Holiday Inn Express Defuniak Springs

I had a business trip and was only meant to stop overnight as an elite HGI member, so I expected check-in to be simple. It wasn’t. The person at the counter, John, was rude, had terrible customer service, and didn’t seem knowledgeable. He didn’t greet me, then mishandled my payment. He also told me I was 30 minutes away from losing my room, and that I was lucky I’d come in. It was 2:30 am when I reached the room after a 10-hour drive and a 13-hour work shift, and I wanted to go straight to sleep. Instead, John came banging on my door like a cop. When I answered, he said I had to come back down to rerun my card. It was after 3 am by then. I went to pay in the lobby and got thrown out. Sorry, not sorry that I was upset when you hadn’t done your job right the first time. I won’t come back, and I’ll be reporting this to HGI. John, you and people like you should never work with customers. You suck!

In Sept. 2025 the beds were comfortable, the rooms were clean, and the shower pressure was awesome. The place could use some care, though. It’s dark throughout, especially in the hallways, and there’s a faint smell everywhere. The staff were nice enough but didn’t seem very interested. The price and location were good, and I’d stay again as long as I didn’t expect too much. Breakfast was good: pancakes, eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, fruit, yogurt, cinnamon rolls, muffins, cereal, milk, and juice.

The rooms and location are great, and Defuniak is a really fun town. But breakfast was nearly out of everything by 8 AM, even though service runs 6-9:30. They were missing signature items like cinnamon rolls. The hostess told me, “I can’t put out what I don’t have.” Apart from the check-in clerk yesterday, not one employee smiled or greeted us. We’ve stayed several nights here in the past, but the place feels different now, like the staff are unhappy.

After three nights at different Holiday Inn Expresses, I’ve decided this chain isn’t for me. The room was okay and I slept well, so the stay itself was fine. Breakfast, though, really wasn’t good. The egg dishes and breakfast meats were both bad, and I’ll pick somewhere else next time.