This is my first business trip to the area. As always I use Trip Advisor before choosing a hotel. I tend to disregard the "horror" reviews unless the majority of them are horror stories.

Anyway, I found my room to be very roomy and comfortable. The bed was comfortable and I don't care about hotel pillows...I always travel with my personal pillow. I figure that if the bed is bad, as long as I have my pillow with me I can survive.

I do agree with one review in regard to the toe-tripping entry into the bathroom. I did trip on it once but if one was not careful, they could find themselves head first into the commode. Be careful!

The hotel restaurant was great. The food was very good and I found the dining area very nice and good change from "continental" breakfast areas of the majority of hotels I tend to stay at. I will return!

The stay started off ok, little did I know how bad it was going to get.

The check in staff were very pleasant when I arrived and presented us with vouchers for a "free" breakfast during our stay which I thought was a nice touch.

The hotel is very dated,with hall carpeting which could easily induce a migraine.

Our room was of an adequate size. On entering though I noticed 2 huge dark patches on the carpet. These were soaking wet and when I attempted to rub them with a towel it simply showed how filthy the carpet was so it was shoes on at all times.

The bathroom required quite some manouevering due to the positioning of the toilet and the door. Not comfortable at all.

The pillows were the worst I have ever come across anywhere in the world. So much so that both my husband and I spent our stay sleeping with no pillows at all. The tags which stated "soft" and "firm" were hanging from the headboard when we arrived - probably because housekeeping couldn't tell what was what and there wasn't a tag for "just plain uncomfortable"

The room had a musty smell and overlooked the roof of a corridor and the pool which was closed for winter. I asked if we could use the chairs by the pool and was told "certainly not". Not very accomodating at all.
The furniture was shabby and chipped and showed signs of neglect as far as cleaning was concerned. The headboard had a thick layer of dust and the carpet edges contained much fluff and crumbs. The vaccuming clearly was confined to a path around the bed only.

Given the cleanliness of the room it was ironic that housekeeping were hammering on the door at 9am each morning despite the "do not disturb" sign being out. They seemed to disregard this completely, along with my request for a daily paper. Apparently there are only so many to go round.

The "free" breakfast was shocking. There were heated serving dishes with items for those of us with vouchers. Everything in them was drowning in fat and grease. It was absolutely stomach churning. The only other thing on offer was fruit however having watched the staff handling it nothing would have persuaded me to risk it either. So the free breakfast consisted of two coffees before we made a visit to Bob Evans across the road where we met several other guests in the same position.

The final straw for me though was the safety aspect.
The electrical sockets worried me immediately as they seemed overloaded. Only one bedside lamp worked as there was no power socket anywhere near to plug the other into - was the lamp just for decoration?

I was worried enough not to plug my laptop in to the sockets and relied on battery power only.
Unfortunately my cell phone needed charged so I plugged it in only to for the socket to hiss and spit. I unplugged immediately but couldn't get the phone to work. I've since been told by a repair shop that the phone has suffered a power surge which has, in the words of the repair shop man, ""fried it". Thank goodness I didn't plug in my laptop. When I went to reception to report what had happened they couldn't have been less interested and told me just to unplug something else and use another outlet.

Nothing could tempt me to return to this hotel. It's in need of a complete overhaul.

Additionally - I'm not sure why Trip Advisor lists this as a Holiday Inn Express - it is a basic Holiday Inn - no express facilities at all.

I have no words for this place. I made my reservation through Expedia. When I arrived with my confirmation in hand, I was told there were no rooms available and was sent down the street to the Residence Inn. IT WAS HORRIBLE. I have previously reserved to double queen suite in light of my three kids. At the Residence, all they had was a single queen with pull out couch. We managed the night as it was already late as best we could. When I went back to talk to the Holiday Inn management in the morning, I was told I should always book through the hotel to secure my reservation. I did that and guess what, I am now sitting in a Holiday Inn Express in Mountain Home, AR that also screwed up my reservation. I will not stay with this chain again!

Holiday Inn Joliet Banquet & Conference Center in 411 South Larkin Ave is a kind of place where good old values meet new modern values. Full restaurant and bar services add more fun to the place. Most of all the staff are full of characters with genuine kindness and this make guests feel so comfortable. Outdoor swimming pool is a real bonus on nice smummer days. In addition, the excellent banquet and conference rooms are availbel for wedding and corportate meetings.