I travel to the 'burg frequently to see my family at Westminster Canterbury. There are not too many hotels that I have NOT stayed in in Lynchburg either for personal travel or for business. If I could always afford it and find a room at the Craddock Terry I would but the Holiday Inn by far is my second choice. It is convenient - right in downtown - other hotels are out near Liberty which is a little bit more out of town then I care to be.
This is an old hotel - they did work on renovating the rooms a number of years ago and it "improved" the look somewhat. The lobby is nice and clean and they have a little bar area and a lounge where you see private parties but rarely anything else there. The room I stayed in this time did have a really bad wall paper job on the window wall. But overall I find the rooms very clean. I have never had to go to the front desk to complain about hair in the tub like I did in another one of the hotels listed higher then this one. I have stayed here a lot over the years, even for a week once when a family member was dying and my room was always cleaned well.
I would recommend staying on a higher floor - was on the 8th this time. We stayed on a lower floor once and the noise from a party was dreadful and they carried on way too late. That is one thing about this hotel - they have a ballroom here and seem to have a lot of parties and large church groups meet here. Here again I stayed at one of the other hotels listed higher and they have the ice machines out in the middle of the hall and who wants to wake up at 5 AM when a large group starts to fill their ice chest non stop - that is right 5 AM!!!! The hotel can get very full and busy. If this was your first time here that might really make you frustrated but as I have been here and seen the hotel at all sorts of times I just take it in stride. The elevators can be slow and I have seen that the restaurant for breakfast can be slow but I have found the turn around time on my order has been much improved.
The beds could be better - they are older and pretty stiff. I hate the pillows here - I always take my own pillow when I stay here. The sheets are clean but thinner - not high quality hotel sheets you would find in a place like a Ritz or a Westin certainly. If you can I strongly recommend taking your own pillow - really a must here. Oh and the room had a flat screen tv and the carpet was clean.
Someone commented on safety. I travel with my husband and I travel on my own. I have never felt unsafe in the hotel. I used to bring my dog here too over the years and we would walk around the block at the hotel when she needed to go out. I would not venture much further outside that area on your own. Downtown Lynchburg is making a turn to come back from the ashes but it still has a ways to go from it's heyday in the 60s. The parking lot is lit and I don't have a problem leaving any of my cars there - including our convertible.
I have stayed here enough to be recognized by most of the staff. I find the majority of the staff very friendly and helpful. The waitress in the restaurant works hard and she is a really sweet person and tries her best to take care of you.
Like I said earlier I highly recommend this hotel over most of the others listed higher in the area than the Holiday Inn Select. It is not the Craddock Terry - old warehouse converted to a hotel in the last 5 -6 years - but it is much better then the Holiday Inn Express - huge ewwww, the Kirkley - hate this place and the ice machines, the Hilton Garden Inn - I had to wait until housekeeping came in the morning to clean the hair out of the tub, and the Courtyard - one of the worst Courtyard I have EVER been in. I could go on but you get the picture.
- Holiday Inn Lynchburg
- Lynchburg Holiday Inn
