Holiday Inn Express & Suites Watertown by IHG — Hotel in Elmira Township

My wife and I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Watertown SD over the Labor Day weekend 2024. After having a couple of not so great experiences with hotels in this area, we decided to try the Holiday Inn (which was recommended to us). Upon arrival, the place was absolutely spotless! Walking in to the front desk area, I was immediately impressed with how clean the place was. The staff greeted me right away and was very friendly! Checking into the room was a welcomed surprise, as the room was fresh, clean, and very spacious. The lighting was wonderful! The bathroom was very spacious. Next morning, headed down for the breakfast and whoa!...First off, I was greeted by an employee with a great "good morning, how was your room? Is there anything we can do for you?" I didn't even know what to say. She then showed me the selection and advised me to let her know if I needed anything. After breakfast, we went to the front counter to check out. The lady that assisted with this was so pleasant, and even apologetic after telling her of the poor experiences we recently had with the competitive hotels in the area. I was shocked at the level of care that the staff had for each guest. I will absolutely stay here again, every time I'm in the area!!!! As far as I'm concerned, there is no other hotel in Watertown SD. Way to go everyone, you nailed...

When I arrived at the hotel (1.5 hours before posted check-in time) after a long day of travel, I was told that no rooms were clean because there was a full house the night before. That was not a problem, I found something to do until check-in time. When I returned after the posted 4 pm check-in time, I was told the same thing and it would be at least another 30-minute wait. I found that response completely unacceptable. We were obviously among a very few guests staying on a Monday night and I told the clerk that I did not want to wait 30 more minutes because check-in is a 4 pm and they have had since 11 am to clean me a room. She did not offer to put me in a room that was available. I had to ask if there was a different room that I could check in to that was clean and of course, there was. Customer service goes a long way in difficult situations. I understand they may have been short-staffed on housekeeping staff, but merely telling a guest that they have to wait because they were busy the night before is not acceptable.

On a positive note, the hotel is beautiful. The beds were comfortable. The breakfast was good.

I would have appreciated my room being cleaned a bit better. There were crumbs on the floor and I found an earbud on the...

Check-in was ok. The manager checked us in and warned us that a bus load of teenage girls would be having a pool party that evening and it should be over by 10;00 due to quiet hours. That was NOT the case. There was no pool party. However, the manager failed to mention that she obviously had authorized about 20 adults to have a birthday party in the lobby that night. The adults were drinking and carrying on like they were in a bar. They were so loud, after about 3 hours of the noise (around 11;45 am) I went to the front desk to complain about the noise. No one was manning the front desk. I called the number left at the desk and an employee answered and didn't give me a chance to speak. She just said she was busy on the third floor and hung up! I waited a few minutes and called again. She finally came down and I complained about the noise. She had lost control of the partying group. No apology offered and I doubt she even mentioned it to the party group because the noise didn't stop until about 12:30 a.m. Overpriced hotel with no regard for customer's comfort. Will never...