Holiday Inn Express Hampton - Coliseum Central by IHG

We needed a room at the last minute, and the team helped us get the sleep we badly needed. Austin, Adrianne, Miss Tina, and Miss Donna all took great care of us and went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable. The bedroom was clean, well stocked, and comfortable. Breakfast was hot and tasty, with several choices, and Miss Tina was there to help us get what we needed. Thank you all for the excellent service.

I’ve stayed at IHG hotels for 14 years, during and after my military service, and this was by far my worst experience. I arrived at noon and nobody greeted me. Another guest stepped in front of me to ask for chips and got them for free, while I waited until 12:30 before anyone acknowledged me. The two people at the desk seemed more interested in talking about the work schedule than helping guests. I’ve never left a negative review before, but this was unacceptable. Customer service matters, and there was none today.

Wanda at the front desk was the best part of our stay. She was friendly and professional, sent maintenance promptly to replace the remote batteries, and quickly got us a replacement Do Not Disturb sign when the room had none. We’d already used the spares from our “just in case” kit by then. The location was handy for the highway, shopping, gas, restaurants, and leisure activities. Still, the halls and especially the bathroom felt cramped to us at 5'11" and 6'4". The floor in room 405 had an odd slope that made us trip several times, so we put a chair over it. The sheets were clean and comfortable, the fridge was spotless, and the furniture outside the bed area looked recently updated. The hotel and room themselves, though, felt dated and unclean. Soap was watered down, the holders kept falling off, there was mold and yellow film around the bathroom caulk, and the showerhead base and other bathroom spots were rusty. The toilet needed the handle held for 20 seconds and usually took two or three flushes. The couch was visibly stained, with dust and debris in corners and under furniture, as if it hadn’t been vacuumed recently. Dead remote batteries, worn walls and fixtures, and other signs of wear stood out too. We stayed 4-7 Nov. After reading other reviews, I saw that others had raised similar concerns. The place needs a deep clean and a full update to meet IHG standards and justify the nightly rate. Housekeeping only does a light spruce-up during a stay, with anything more done by request. If those things don’t bother you, it may be fine for a short visit, but anyone expecting what they paid for may want to stay elsewhere. Wanda did make sure maintenance came in a timely way, and she got the missing sign to us quickly.

Tonight, from my hotel room, the air conditioner hums while I think about tomorrow’s NNS Medical Screening Intake, the forms and tests, and the hope that comes with it. I came down from Connecticut for the intake, and I may try for a zoo visit in Norfolk afterward if I can make one clean crossing of the water. The day before the appointment was free, so I went to see the old warship in the harbor. Wisconsin was there in steel and shadow, and I walked her weathered decks and traced the armored frame. A guide named Larry took us into the hidden combat rooms and talked quietly about the Austin and the years at sea. Then I drove toward my hotel as the afternoon faded, thinking the hard part was over. I was wrong. I-64 was a river of brake lights. I waited, cursed, and barely moved. My navigator offered a faster route, and I took it, passing the patient drivers and trucks, convinced I was getting ahead. The road curved on and on until I came to a lonely on-ramp with a sign: “OPEN 8:30 PM.” The sign was clear. Then the navigator calmly told me to make a U-turn. So I retraced my route and joined the traffic again, back through all the lights and delays I’d left behind. Austin wisely said, “I don't leave.” He knows the local legends and the long queues, and has watched travelers lose to them again and again. Now the thought that stays with me isn’t Wisconsin, Larry’s stories, or tomorrow. It’s the highway by the water, the brake lights pouring past, and that voice saying “endless” over and over. I-64.