Holiday Inn Express Princeton Southeast by IHG — Hotel in Plainsboro Township

In general, my stay at this property was short but pleasant and I would definitely return if I am back in the area on business.

Pros: Generally clean, quiet, pleasant property

Cons: Lots of walking to amenities Gross misinformation on pool (details follow)

The location is very peaceful and pretty isolated, as it is on the Novonordisk campus. I wished I had stopped to pick up food on the way, as I was told the closest grocery store was a Target. There is a patio off of the breakfast area that is particularly nice with lots of stonework.

In the room, there wasn't any shampoo, which didn't concern me per se, but does suggest lack of attention to detail on servicing the rooms. The room fridge did not have a freezer compartment. As lame as those are, if you travel with refrigerated medication, they are helpful for freezer packs.

Everything but breakfast is over at the Crowne Plaza, which is connected but far away (be forewarned if you have small children or physically disabled members of your party). My issue had to do with the use of the pool, which was a HUGE deal to me and having a lap pool was entirely the reason I selected this particular property. When I checked in, I asked the desk clerk about the pool and she informed me it was on the other side. She provided no additional information nor did she inform me that my room key would NOT open the workout facilities or pool room.

When I got to the pool at 6:30 to swim, there was a woman in there swimming but the door was locked and my key wouldn't work, so I went to the Crowne Plaza front desk, where I was informed that the pool didn' open until 7. Again, nothing about the key not working. He said that it would work when I specifically asked about this. When I informed him about the person swimming, he said he would call security and have her ejected, which I felt very badly about. On my way back to the room, the Holiday Inn desk clerk gave me a key card that was supposed to open the door and told me he thought the pool opened at 6.

When I returned around 7, she was still there, as was another gentleman, and my key card didn't work on the door. Fortunately, she opened it. I also noticed a HUGE sign that says the pool opens at 5:30. This whole thing threw off my schedule and actually made me late and was also very aggravating. I did get in a short swim. The water on the narrower lap part was very warm, though I think the physics of the pool design make it difficult to get around that and keep the rest of the pool at a typical temperature. It would have felt fine if I weren't moving constantly.

Also, a safety note on the markings on the pool. I do flip turns and the walls at either end are NOT sufficiently marked to prevent head injury. There are markings on the bottom of the pool, but you need something at the ends so you can properly gauge distance. I overcompensated and flailed a lot, but it was worth avoiding a TBI. You can buy stickers that can be applied when the pool is filled and that would be enough. I didn't appreciate how much I rely on those markings until...

We stayed here for one night in May, and have stayed at this property in the past several times. We like the quiet, wooded grounds of this property and the peaceful and secluded feeling while staying here. The rooms and bathrooms are usually very clean. The TV reception is usually good (depends on room), and there are connections on the underside of the TV to connect a computer via HDMI for streaming movies. The WiFi is solid and sufficient to stream movies. There is also a refrigerator in each room that always seems to work well. The bed is very comfortable and they give you two sets of pillows, soft and firm, to accommodate various guest preferences. Some of the rooms have tubs, but most seem to have showers only, but the bathrooms are clean and have plenty of room. The air conditioning unit is relatively modern and easy to control with the on-wall thermostat. The breakfast selection is very good and the outdoor seating is a pleasant option when weather permits. The only real negative to this location is that the pool and fitness area is in another building, requiring a long walk past the lobby and through a tunnel to the adjoining property, which severely limits our use during our stays.

During this particular stay, we had two minor issues:

1. About an hour into our stay (late afternoon/early evening), someone from the cleaning staff attempted to enter the room without knocking to do an inspection. The system should really notify the cleaning staff when a room gets assigned to a guest.

2. The floor at the breakfast area was very sticky and kind of disgusting in the early morning. This has not been an issue in the past.

Also to be comprehensive, during previous stays, we've had more serious issues:

1. On one other stay, our key cards did not work and after a second set, it appeared to be an issue with the actual door lock and not the key cards. The room was at the end of the top floor, and we had to travel back to the lobby with our bags to report the issue twice. At that point, the front desk attendant did not seem to know how to assign us a new room, and instead opted to have us wait in the lobby for another 45 minutes for the maintenance staff to come fix the door lock

2. On another stay, our air conditioning unit needed a fuse replaced, which took about 30 minutes total to call the maintenance staff, inspect the unit, get the parts, and replace the fuse. Was told it is a common maintenance issue they repair, but it would be nice if this had been taken care of before we checked in.

Overall very good. In terms of value, the price has increased over the past year, but the quality of the stay is about the same, so the overall value may...

This is a sliding scale rating, but this property seems like one of the top choices in the Princeton/Plainsboro area for those looking for an affordable hotel. It sounds like it was largely shuttered/severely scaled back during the pandemic, but seems seem to be ramping back up to normal operations. Now, don't get me wrong, this hotel is WEIRD. It is connected to the Crowne Plaza next door via a skybridge that leads you through the convention center. It definitely looks like the Holiday Inn Express side of the property war originally part of the Novo Nordisk office complex, but a wing was sold off and converted to hotel rooms. As a result, the floor plan looks like no other hotel you'll ever stay in again. It's not a bad thing, it's just odd. The Holiday Inn Express side is also pretty small, we counted just over 40 rooms. The rooms themselves are still in old HIE style, but mine was very clean and well maintained. The staff was absolutely outstanding, with Jennifer at the front desk as an absolute standout. She constantly engaged with my boys, had all sorts of suggestions and tips during our stay and went out of her way to ensure that we had everything we needed. Jennifer definitely made our stay a more pleasant one, and she is an asset to the company.

Now, for the true advantage of staying here. Thanks to that connecting skybridge, guests at the Holiday Inn Express are welcome to use all of the facilities at the neighboring Crowne Plaza. That includes the huge pool and gym, racketball and squash courts, tennis court and tennis court. There's also a series on nature trails that wind through the woods and lake in the middle of the office park that are quite nice and very well maintained. Thanks to the consolidation of services, the breakfast bar on the first floor is currently closed, but that's not a bad thing. Since all stays at Holiday Inn Express include free breakfast, guests are eligible to eat at the breakfast buffet at the Forrestal Grill over at the Crowne Plaza, which is far more extensive that your standard Holiday Inn Express breakfast. So, the buffet that the Crowne Plaza charges its guests $20 per person for is free for HIE guests. Not a bad deal. So, despite its age, the benefits of staying here are numerous. It will be my top choice when staying in the Princeton/Plainsboro area...