I stayed in the Holiday Inn for 3 nights during the Rocket City Marathon weekend in early December of 2011. The hotel offers a free airport shuttle, which is a very nice perk. However, hours are limited so be sure your flight works within their hours (one of mine didn't). If you are running the marathon this is the perfect play to stay because the race starts right in front of the hotel and finishes in the hotel parking lot. Overall I enjoyed my stay. The hotel lobby and public areas were very nice, though the halls were very smoky when I arrived on a Thursday night (despite the fact that it's a non-smoking hotel). The room itself was a little dated; the bathroom could use a renovation. The room was clean and overall suited my needs; it was nice to have free wireless internet access. I wanted to sit by the outdoor pool but the doors were locked. I got food from the hotel restaurant twice and it was good. There is a business center with computers in the lobby which was a nice perk. I had a problem during my stay when my wake-up call did not arrive on marathon morning, but they more than made up for the error. The staff was very friendly and helpful. I definitely recommend this hotel; it's within walking distance of downtown.

Poor service from beginning to end.

Arriving at the hotel it was raining and the covered entry was blocked by holiday inn vehicles leading to my taxi dropping me off in the rain.

Trying to get a couple of bottles of water from the concierge floor was a problem. The concierge wanted to give me one and claimed there were too many other people in the hotel - getting free beer and other drinks did not seem to be an issue. This happened 3 days in a row.

At breakfast on the concierge floor, the individual managing it was courteous and helpful, but the scrambled eggs always had ham in them. A large number of people do not eat ham, whether for religious or personal reasons. This seems like a simple thing to fix, but management does not seem to care. I have asked about this on previous stays.

The hot water in the shower was a problem, mostly too hot and hard to control. One morning it was scalding hot regardless of the setting. Overall, this hotel is very "tired" and needs a complete overhaul. When given a choice, I stay somewhere else.

Stayed two nights in December 2011 while on business. If I had taken my family, we would have turned around and left. The room was dark and dingy with wallpaper peeling off the walls. In lieu of a closet, a single wire shelf was installed next to the door that was rusting around the edges. A poor attempt to repaint the room left paint spots all over the carpet and bathroom, and the sink and tub were stained from overuse. To top it off, it was simply dirty to the point I would not feel comfortable having a family sleep there.

The small gym was adequate but had some broken equipment. The bar and restaurant were also reasonable, however, I have never heard a bartender whine so much about having to work past 11:00pm. Fortunately, there are decent places for dinner and nightlife nearby and the hotel shuttle driver (Julie) was happy to take us wherever we needed to go.

This hotel is showing its age, but still has some good points - convenient location, very nice beds, good shower heads, large rooms, nice staff, and a Starbucks in the lobby. We got a pretty good rate on Priceline so I was willing to overlook the fact that the building clearly needs some renovations. Very irritated with their lack of a complimentary continental breakfast. We paid $6.95 a person for bowl of cereal, milk, a banana, and a couple of little blueberry muffins - ridiculous! I would also recommend not staying on the first floor. It is pretty noisy with doors slamming as early as 5 am on a Saturday due to some staff offices and laundry rooms on the same hall. Luckily we were getting up at 5:30 am anyway to run the Huntsville Half Marathon.