Holiday Inn Express and Suites (Golden Valley)

When I arrived at the hotel, one of the first things I noticed was that the property was clean. They did not have trash in the parking lot or stuffed into the landscaping. The grass was well kept, along with all the plants. The parking lot had two entrances, but it was a little cramped for larger vehicles.

When I walked into the lobby, there were no other customers inside. So when I noticed they had somebody at the front desk waiting to check people in, I was rather surprised. I arrived at 10:00am, and they were able to accommodate me by providing an early check in. The lady gave me no attitude about my arriving early; she was pleasant during the whole check in process. She was able to suggest places to eat nearby (nothing within walking distance, as the area seems to be a business park).

When I arrived at my room, it was clean. Housekeeping did not leave any remnants of the previous guest, as I have seen in the past, such as hair in the sink or stuck to the shower wall. The housekeepers also leave little notes for you, the guest. Mine read, “Welcome to Holiday Inn. I hope you have a nice stay and enjoy your time.” She then signed the note. I believe this shows that they take pride in what they do and treat it as more than just a job.

I stayed in a King Suite. It had a nice reading chair in the corner with a light directly above it. The couch also had a light above it and a T.V. directly across from it on a stand. The couch had a coffee table that also converted to a desk. I found this to be a nice addition if I wanted to be able to watch T.V. while doing paperwork. The Suite also came equipped with a desk with built in lighting.

Amenities in the room included a microwave, single-serve Keurig machine, can opener, and a mini fridge. There was a half wall separating the sleeping area from the living area. The room also had a full-sized mirror next to the bathroom entrance.

The bathroom mirror had direct lighting around it, so I could easily see what I was doing. The shower was a walk-in shower with 2 sliding glass doors, so I had no issues getting wet while trying to set the water temperature. Inside the shower were dispensers for shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. I found the dispensers to be rather nice, as they allowed me to easily dispense the amount of product needed (the small bottles a lot of hotels provide barely have enough to accomodate my thick hair).

The bed was soft, yet firm. Upon lying down, I sank in and was very comfortable. However, I did not sink in too far, due to the bed’s firmness. The bed had 4 pillows; 2 were very soft, 2 were firm. They complimented each other very well for a 2-pillow person. I felt the blankets were a little thin, even for the summer. I prefer to have thicker blankets so that I can feel the weight of them on me. There was also a T.V. directly across from the bed, so that I could comfortably lie in bed and watch T.V. while winding down for the day, or check the weather while I woke up.

There were2 power outlets as well as 1 USB plug on either side of the bed. Each side also had its own light. In my opinion, they were bright enough to read with but dim enough to avoid disturbing the person next to me. Under the T.V. was a bench that I could set my clothes on which still had plenty of room for sitting. This allowed me to sit down and get ready in the morning, rather than having to get my clothes and then move to a different location to get ready.

The AC in my room worked rather well; it kept the room cool. I had it set to 60 degrees, and while I do not believe it made the room that cool, it still kept it very comfortable. The inn had it set so that you cannot have the fan running constantly. So if you are someone like me who enjoys white noise while sleeping, unfortunately you can’t use the fan for that. I did not turn the heat on, as the temperature in the room was already too warm for me without the AC on.

Considering the inn was ina major city, the wifi was pretty disappointing; as a Netflix user, I wasn’t able able to watch it in HD. I have to upload documents for work at the end of each day, and while they are not massive documents, they still took several minutes to upload, compared to taking a few seconds at other hotels. If you are an avid YouTube watcher, expect your videos to stop a few times throughout while they buffer.

Breakfast is your typical Holiday Inn breakfast, nothing of note worth mentioning. Their breakfast seating was nearly full every day. Considering the size of the hotel, I expected more seating availability. They do, however, have outdoor seating attached to the breakfast area, so if you want to eat outside and enjoy the weather, that is an option for you. If you get hungry throughout the day, they do have a variety of snacks you can purchase, located in a cupboard area.

The hotel location I am reviewing:

Holiday Inn Express and Suites (Golden Valley)

6051 Golden Hills Drive

Golden Valley, MN 55416