Holiday Inn Express Salinas by IHG

My father-in-law chose this hotel for the state wrestling tournament because it had a pool for my boys, ages 9 and 11. They were excited and packed their swim things and toys, only for us to arrive and find a sign at the check-in desk saying the pool was closed. They were heartbroken. The closure should have been clearly posted on the hotel website. I used to stay here for work all the time in 2018-19, so I thought it would be a good choice for this weekend. Very disappointing.

The room was nice and cleaned well, but the front desk interaction was unbelievable. I had requested a king through a third party, and because desk workers sometimes say they can't see those requests, I also called reservations to ask for one. I was prepared to get two queens. When I asked the front desk worker to confirm that she had said queens, she replied that they had no kings available, even though I hadn't mentioned a king. That made me wonder if she'd removed the request from my account. When I asked why she brought up a king, she blamed the third party, repeatedly cutting me off and going on about it instead of answering. I asked her to help the waiting guests first, then tried again once the line was gone, but she cut me off again. The third party can only be held responsible for what it did; she was accountable for her own actions. At checkout I gave the day manager a chance to discuss what had happened, but she wasn't interested. Later, I found several reviews mentioning the front desk worker's rudeness. With staff like that and a lack of training, they won't catch up with Hilton or Marriott customer service. Breakfast cost more than ihop's, though it was the same as the continental breakfast at other hotels.

Even though the pool and hot tub I booked the hotel for weren't operating, I was still very happy with our stay. The room was neat and very clean, the bed was comfortable, and we enjoyed breakfast.

The kids loved having a pool where they could splash around and use up their last bit of road-trip energy. There was also a first cemented hot tub on site, but it was a little small and out of operation during our stay. We stopped at the Holiday Inn Express in Salina while traveling through Kansas, and it gave our family a comfortable place to settle in. The rooms were spotless, the beds were very comfortable, and the welcoming, easygoing feel made us feel at home. Everything was fresh, clean, and simply laid out, which helped us relax after a long drive. It was a good family stop, and we'll definitely stay here again.