I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express about 3 weeks ago and was terribly disappointed. I know the hotel is trying to be updated but there are good ways of taking care of remodels and bad ways. This was horrible. The first floor that led to the elevators and all of the rooms showed exposed ceiling tiles, a latter that remained in the middle of the hall despite it being 11:00PM and no one was working on the remodel, holes in the wall that exposed wires, a fine layer of dust, dirt, and debree was left on the floor that kicked up my asthma. The room was not bad except of the hard beds. Great hot breakfast. On the way back to the room after breakfast, we saw a mouse run from a hole in the wall under one of the doors to the room. When I mentioned to the front desk about the mouse, the lady just said thank you. I wasn't sure if she really cared. I have to say this was the most aweful stay I've ever had in a hotel. When I contacted the corporate office, they said they would allow the manager to know but I've never heard anything from the management. This was a big disappointment.

We stopped on our way in Charleston, WV for the night... Note to self: never book a hotel in Charleston, WV. We stayed in a supposed Holiday Inn Express that was a complete dump from the 70's. Hotwire tricked me into thinking that I was getting this great deal (supposed 90% recommended it), but we walked in to a bare cement floor lobby with moldy exposed drywall and walked through what used to be a wall that was just studs to get to our room. I understand remodel, but goodness. Our room was also a dump and the sad thing is, I think it was one they supposedly remodeled. Wallpaper had brown glue smudges where they tried to put it back up. The ceiling was brown in spots from years of water damage. The smell was a pleasant mix of 40 years of smoke, river sludge, and overall mustiness. The carpet was sticky and wet. But it had this weird look that this room was actually something they tried to remodel. Cheap tub lining, lots of caulk everywhere, cheap fixtures, etc...

I was thinking about possibly visiting the casino real quick but right around when I had that thought, the fire alarm went off. I guess a TV or air conditioner caught on fire a few floors above us. We did get to know our neighbors though, and it appeared they all were tricked by Hotwire as well. We finally got to sleep but I kept one eye open the whole night in case the thing went up in flames. We headed down to breakfast the next morning and the haze of smoke still was visible in the hallway... yuck. Next trip, I am just going to bite the bullet and pay the hundred bucks for a Hampton Inn with good reviews. Please avoid this hotel and avoid booking anything in this depressed city, if you can.

We stayed here on a long trip from the midwest, got in after 16 hours on the road. About 11pm. The place was FULL of teenagers running wild through the halls and up and down the elevators. Very bad. Turns out the Civic Center - across the street -had some volleyball tournament that weekend. Warning to travelers: if you stay here, find out if there is an event with kids that will ruin your stay.

I asked the desk clerk if there was a way to put us away from all the undisciplined kids, and he said not really, but he put us on a floor that had mostly king beds, hence many fewer kids. The clerk looked as sick of these kids as we would end up being. It worked out OK, much better than the lower floors, but it was still a hassle with these brats running around, hollering in the elevator and running in and out of doors. What the heck happened to chaperones or parents? I took many overnight trips in high school, but this sort of thing was not tolerated.

Oh, and if there was security to prevent this, they were ineffective,

I understand the lure of large groups for hotels, such as softball teams or volleyball. You will fill up a block of rooms on an off weekend. But I can guarantee you, your failure to act ruins your specific location for future travelers and for the brand in general.

As to the room, it was run down, not renovated. The hotel obviously used to be something else. But that was OK, the desk man set us above most of the crap below us. But it sure was not what I expected from a HIE. I'm a Platinum Priority Club member, so I know HI and like them.

Had we not had to deal with the hotel full of undisciplined kids, my take may have been totally different. But if a property is going to take the ca$h for groups at the expense of loyal customers, they have to expect the criticism.

I would like to have been able to walk around the area and see it, having never been to Charleston before. But we could not wait to get out of there.

Like others, I travel a fair bit and often stay at hotels in the Intercontinental chain. Holiday Inn Express is a solid choice and exists in many small markets. This is a fine hotel. It is a bit noisy (as it is adjacent to the Civic Center) and it is a bit more tired than many of these hotels, which tend to be new. One thing bothered me and that was that the wireless was not working and I called the front desk to ask about it and was basically told told that she knew nothing about it and that I needed to call some 800 number to talk to the internet provider. It turns out that I called that number and the folks there were really helpful and were able to diagnose the problem and fix it from their location. I wish the desk clerk was as helpful.