Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Florence I-95 at Hwy 327 by IHG

11/22 update: My second visit was a letdown. First I was sent to a room housekeeping was still working on, then moved to another floor. That room was right by the elevator, and each time it went up or down, the vibration was really loud. I couldn’t sleep. They were also out of water bottles to give guests. My first visit was a good place to stop for the night, with courteous staff, a decent free breakfast, and good heat and AC in the room.

We’ve stayed at this hotel since 2002 and have never been disappointed. The rooms are always clean and ready, but breakfast is my favorite part. It’s free, and Lisa B. has kept the food area clean and the food stocked every time we’ve been there. She does an amazing job, and the breakfast is among the best.

I checked in Friday at 4:30 pm and asked about baggage carts. The lady found one and warned me it was old and loose. Outside, men were washing the Holiday Inn sign, with a hose stretched across the parking lot. After loading the cart, I couldn’t get it over the hose. A man getting out of his car tried to help. I’d just told him the cart was loose when its metal pipe came off and swung into my right eye. It hurt badly. I got my luggage to the room, returned the cart, and told them to take it out of service. No one offered any compensation for the room or anything else. I filled out an incident report. The man who’d tried to help was also an employee there. The way this was handled was totally unacceptable, and I’m unsatisfied.

I accidentally booked the wrong state, same town and same chain, but the front desk guy was wonderful about it. He found us a room at the same price and was really pleasant. The place was clean, clean, clean, with an indoor pool and workout room. Breakfast was really good and had the usual things, including a pancake maker, but no waffles. Still a nice stay.