Holiday Inn Sarasota-Lido Beach-@the Beach, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Sarasota

Clean hotel and extremely close to the beach. I had read reviews before going and a few had me worried talking about being out dated.. I didn't get that feeling.. yes, sure some things could be better, but nothing was bad. Just a typical hotel room!! Bathroom was small and not much counter space but who cares? It's not like I'm moving in!! Restaurant closes at 8, which is a little early in my opinion, but might be due to lack of people wanting to work!! Breakfast food was ok, only went once if that helps ya!! Service was good though.. only did dinner once there also lol.. pool was great, a little crowded but probably because of the red tide and no one was allowed in the water.. drinks were awesome at the pool, just a little slow for service but hey, there were a lot of people!! These things aren't deal breakers for me and I'm not complaining, just trying to be honest.. hotel had beach toys (when the red tide restrictions were lifted) and pool floats to use which was awesome for the kids!! Since we flew, it was hard to pack things like that!! Cold bottled water available by asking front desk and snacks put out in the afternoon next to the coffee station everyday.. held our luggage the day we arrived until our room was ready (we arrived 4 hours before check-in) and actually had our room ready 90 minutes before it was supposed to. Also kept our luggage for a few hours after check out while we shopped at Armand's Circle (free shuttle ride there)waiting to head back to the airport.. there isn't any shuttle to and/or from the airport though which is a little disappointing.. I asked the from desk for a recommendation for a ride to the airport and used their guy.. it was 60.00.. and 6 of us were jammed into a Nissan rogue I believe, with 3 standard suitcases and 6 backpacks lol.. that wasn't the hotels doing though!! I just went with their recommendation, could have went elsewhere!! I read people complaining about no housekeeping during the stay but it's not the end of the world.. u fill out a slip requesting more towels and toilet paper when you get there and you're good!! You set your garbage outside the door and someone grabs it!! Not that difficult!! The reason I left a star off was because of the food.. if it was included, I wouldn't have bothered but paying for breakfast that was just not great made me do it.. I'm used to holiday inn express where it's included and better quality I guess!! I would definitely stay here again and/or recommend! I forgot to mention how low the shower head is in the bathroom!! Really need...

We checked in for a long weekend to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary and have had nothing but incredible service. From the moment we came in, we were greeted with a home made popsicle and champagne 🍾 as a welcome to this property. Toni our front desk clerk was a true gem. She was so helpful and so bubbly and excited about all the amenities of the property making us super excited to get exploring. We LOVE the details! From our elevator and floor experience, good coffee and great keurig's in our rooms, coffee bar down in the lobby was a great touch! Only thing I would give for feedback is maybe adding some flavor creamers. The different milk choices were a nice touch! Good coffee brewed and tea station was a classy touch. 👌 Dora our room attendant was so in the details as well. She restocked all our supplies and even left us a cute towel animal with some dark yummy chocolates! We love the refill station for filtered water idea and ice in baggies was an incredible idea! So sanitary and so nice to have. The pantry idea is so communal and so on par with the theme. I loved asking what the treat of the day was as it changes always! How cool was this cute mystery. Loved the added bonus touch to be able to use the sister property amenities of the private beach and pool. So relaxing and fantastic. They even gave us ice cream sandwiches poolside while we were relaxing there! Such a generous culture at your properties. This was really impressive.

All the staff here seem to be so happy to be here. This circus theme was very chic and done well. We really enjoyed all the memorabilia throughout the property giving an ode to The Ringling Brothers! The toiletries all smelled like a spa treatment. All in all this was a great weekend and definitely worth a return visit. The beach here is so pretty and definitely was a great touch to have private access to avoid too many crowds of people.

Thank you for making our stay wonderful Dora for your housekeeping magic and Toni and others rockin' the front desk well. ❤️. The shuttle service was also a plus. Until we meet again...

Ok So I am a priority club member, I was charged $30.00 to upgrade to an Gulf View room. I never in my life as a priority member have been charged to upgrade lol. Even in a hotel on the beach in Daytona I wasn't charged and they upgraded me to a suite also. I never heard of such a thing. They did give me an early check In and late check out with no extra charge.

The drinks at the pool bar were tasty but lacking alcohol. My husband and I spent $155 at the bar while sitting by the pool and didn't even get a buzz. I should have been passed out at that rate lol.

We went upstairs to get dinner and it took forever to get my appetizer which was Onion Soup. The waiter said it was taking so long because they have to melt cheese on it lol. Don't know why he wasn't honest and just say I forgot to put your order in lol. My husbands meal was good but my friends and my fish were horrible. It tasted like water. We went to breakfast buffet and it was all cold so we went to to omlet station which was great.

All in All the hotel and room was nice size and very clean. You have a beautiful view from your room.

They had a BBQ out by the pool which was very nice. They had a fridge plugged in to keep food cold in the heat and the gentlemen cooking was always wearing gloves. The food there looked very good.

The front desk was very helpful with a problem with my husbands phone not getting connected to the internet and they got him connected no problem.

Overall we enjoyed our one night stay but to charge for upgrade was ridiculous!! I guess because they are in Lido Beach they feel they can get away with this. Why be a priority member if they treat you like this!! I would have went to the Lido...