Vinland Hotel and Lounge — Attraction in Solvang

To future guests: AVOID ROOM 124 or any 1st floor room outside the enclosed hallway for reasons listed below. ||||I don't typically write negative reviews, but I feel compelled to share my experience from my recent stay (April 25-27, 2025). What was meant to be a relaxing getaway for me and my baby turned into a frustrating ordeal. From the moment we settled in for the night, the heater became a major issue. It was very loud, clicking on and off throughout the night, and disturbed both me and my baby several times (baby normally sleeps through the night with maybe one wake-up, but we were up 5-6 times due to the noise). Given that the nighttime low was 49 deg F, I had no choice but to keep the heater on. By 5AM, I was so exhausted that I turned it off, only to wake up two hours later to a room temp of 63 deg. In addition, the fridge was noisy, the bathroom fan didn't work, and there was a noticeable gap in the door, which let in a draft and outside noise, not to mention the significant wear and tear. Room 124 is located outside the enclosed building/hallway section, which means every issue was amplified. I tried to make the best of it and spent the next day exploring town, but I felt the need to return for an afternoon nap, which I was still kept awake but this time by people passing by and rolling their luggage (then I realized it was check-in time). For nearly $400 a night, this experience is unacceptable and honestly, at one point, it felt like a bad joke. ||||After a difficult night, I looked up reviews and found multiple from last year describing the exact same issues. It's clear that there are long-standing problems and little to no effort has been done to address them. So the following morning, I approached the front desk to be moved to a quiet room for the second night and also inquired about compensation for the first night. I was informed that the manager needed to review the refund request, but the front desk staff would work on finding me a quieter room once rooms became available after check-out/cleaning. Ultimately, I was informed by the front desk that the manager decided on a $200 refund (~1/2 of the first night rate). While I appreciated the gesture, I am not certain that it fully addresses the inconvenience experienced. Additionally, the lack of direct communication from the manager left the resolution feeling more like a formality than a genuine effort to make things right. On a positive note, Lauren at the front desk was professional, kind, and helpful. Thankfully, I was able to move to Room 306 on the second night, which was quiet, comfortable, and closer to what I had...

The property is very misleading to what it looks like online vs reality. The "plush" bed is a main amenity, It was a bed minimally made, that's a basic understanding to get a basic bed when booking a hotel room. The wifi was horrible and assuming maybe that's what the TVs are connected to because I couldnt even watch tv with out it pending the channel, getting stuck and then repeating 30 secs of a show on a loop and not being able to change the channel just had to turn it off. I was extremely busy while I was there so I didn't expect that in the evening, when all I wanted to do was watch tv and chill, that wouldnt be an option. Location doesn't have a gym or anything really that gives the vibe of stay here and enjoy your time. There is mold in the showers, coffee stains on the night stands and you can smell the mold in the air especially once that ac turns on! It smells like pirates of the Caribbean in the halls and the rooms. The ac was literally giving off so much moisture into the air my cellphone detected liquid and wouldn't charge!! Other friends that had booked, had to check out and find a different spot because of the horrible conditions. I unfortunately couldn't find anything else open that was reasonable last min and didn't have enough time to pack up and leave in between my events that weekend. I feel completely taken and sick to my stomach that I was basically tricked and trapped into my stay there with no other options as I was apart of a wedding party there. You had minimal lighting, and no counterspace for a someone to be able to get ready in the room. The security of the place, I did not even need my key card to open the entry hallway doors!? are you kidding me. Luckily my fiancé was with me on this trip. He was so disgusted by our stay he went across the street to the Hadsten to have a drink at their bar instead. You hire young kids that take greeting new arrivals as a joke, Just slouching on stools dressed to match their work. Needless to say after hearing the lack of concern when my pregnant girlfriend complained about the mold and she showed pictures .... that your staff wouldnt care. The list goes on and its just not something you can really capture into words when you have this type...

The air conditioning did not work during an early September heat wave.

Staff tried to "fix it" by throwing the breaker since the woman at the front desk claimed this had fix this problem before, i.e. it is a reoccurring problem the hotel management hasn't bothered fix.

Her male colleague led me to the circuit breakers and reset the breaker and went into my room where he confirmed the thermostat was set correctly. I was advised to give it a bit of time to see if their "trick" had fix the AC.

It did not. It was in the low 80s in the room. We opened the sliding glass door to the balcony and tried to sleep. After all night, the room cooled to a barely tolerable 79 degrees.

Adding to my mistake of booking here, we had taken this trip to see a play at the Solvang Festival Theater, so by the time the play ended and we returned to the room, it was nearly midnight so it was too late to drive home. And being the weekend, the hotel & town was sold out.

Other issues making this the worse Holiday Inn Express I've been to is a bed side lamp with a bulb held in the lamp with scotch-type tape. The shower fixture was falling part. This place was seriously more of a dump than many discount brands (e.g., Motel 6 & Super 8) and rundown 1950s vintage mom & pop motels I've stay in.

Final, insult to injury, this was Labor Day Weekend, we paid a premium rate (almost $300) to experience one of the most miserable nights of our lives!

Side note, the play and town were both fun; too bad this place blemishes the town, the Holiday Inn brand, and the entirety of the Intercontinental Hotel group!

You've been warn; you too may not know if you're getting the trashy room with no AC until it's too late to flee. Or there may be multiple such rooms; I know I won't be staying here again...