Holiday Inn Express Livonia, MI

A new hotel needing to iron out a few wrinkles.

I enjoy traveling. I also enjoy writing about my travel experiences. In the past I have posted reviews about hotels and tourist traps on a well known travel website. Starting in 2018 I have decided to post my experiences here at my own blog, starting with my recent stay at the Holiday Inn Express located in Livonia, Michigan.

We stayed in this Holiday Inn Express while visiting family during Thanksgiving, a gift from a Holiday Inn points member. What we found was an inn that was clean with a slight hint of new hotel smell. Our room was a good size, especially considering rates are just below average for a hotel in the U.S. We had enough room for a family of four using the hotel primarily as a nighttime basecamp. The beds were comfortably firm with just the right amount of give to allow for a good night’s rest. I especially liked having the choice of either a firm or soft pillow, each with its type sewn into the pillow case.

Blackout curtains prevented the light from the surrounding area from becoming a night time distraction. This was good considering the area is very commercialized with a highway, a shopping center and what looked like a shipping company all within visual range. While there is not much as far as a view, the room itself did allow for a comfortable stay. This hotel is good for a short visit with family or friends or perhaps for business but not for a long tourist type vacation, though it is a short drive from Detroit.

I would like to give this hotel a very positive overall review but it misses the mark in a number of small details which added up during the course of our stay. The first minus involved a miscommunication in booking our rooms. As a result when we arrived it took the desk clerk longer than expected to find our reservation even though our host attempted to sort things out the prior day. To his credit the clerk was a true professional while working to sort out the issue. But later, an odd response from another employee left me trying to figure out if I had insulted him or if I had done something unexpected when I offered him a tip. Either way I did not want to start my stay scratching my head trying to figure out if I had violated some rule of etiquette.

The free breakfast was not what I expected from a major hotel chain. The selection was decent but quality was inconsistent. Having enjoyed a warm cinnamon bun the first morning I was shocked the second morning when I bit into one that was ice cold. Both reminded me of something premade and store bought. Had both been warm I might not have cared as the first one was very good. Unfortunately these kinds of inconsistencies held true with the other warm foods served during our stay.

There is a learning curve when starting any new business. This hotel shows promise but is not fully ready to deliver. Hopefully it will move along its learning curve quickly. For now the hotel and its staff leave me with mixed feelings. The people are friendly and professional but lacking in areas of service. In all I can only give two stars to what should be a three out five star hotel. Perhaps, once this hotel grows up, it will fully meet the standards customers should expect during their stay.