express Golden-Kicking Horse by IHG

Breakfast was basic but did the job, and I liked having self-serve hot water and coffee. The room had a microwave, and the front desk service was very good. It’s a Holiday Inn chain hotel, so the quality felt generally reliable. Our room was clean, the hot water was strong, and the heater worked well. Disposable items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste aren’t provided automatically, so bring your own or ask the front desk if you forget.

The room was a decent size and the bed was comfy, and breakfast was decent too. The location was okay, since Golden is small if you’re driving, though it isn’t perfect. But the hot tub not working was a complete letdown. They told me over the phone it was working, and that was the only reason I chose this hotel over a hostel. They offered a discount but couldn’t process it. The room also wasn’t very clean, with crumbs around and things that needed wiping down. I might stay again, but that hot tub issue really spoiled it.

The rooms were nice, but we barely slept. From 12:30am-3:00am, drunk people were loudly going between rooms in the hallway. Then at 6am an alarm started sounding in the room next to us, which seemed empty, and nobody was there to turn it off. We could hear it through the walls. Breakfast could be great, with lots of hot food choices and a nice seating area. When we ate at 9:30 there was still plenty left, but everything was about room temperature. If it were hot, breakfast would be really good.

Our family of four stayed here for our Canadian Rockies trip to save money compared with Banff, and we were happy with the stay. The breakfast was nice.