Holiday Inn Ex Ste Porterville by IHG

The hotel itself is really nice, and the front desk staff were friendly. I stayed last week in a first-floor room at the back, closest to Jaye Street, and the road noise was awful. Trucks from a nearby distribution center went by all night. There’s also a roundabout on Jaye Street with lots of traffic slowing down and speeding back up. I think a room on the parking lot side at the front, since there’s no parking behind the hotel, or a room upstairs might be quieter.

I’d gladly come back here, especially for the cleanliness, comfort, and great staff. I’ve been in another hotel for a long-term stay now, and this one compares well. I spent six weeks at Porterville Holiday Inn Express. The rooms were spacious enough for a longer stay, with comfortable mattresses and pillows, which matter a lot to me. Breakfast worked well for the size of the property when my schedule allowed me to eat there. The hotel is relatively new and well maintained. Staff were attentive and professional, and management balanced friendliness with efficiency. Housekeeping stood out for being polite, friendly, and diligent about keeping everything spotless. Laundry was a regular frustration, though, since the washers and dryers broke down too often. When only one machine worked, finding a time to do laundry was difficult. The Jacuzzi hot tub was also disappointing. It was often out of service, and even when it worked, it felt like a lukewarm bath with little water movement instead of a real jetted tub. I’d urge the hotel to repair and maintain it rather than remove it, since a working hot tub matters a lot to me. Fix those laundry and hot tub problems, and this could easily be the best place in town.

The kids had fun at the pool, and the fitness center met our needs, though one treadmill was broken. Breakfast was good, but they were disappointed that there were no potatoes on the second day. The stay was lovely otherwise. I gave it only three stars because the old TV menu kept freezing while we changed channels. It eventually froze on a paid adult channel, and we couldn’t get “11” DEEP IN MY HOT STEPMOM” off the screen. It was embarrassing and made me really anxious.

The rooms were clean and spacious, and the staff were friendly. For the money, it worked out pretty well for me, my wife, and our two kids. Breakfast was the one glaring exception. There were very few choices, the food tasted bad, the cutlery was plastic, the plates were paper, and the tables were dirty. I’ve stayed in a few hundred hotels over the past few years, including Holiday Inns, and this one’s breakfast stands out in a bad way. Maybe the European part of the network is much better, but breakfast was the only real difference I noticed.