Holiday Inn Express & Suites Fort Walton Beach Eglin Area by IHG

The hotel was immaculately clean, and the whole team was so accommodating. Isabel and Francine gave me a warm welcome and were friendly and professional from the start. A surprise highlight was being named Guest of the Day. No other hotel has done that for me, and it felt wonderful to be recognized. Big thanks to the staff for making the visit so memorable.

The front desk agent was quick to help with basic toiletries I had forgotten, and the cookies were great. The hotel is still brand new, and the rooms were clean. A few small problems added up during the stay, but with some fixes this could easily be a gem in the Florida panhandle. When I entered the room, there was a small puddle on the bathroom floor, about the size of a sheet of paper. It looked like water, perhaps from the shower, but it didn't happen again. Housekeeping took the dirty towels during my stay but didn't leave replacements. The shampoo and body wash are in locked fixtures, and those weren't refilled when they got low. I had booked a 1 King Suite. The day before arrival, the IHG app showed a 1 King Standard Room Extra Space instead. I called, and the CSR said there was a computer system problem and switched it back to the suite, which I confirmed in the app. Check-in was a little confusing about the room category. Later, the app again showed the 1 King Standard Extra Space. IHG places the 1 King Extra Space in the Standard Room category below the Suite category. I couldn't confirm the exact square footage difference, and the difference between a suite and standard room may not be huge, but their prices are different.

The water pressure in this room was amazing for a change, and the rooms are clean with beds in decent shape. But the air conditioner in my last room sounded like a freight train when it ran. Luckily, it cooled off and I could use the heat, so I didn't have to listen to it for long. The breakfast was terrible, only lukewarm at best. I eventually told the front desk, but it was still bad. I've stayed before and it wasn't like this, so something must have changed. We were there at Thanksgiving, and it wasn't crowded at all, so that shouldn't have been the reason for the food.

We changed our drive a bit to stay here after seeing the good reviews, and it was well worth it. This is the nicest IHG property we've seen. It's brand new, with clean, very comfortable rooms that are updated and beautiful. The staff were great, and getting there was easy.