Holiday Inn Express & Suites Knoxville-North-I-75 Exit 112 by IHG — Hotel in Knoxville

For those who like short reviews: Save your time, money, effort and aggravation and walk a few steps further to La Quinta.

If you want to hear the rest of the story, keep reading.

We waited too long to make reservations during Thanksgiving week, so we were offered their last room which was supposedly an executive suite.  When we entered the room our 13 year old daughter remarked that it didn't look like a suite.  Later we would realize her talent as a prophetess.  The first morning we were rudely awakened to the chill of having no heat.  Sometime after we went to bed, the heater stopped producing heat which is the sole duty I expect from a heater.  As I mentioned this was Thanksgiving week in Knoxville with an outside  temperature of 37.  The following night we were treated to the cable TV not producing images on the screen in addition to no heat.

That morning we were told that the heater would be fixed.  After pressing the front desk manager, she only offered a $40 credit for our inconvenience.

When we returned that night after midnight, we were unable to unlock our door with either key card.  We went downstairs to ask for assistance from the front desk clerk.  She told us that our belongings had been moved to a different room.  We were shocked that someone else had moved everything in our room.  We were given a card to check our room and another card for the new room we were assigned.  When we checked our room we found that nothing had been touched which was a relief but when we saw the new room we knew we had not been staying in an executive suite.  The new room was much bigger than ours.  We had been paying for a larger room but staying in a regular sized room.  The other problem was that the clerk said that our old room with our clothes was marked open which meant that a staff person could have given our room to someone else with access to our valuables.  The liability for such a scenario would have been a nightmare.  What was even more frustrating was that the first night in the new larger executive suite was without a working heater too.

The next morning we asked to speak to the person in charge of the hotel. Taylor listened to our concerns about our disastrous stay at Holiday Inn Express. He was sympathetic and apologetic at the time.  He told us he would comp the first few nights and the rest of our stay.  When we got the bill, his idea about the length of the week was different than ours because we were charged the higher rate for the latter part of the week.  What he said did not match the bill.  Our experience at Holiday Inn was not hospitable and left us with a bad impression.

We contacted Holiday Inn customer relations but they provided no help only saying that local management was the final word.  They said we talked to the general manager named Keith and he settled it.  We didn't know Keith was the general manager because he never told us that and customer relations said he didn't have to disclose that information.  I didn't know we were dealing with an undercover agent with the FBI.  If local management and corporate relations goal was to make sure we avoid Holiday Inn at all costs when we travel, then they have succeeded on a tremendous level.

P.S. There are two schools of thought about free continental breakfasts at hotels.  One side says. since it's free, you get what you pay for and you have no reason to complain.  The other side says, the cost of breakfast is factored into your room rate.  Agreeing with the latter, I will make a few remarks about their attempt at breakfast.  I enjoyed the abundance of chocolate milk but the it went downhill after that.  The warm cinnamon buns are hit or miss, some days they're fresh other days they're stale.  The waffle or pancake maker was out of order the entire week so I can't make a comment only to say I assume fixing it wasn't a priority.  The egg presentation was interesting.  I believe the product received no cooperation from an actual chicken.  The color was close but the taste was...

For those who like short reviews: Save your time, money, effort and aggravation

and walk a few steps further to another hotel.

If you want to hear the rest of the story, keep reading.

We waited too long to make reservations during Thanksgiving week, so we were offered their last room which was supposedly an executive suite. When we entered the room our 13 year old daughter remarked that it didn't look like a suite. Later we would realize her talent as a prophetess. The first morning we were rudely awakened to the chill of having no heat. Sometime after we went to bed, the heater stopped producing heat which is the sole duty I expect from a heater. As I mentioned this was Thanksgiving week in Knoxville with an outside temperature of 37. The following night we were treated to the cable TV not producing images on the screen in addition to no heat.

That morning we were told that the heater would be fixed. After pressing the front desk manager, she only offered a $40 credit for our inconvenience.

When we returned that night after midnight, we were unable to unlock our door with either key card. We went downstairs to ask for assistance from the front desk clerk. *The new room was much bigger than ours. We had been paying for a larger room but staying in a regular sized room. What was even more frustrating was that the first night in the new larger executive suite was without a working heater too.

The next morning we asked to speak to the person in charge of the hotel.

Taylor listened to our concerns about our disastrous stay at Holiday Inn Express.

He was sympathetic and apologetic at the time. He told us he would comp the first few nights and the rest of our stay. When we got the bill, his idea about the length of the week was different than ours because we were charged the higher rate for the latter part of the week. What he said did not match the bill. Our experience at Holiday Inn was not hospitable and left us with a bad impression.

We contacted Holiday Inn customer relations but they provided no help only saying that local management was the final word. They said we talked to the general manager named Keith and he settled it. We didn't know Keith was the general manager because he never told us that and customer relations said he didn't have to disclose that information. I didn't know we were dealing with an undercover agent with the FBI. If local management and corporate relations goal was to make sure we avoid Holiday Inn at all costs when we travel, then they have succeeded on a tremendous level.

P.S.

There are two schools of thought about free continental breakfasts at hotels. One side says. since it's free, you get what you pay for and you have no reason to complain. The other side says, the cost of breakfast is factored into your room rate. Agreeing with the latter, I will make a few remarks about their attempt at breakfast. I enjoyed the abundance of chocolate milk but the it went downhill after that. The warm cinnamon buns are hit or miss, some days they're fresh other days they're stale. The waffle or pancake maker was out of order the entire week so I can't make a comment only to say I assume fixing it wasn't a priority. The egg presentation was interesting. I believe the product received no cooperation with an actual chicken. The color was close but the taste was underwhelming.

*Due to Holiday Inn policy, I was required to edit and...

We were extremely disappointed with the terrible WiFi in our room. We were originally given a room on the second floor right next to the elevator. The Front Desk attendant assured me the elevators were quiet but I told him my concern was about noise from people on the elevator, not the elevator. Before even checking that room out, I requested and received Room 326. The hotel is under construction (all three floors at the same time) so there were a lot of missing moldings etc. which I can easily ignore, but our room had a big crack in the wall above the A/C, no bed sheets available for the sofa bed, and the comforter supplied was stuffed into an open bag, so we requested bed sheets and a new comforter. What we didn't see until later were the yellow and orange stains on the sofa bed mattress (pic attached). By then it was almost 11 PM and I didn't want to wait for staff to find another mattress at that late hour so we covered the stains with bath towels underneath the bed sheets. Not a good experience.

We recently completed a 7 week cross-country trip staying in Holiday Inn Express and competing hotels and noticed a big difference. All the other hotels were excellent and only a couple of the Holiday Inn rooms even came close to the others. I'm refraining from mentioning the name(s) of the other hotels but they have suites. If they're your competition, you're losing in a big way. This hotel was the worst, but the one in Henderson, NV was a close second, and there were a lot of ties for third place. Please improve your quality and...