Holiday Inn Morgantown - University Area by IHG — Hotel in Morgantown

This is the exact kind of hotel you want when you've got way too much you need to do in a weekend, are exhausted from high-stress jobs, and still want to make a combination business/family trip with your little girl feel special. Every detail of our stay was perfectly arranged for us from the moment we got there, and the staff had taken such pains to make sure the hotel was a welcoming place for their youngest guests during mid-December! They had a table set up with coloring and a mailbox to send letters to Santa, a beautiful tree and everything we needed for hot drinks at any hour in the lobby.

The restaurant, especially, is a triumph. There is one server there, a lady with dark hair and glasses, who must have either read every 'Eloise at the Plaza' book or be majoring in education, because our little girl still talks about how fancy the restaurant was, how the nice lady brought her apple juice in a FANCY GOBLET, offered her choice of a regular or a bendy straw, and, of course, how amazing the food was. (She is eight years old.) This Holiday Inn's restaurant, Smokin' J's, does a very nice breakfast buffet, as they go, with eggs, bacon, sausage, very good biscuits n' gravy, pancakes and the like, and I've rarely seen a better one in the category. When you're eight, though, and servers take the time to treat you as a guest rather than a potential problem, it is a milestone experience. Such a simple-seeming thing, and yet so many businesses get that wrong.

It is so critical to hire and retain, and especially to compensate, the kind of workforce that can provide those kinds of guest experiences, who bring the kind of creativity and presence of mind needed to put together a coloring table for potentially stressed-out kids during the holiday travel rush, to offer children a choice of straw and to listen to them as if they mattered as much as the grown-up guests. Other hotels and restaurants don't do this, and this is why other hotels and restaurants don't get repeat business from families. Already, our daughter has said that the next time we return to the city, she wants to stay at THIS hotel specifically. We have rewards programs with other chains, even free stays available elsewhere, but who can possibly hope to compete with the restaurant and lobby where they are...

I travel a lot and I have to admit I usually look for the brands more associated with luxury when booking a hotel. This property completely changed my mind. Holiday Inn has re invented themselves with this place. From the moment we pulled up to the building I was impressed. It was beautifully lit and bright and welcoming. I could already see from the parking lot that the lobby was beautiful and that's always a relief when trying something new. Once inside I was further impressed. It was super stylish and clean and smelled fantastic. I seriously wanted to steal all of the décor. It was fabulous! I even asked the girl at the front desk "What is that smell?? I want it for my house!" She was extremely nice and welcomed me home. Check in was a breeze and hopped in the elevator (Even that was ultra modern and sheik!) to check out the rest! Again we were pleasantly surprised with the room. It was modern and spotlessly clean and the beds were heavenly. We had a regular room and the Bath and Bodyworks toiletries were a really nice touch. Everything else was great too. Bathroom, TV, Closet space, and our favorite the Keurig and K Cups! Once settled we went down to have dinner and it was delicious. Great steak dinner with great apps, desserts and drinks! Again can't say enough. Besides the food, the restaurant was gorgeous and you almost forgot that you were even in a hotel. The atmosphere was great and there was also a great area to just have drinks if you just wanted that. Loved it. The pool was nice and clean as was the fitness center. We slept like babies and were actually bummed to have to leave on Sunday. As we passed the extremely sweet front desk lady.. She asked about our stay.. I said "It was absolutely fantastic." "I want to move in!" I really can't say enough. I hope this is a new trend for all up and coming Holiday Inns. If so I will definitely be looking for one the next time I travel. Thanks so much for making an overnight stay feel...

Was here in March and in August 2023. Both times involved travel to WVU. We got a large room (only 2 available) in March. 2 queen beds, living room area with pull out sofa, etc. No issues. Clean room, quiet, comfortable. Front desk accommodating and breakfast included in “breakfast included” rate. At that time it was a buffet. We returned in August but could not get the larger room…all booked. The double room had 2 queen beds but no other room to sit except for chair at desk. We knew this was the configuration so no big deal. Breakfast was not included in rate we selected. No buffet available this time. Sit down with 10% off if you charge to room. This discount was for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Again, clean, comfortable and front desk a pleasure to work with. The downside this time was the refrigerator situation. Over the course of 4 days the fridge broke down 4 times and had to be swapped out. We like to put leftovers from the great adjacent BBQ restaurant in the fridge as well as stock up on beverages. This is usually something you don’t have to worry about, but after the 2nd time we had to keep checking if the fridge was cold. The management said new fridges were on order and they didn’t know if the one they replaced was one of the ones they previously swapped out! Another issue was the A/C drain was clogged and leaking water on the carpet by the window. They fixed that on day 1 but put a high powered fan on the floor to dry things up. This was right next to the bed and was loud. It had to run all night. No other rooms available as it was move in week at WVU. Management did compensate with two $24 vouchers to restaurant. All in all it was a great stay except for fridge...