Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lebanon-Nashville Area by IHG — Hotel in Lebanon

I have stayed at several Holiday Inn’s lately and I have stayed at this one a couple of times in the past with no issue. When I checked in last night, I asked for a quiet room and was given room 502; top floor on the Interstate side of the hotel. The noise from I-40 was pervasive and only diminished when the ac unit was on or the television. We didn’t realize it until 10:00 when we turned off the tv and figured we would be able to get to sleep. I may have got 2 1/2 hours of sleep. The breakfast was decent and the shower had hot water and the room was clean and comfortable but those are worth little if you can’t sleep in the hotel due to the noise. After breakfast I notified the desk clerk about the issue, stating that it was awful and they should never place anyone in that room, ever due to the noise. When I returned, my wife was still attempting to sleep when at 8:15 workers began walking on the room above our head and hammering on the roof. I had decided to stay quiet about the experience but as we left, I was asked if we enjoyed our stay and I told them about the issues and asked when was an appropriate time to start doing maintenance that could be heard in the room. The lady asked “are you the guy that was “fussing” about the noise, room 502?” Fussing???? I let it go. We assured them we weren’t complaining to get money back, we just didn’t want anyone else to have the same experience. She said she would add some points to our account. Never did I hear an apology or an answer to my question about when an acceptable time for maintenance like that was. We thanked them and left. As we got on the ramp to I-40 we saw a crane running up the side of the hotel and a man nailing shingles on the roof above our room. They should have never booked this room in the first place and certainly never put someone in it asking to ensure they got a quiet room. The night clerk may not have known about the impending maintenance (poor internal communication or planning?) but I am certain they have had complaints regarding the road noise and they should have blocked any and all rooms directly below where they would be hammering on the roof at 8:15 am. I have tried to stay in Holiday Inn’s exclusively over the past year due to positive experiences but paying $135 for an avoidable sleepless night has caused me to rethink my selection process. As I stated in the beginning, I have stayed here a couple other times but always facing the back and away from the Interstate. If you stay here, I would suggest you make sure that you are not put in a room facing the Interstate or at least not on the Interstate end. If anyone from IHG wants to contact me to learn more, my info is attached to room 502 for May...

Though the Lebanon Holiday Inn Express is only a couple of years old, it is aging quickly. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and the grounds and lobby are nice. However, on many occasions, especially when reserving a room a couple of days in advanced, I'm put in one of the 1st floor King rooms. Although these are supposed to be nice and convenient (no elevator), these room are just worn out. The carpet needs to be changed in some of the rooms very badly. There was an odor in the last 1st floor room I stayed in. I'm sure these room are occupied every night and management is not maintaining them accordingly. The last visit was at a 4th floor King Suite and it was good. Many will think this is not an issue or nit-picky, but this location installs pure blue/white (read the cheapest possible) compact florescent light bulbs. These blue/white bulbs just make me sick and really detract from what would otherwise be an very pleasant room. This simple thing would make people feel much better about the place. These lights make the place feel cheap and like a sleazy gas station bathroom. Another pet peeve is the breakfast staff, I'm sure on management orders, they seem to be bent on limiting the amount of food folks eat. The expensive stuff, like bacon is always not there, and the staff hang around like they are watching how much you get. Like you are stealing gold or something. I always feel self conscious when eating at this location. On my latest stay, the bathroom faucet handle broke off at 12:30 am. I managed to operate the faucet anyway with a towel. I reported it to staff at checkout and they were very apologetic. Overall I think the owner/manager of this location is pinching pennies way to much and the experience suffers. Of course they are hurting themselves in the long run. But, then again I assume most of the guest are travelers passing through and would never stay at this location again. But it does hurt other HIE locations, many of which I love! Overall, this location is OK, but I always try to make it to the Mt Juliet Holiday Inn Express if they are not booked up. Very nice location their with none of...

Popped in for a quick night while passing through town. I can always count on Holiday Inn to provide me with a clean, well kept, inviting place to stay during my travels. This one met all my expectations.

The room was modern, updated and very clean. I enjoy the fact that there is a bench for our bags as part of the furniture now. Very much appreciated.

My only minor issues with the room were with the bathroom. The shower curtain rod was installed at an angle so the curtain kept sliding open on me. While I am not shy about my shower rituals, others might be less enthusiastic about constantly having to adjust the curtain. My other thought is with the soap, shampoo, conditioner. This is going to take some getting used to. Large containers with pump dispensers instead of the individual use bottles. I see why this is a good idea. Much less waste and has to be more efficient for them. I was also quite skeptical at first when deciding to use them. I did, they worked fine, just wondering what the family before me did to them last night made me stop and think.

Breakfast was standard fare. I got my usual, cinnamon roll, biscuits and gravy, hot tea and even splurged with some cereal. What the hell, I'm on a trip, live a little I say. I need to try the pancakes sometime. They look good, but I never seem to be first in line for them. Always behind 24 kids fiddling with the machine. One of these days, I'll be first and you'll all be in big, big trouble. The pancake King has arrived!

The employees were nice and greeted me upon check in as expected. Being this close to Nashville I did not shutter when told 'Bless your Heart". I know southern speak and that this can have a lot of meanings, but here, I could tell it meant "Bless my heart" and enjoy your stay. I did....