Holiday Inn Express & Suites Edmonton South by IHG — Hotel in Edmonton

A pleasant stay worthy of a visit when traveling or vacationing in Edmonton.

Upon checking in, the lobby provided a warm, comforting, and inviting space - exactly what one hopes for in a hotel. Despite the numerous renovations ongoing during this visit, the fact that the area gave the impression of a relaxed and hospitable space bodes well for the establishment.

To begin with, I should start by saying this hotel did a good job considering all the circumstances involving COVID & sanitization. Along with this, the overall cleanliness was great, albeit with room for improvement in a few areas, like scuffs and dirt marks in the bathroom that could have been detailed out better prior to our arrival into our room. That said, I never felt my room, or any area I visited in the hotel for that matter was unclean, which is a big positive for this location of Holiday Inn.

In terms of restrooms, while amenities like the toilet paper were on the cheaper side - being 1 ply - everything else restroom wise was well presented and nicely maintained. One issue that is hard to overlook is the noticeable gap between the shower curtain and the tub itself that resulted in water leakage onto the tile floor after every shower, which is an unfortunate design flaw and likely a reoccurring problem in most rooms of this hotel. That said, this is also a problem that could be easily fixed - I hope the staff pay attention to areas like these as they work through their other renovations as I understand it could be easily overlooked as well.

Although flaws like these were apparent, there also many notable perks. Both the pool and the exercise room were open, the latter of which was quite small with a couple of treadmills and few weights, but serviceable nonetheless. Continental breakfast was offered during the mornings, served via takeout this time, and they did a fantastic job handling the rush of guests in a timely fashion.

One of, if not the biggest flaw of this hotel is the combination of the curtain system and the bright street lights that remain illuminated at the front of the hotel throughout the night. While the view of the main road was nice, the curtains for the windows do not shut all the way, and the bright streetlights that were already a general annoyance become a much larger issue after this realization as it impedes on the general premise of a hotel.

Ultimately, I really did enjoy my time and experience at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Edmonton South. The staff were nice, the hotel was clean, and above all the experience felt safe. As it stands right now those issues hold it back from reaching the next level, making the experience a 3.75 (3 for the sake of this review). Fixing a few of these issues would really go a long way in making it a top Holiday Inn experience and helping it secure a spot in...

I booked for our soccer team for a tournament weekend. This hotel is currently UNDER RENOVATION… something that would have been nice to be notified about prior to booking our room block. Upon arrival, the front lobby looked nice and clean and staff at the front desk were friendly enough. We went up to our floor and saw stacks of construction materials (tile, lighting fixtures, etc.) piled in every corner of the hallway. Some carpet had been replaced, baseboards all removed… they were clearly smack in the middle of renovations. Lighting was poor which made the hallways look dark and dingy.

Our room was clean, your basic double queen room. Beds were ok, not the most comfortable. Bathroom supplies were very minimal in comparison to other hotels, but the basics were there. Our a/c unit made so much noise. It sounded like a defective timing belt every time it kicked in. Add that to the cars racing outside the hotel till 3am… Needless to say we didn’t sleep too great the first night. We requested for maintenance to take a look at it or a new room the next day. We did get a new room but received a call while we were at the tournament asking us to come back to move our things over so that housekeeping could clean the room we were vacating so that they could go home. That was definitely not appreciated.

In an attempt to plan a team meal at the hotel I had requested the use of their conference room, we had about 40 parents and kids. I was told it was under renovations and not available. I then asked if we could use their breakfast area and shared that we would provide our own plates/cutlery and would clean up afterwards, to which I was told they “don’t allow that”. I was then offered their front lobby that had two coffee tables and numerous couches, clearly not set up for a group of 40 for a sit down meal. I expressed that other hotel guests would probably not appreciate that and declined their offer. A “team room” request was also denied.

When we received our game schedule we knew we had a later game on check out day. I requested a late checkout for our group via email twice about a week prior to our arrival. I did not get a response and had to ask at check in. I was told they would contact me the next day with confirmation and I didn’t hear from them (except to come back to switch rooms promptly). I had to go back the morning of checkout to ask again and was finally given the green light.

Overall, we will not be returning to this hotel. Communication is poor, the hotel is uncomfortable, and the customer experience is not at the forefront. If you are looking to book this hotel for a large group, Do Not Book Here, you can find many better hotels for the same group rate who are more accommodating, better situated, and not in the middle of renovations. Spend your hard earned...

Could be better, could be worse. Our stay here last weekend was just average. I work in hospitality so I guess I notice small things that many other travelers wouldn't.

The rooms were clean, but small and nothing to write home about. Standard basic cable, I encourage management to think about upgrading. Many hotels are now running smart TVs with Netflix, Amazon capabilities etc. It seems the TV's have the option for this but has not been installed. It's really nice to come back to your hotel room after a long day with kids and watch a movie. Beds were comfortable and our request for a quiet room was honored, we were placed at the end of a hall on an upper floor and didn't hear a thing all night except the outside traffic.

The lobby and pool definitely left something to be desired. While the staff were friendly during check in, I noticed the water set out for guests sat unchanged with no fresh ice for the entire afternoon/evening. The next morning it was gone (hopefully to be changed?). The lobby was untidy and garbage overflowing while the staff chatted instead. The pool area was unbearably warm, old, and in dire need of upgrades. The box next to the hot tub made a loud screeching noise when the jets were turned on, and the emergency phone that was once on a shelf next to the pool was removed. There should be a way for guests to contact front desk if something were to happen. I didn't bother to check out the pool bathrooms.

The breakfast was awful. The scrambled eggs had sat out so long that they had molded together, the omelettes were cut into halves (or more like quarters) and had no taste. The turkey sausage was also flavorless, and the "fresh" bacon put out was microwaved on a paper plate, and was so hard it cracked into pieces when you tried to pick it up. I'm definitely not a picky person but I was really disappointed.

It seems the biggest issue here is the lack of pride from staff and management in the property. Many small changes could be made to ensure a much better first impression for guests. I would probably choose to stay elsewhere on my next trip to Edmonton, but it wasn't horrible for an overnighter. The location is fantastic if you plan on spending any time at the South Edmonton Commons and the property could be so much better with a little bit of time and effort...