Holiday Inn Express & Suites Moab by IHG — Hotel in Moab

While an older late 1990s or early 2000s example of a Holiday Inn Express, it feels like it has been renovated within the last year or two.

In terms of location, the hotel is about 2 miles from the heart of Moab and near national parks, public lands, etc. If you're a walker, you can easily walk into downtown for dinner or whatever. But I didn't see a bar or restaurant next to or across from the property. It would be nice if the hotel got a license to sell beer and wine in the pantry market in the lobby or even added a restaurant.

At check-in I was never thanked for my IHG elite status nor offered any kind of amenity, not even a free bottle of water.

In the lobby, there is a rack with assorted brochures, magazines, guides, etc. Free copies of the local newspaper are also provided, which is nice.

The breakfast area is huge. And thankfully, breakfast starts at 6 am, which is nice. The breakfast offering is the typical Holiday Inn Express buffet that's free for all guest.

The gym is big and well-equipped with newish equipment.

The pool and hot tub are outside and are very nice. Almost resort-like. There's a fair amount of seating. In addition to the pool and hot tub there is a fireplace for the evening nights, when it can (and does) get cold in the desert. At the pool the towels are too small. They're about half the size of a standard bath or pool towel. So most guests use 3 or 4 towels if they're sunbathing on a lounge chair. The hotel should invest in full-size pool towels.

I booked a 2-queen suite. One of their premium and best rooms. While the room was clearly renovated and featured one of the latest iterations of the Holiday Inn Express room design, the room was NOT clean.

There was (1) fecal matter on the toilet; (2) extensive amounts of hair in the bathroom on the countertop, the floor, the tub-shower, etc.; (3) stains on the walls in the bathroom; (4) white fluid stains on the sofa (use your imagination); and (5) mold, mildew or grime in the tub-shower by the dispensers and also the caulking.

I reported the bathroom cleanliness issues to a manager. I think she was the GM. No housekeepers were on duty at around 5 pm on a Friday. She personally came up to the room and cleaned the bathroom. She also apologized and offered to credit my IHG account with 63,000 points, which was the equivalent of refunding my stay as I used points for the booking. She handled the situation appropriately, although obviously the issue should have never occured in the first place.

Separate from the cleanliness issue, I also saw several examples of poor maintenance. Scratched, scuffed, and damaged walls in public spaces. Chipped wood fixtures, etc.

My suite was well-appointed with plenty of accessible electrical and USB outlets, a microwave and refrigerator, and Keurig coffeemaker. The TV was very large and featured a full selection of channels. However, no printed TV channel guide is provided. My 82-year-old father had difficulty finding channels. I'm sure other senior citizens have the same problem. In the bathroom, the shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion were in wall-mounted dispensers. No bar of soap was provided. Instead, a dispenser with hand wash is mounted on the wall. IHG greenwashes guests by not mandating a bar of soap. Hand wash is not the same as soap. No other amenities, like a face cleansing cloth, or plastic-wrapped drinking glasses were provided. Also, in the bathroom, you can't turn on the light without turning on the overhead exhaust fan.

All things considered, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Moab has newish product and a nice pool albeit a pool that's smaller than competing Moab hotels like the Fairfield. But IHG elite status recognition or benefits are nonexistent and cleanliness and overall maintenance are poor. Not cleaning fecal matter stains from the toilet is beyond unacceptable. If they aren't cleaning or sanitizing the toilet, what else aren't they doing? For the price (both cash and IHG points), you can do...

Don’t stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Moab.||||This was my second stay within a year. The first time, I experienced serious cleanliness issues. Management promised it was handled, so I gave the hotel a second chance. Big mistake.||||Once again, the bathroom was filthy. Hair everywhere — on the floor, around the toilet, long strands that no one could possibly miss. Worst of all, there was a disgusting stain on the toilet under the seat, the kind you’d expect if someone missed the bowl when using the toilet. This was exactly the same issue I had during my last stay. For this to happen twice, a year apart, makes it clear that housekeeping either doesn’t clean properly or management doesn’t care enough to inspect rooms. Either way, there’s no excuse. I reported it to the front desk, was told a manager would follow up, and never heard from anyone. By the time housekeeping came, I had already cleaned the bathroom myself. Totally unacceptable.||||The hotel itself is old. Likely built in the late 1990s or early 2000s. Yes, it’s been updated, but the updates can’t hide the shortcomings:||||Only two elevators for 100-plus rooms. Expect long waits at breakfast, at check-in time and at check-out time.||||Windows open with no screens, meaning bugs and even birds could fly in.||||The pool is nice but very small, especially compared to nearby competitors like the Hyatt Place or Fairfield.||||Breakfast, while free, can be a madhouse rivaling the busiest cruise ship buffets. Bus tours and early risers swarm the buffet at 6 a.m. Some guests had to share tables with strangers. Maybe they should offer all-day grab-and-go options like oatmeal, wraps, and parfaits to alleviate overcrowding in the buffet and small dining room seating area.||||Outside of breakfast and the pantry market by the front desk, the hotel has no food and drink options. Unlike some other Holiday Inn Express locations, this one doesn’t even bother offering beer, wine, or a small bar. Given how few options are within walking distance, that’s a huge miss. I know Utah has stricter alcohol regulations than other states, but they should really get a license to either sell beer and wine in the pantry market or open a small bar for guests. Something is better than nothing.||||The staff at the front desk and in the breakfast room were polite.||||I have IHG elite status. One of the benefits is an upgrade. At check-in, suites were available for booking on IHG booking channels. No upgrade was provided.||||All things considered, management hasn’t fixed the exact same problems I reported last year. If anything, it’s worse because now I know this isn’t a one-off. With the Hyatt Place priced about the same, there’s no reason to risk staying here. Spend your...

Let me start by saying that staff at the hotel were friendly and tried very hard to provide a pleasant stay. However, there were certain practices and policies in place that my this not my best stay at a Holiday Inn Express.

So, this is the second hotel (the other was another brand) that is located in a heavy tourist area and I have to say that my experience with both were similar. While I understand and accept that daily room cleaning is not possible, it make me wonder if that is being taken into consideration with room pricing - I don't think it is.

With the Holiday Inn Express in Moab, I am overall disappointed as a Platinum Member. First, the menu options for breakfast were very limited to non-existent. If I don't like cheese with my eggs, I was out of luck one day. No pancake option, even though the sign for them is still up. I figure the excuse is the pandemic, but I wonder about that and whether a universal corporate policy is being used instead of looking at the local actual restrictions - I have stayed at other hotels that didn't "wrap their bread" or do away with options (pancakes). I decided to eat at the Denny's up the street for breakfast.

Another aspect of my stay that was disappointing was that there was a smell from the bathroom. I believe it has to do with sewer backup and the solution appears to have been to leave the bathroom fan running 24/7 - it doesn't work.

Also, the thermostat was disconnected and heating and cooling was controlled with the unit under the window. While I managed to stay comfortable, this was not the ideal way to manage the room temperature.

Finally, the lack of a shuttle service cost me several hundred dollars and a lot of angst. The airport in Moab is 15 miles from the hotel and I had arranged to return my rental car the night before I was to leave believing I could use the hotel shuttle service. I was informed upon arrival (because I happen to ask) that there was no hotel shuttle and given a card of a shuttle service. I contacted the shuttle service and they, nor any other shuttle service, taxi service or lyft/uber service was available to take me to the airport on a Sunday morning of my departure. I eventually had beg my rental car provider to extend my rental an extra day that cost me well over $200 for what was basic a 15 mile trip at approximately $15/mi.

All of the above to say that I expected more from stay at what I consider to be (as evidenced by my loyalty) my go to hotel chain that I considered to be of good,...