I went to this hotel for a two day business conference. When I think of Holiday Inn, I think of a value property, and not necessarily a high end hotel. However, no one told the staff that they were not working for the Ritz. Everyone was super helpful and clearly proud of their work. Upon checking in, I asked and was provided a list of area restaurants I could walk to. However, the very nice young clerk said "Consider eating here, the food is actually very good". I was slightly taken aback when I entered my room and saw a small placard providing the terms of the "Kids eat free" program. How good could the food BE?
About the room: Small, but clean and brightly lit. Had a safe, an ironing board, an iron, an (empty) room refrigerator. No magnifying mirror in the bathroom which made makeup application trickier for this 50-something. On the way in, I passed a large, clean, also brightly lit coin-operated laundry room. Obviously this place is geared for families.
Having gotten in late, I did decide to eat at the property restaurant. The dining room was a little TOO bright, felt like a cafeteria--but there are signs in the lobby touting the planned remodel. Went to the bar for a burger. OMG. I was served, quickly, a VERY good burger cooked exactly as I liked, and the bartender was super polite and friendly.
The next morning, went to the ballroom for the conference, and was expecting a "continental breakfast". Was instead served a really good breakfast buffet, the eggs were perfectly cooked, the chafing dishes were replenished, and the service was top notch. All conference attendees I chatted with remarked how nice the buffet was. Next, lunch buffet. Really solidly good. And then the dessert buffet served at 2:00 pm. Same for the second day, the catering here is REALLY good! The servers were quiet, polite, and smilingly friendly.
Met up with some conference people at the beach, and decided to go to the tiki bar. Closed that down, and moved to the indoor bar. Once again, dinner at the property. Why leave? The food was surprisingly good; we were all commenting on that.
In sum, the two standouts at this property was this: The staff and the catering. The staff I met clearly cared about their jobs, from the front desk staff, to the two bartenders, to the gentleman at the pool handing us towels, to the housekeepers who responded to a written note I left for an additional service, but especially the waiters--one even leaned in and asked with a smile, "how is the food?"--you could tell his point was that he was proud to be serving what turned out to be simple but excellently prepared meals.
For a value property, I felt we were granted 5-star service and food service. The conference room/ballroom was clean and well-maintained. We kept running into clearly happy families enjoying themselves. I would HAPPILY go back to any conference at this property, and considering the quality of the catering, I am sure anyone would be happy to host a wedding here.
