Holiday Inn Express Plymouth by IHG

The breakfast bar was the big surprise, those biscuits and gravy were so good for a hotel breakfast. The staff were great, and we enjoyed our stay enough to come back. The room was nice, though a little darker than I’d prefer, and the shower had hot water with strong pressure.

At least the room had DirecTV, but this Holiday Inn was well below the better ones I’ve stayed in. The room was mostly clean, though a few spots seemed questionable. The tub and toilet had been recaulked in a rush, the water pressure was practically nonexistent, and the toilets were very low, which isn’t great for men or older guests. The coffee tasted like mud, so I had to stop at McDonald’s. Breakfast was available, but there wasn’t a full spread with fruit and similar options. Wires were hanging out around the phone and TV. The rooms also seemed kept deliberately dim, or just didn’t have enough lighting, so you couldn’t see things too closely.

The staff were the one bright spot, from the front desk at check-in to housekeeping when we asked for extra towels. The beds were remarkably clean too. The rest of our stay was disappointing, and this hotel needs major upgrades and attention from corporate. We were put in room 228 on a busy Thursday night. It smelled of smoke and stayed very dark even with every light on. There was an exterior door to a balcony, which was useful for letting in fresh air, but cold air came through a gap along its side on Friday morning. We could turn up the room temperature, but the door needs fixing. The bathroom was in poor shape. The tub surround needed a thorough cleaning and new caulk. A very worn bathmat had holes where several suction cups had come off, and there was mildew on it. I showed a photo to the front desk, and they said guests had slipped in the tub before, which was why the mat was there. They suggested putting a towel over it so I wouldn’t have to touch it in the shower. The toilet was set extremely low, making it hard for people with bad knees or hips to use. Oddly, the lobby restroom downstairs had a normal-height toilet. A dog barked for much of our stay, from Thursday night through Friday afternoon and again Friday night into Saturday morning. There was also a strange smell near that room. We told the front desk, and one employee went to investigate. She confirmed she could smell it and said she’d alert someone to check, though she didn’t know what it was. By then, the guest and a fairly large dog came down to the lobby and left. Breakfast was okay, but the coffee wasn’t good. Other Holiday Inns we’ve stayed at have a special machine available around the clock; here they used regular Mr Coffee pots. I’ve stayed at Holiday Inns all my life, and this was by far the worst one I’ve had the misfortune to visit. I hope IHG fixes it for the dedicated staff and customers.

The staff were fantastic, friendly and helpful, and breakfast was solid. I feel for the people who have to work here, because the rest of the hotel was rough enough that we won’t return if we can avoid it. Our room stayed at 68 degrees even with the AC set to 60, despite nighttime temperatures in the 60s, and sleeping while sweaty wasn’t fun. The mattress seemed to slope toward the middle or drop off at the edge. The kitchen sink was clogged, the freezer was missing, and the toilet was so low it felt like a built-in squatty potty. There were large floor stains, and a clogged neighboring room flooded the hallway. We could hear people yelling down the hall and a dog barking nearby at all hours. Cigarette and weed smells seeped into the hallways. Gaps in the doors and thin walls made those problems harder to ignore. The negatives outweighed the good here.