Stay Report: Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre (Helsinki, Finland - June 2022)

    Stay Report: Holiday Inn Helsinki City Centre
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I was traveling to Helsinki, Finland but I was only going to be there for a short period so I wanted a hotel that would be central and within walking distance to the city center and most sites.  Based on this criteria, I found the Holiday Inn Helsinki City Center and it fit all the criteria I was looking for.  It was very easy to book and manage the hotel through both the website and app.  The hotel is connected to the train station but it is not attached, so you do have to exit the train station but it is in the same footprint so only a couple of steps from the last platform and a 30-second walk from the main entrance.  

As you exit the side entrance of the train station, the hotel is visible on the right-hand side.  From the outside it looks nice and modern, but perceptions can be deceiving sometimes.  As you enter the lobby, the check-in desks are straight ahead, to the right was the bar and restaurant as well as waiting area, and to the left are the elevators/lifts, the 'business center'/computer stations, additional waiting areas, some work stations, and some places to relax and lounge.  The lobby was definitely spacious, had lots of good amenities, and looked renovated and updated.  Check-in was quick, I received my key, went to the 5th floor and proceeded to enter my room; this is where the renovations had ceased.

The room was definitely not updated and looked very nice for the 1980s or 1990s.  As you entered into the room, along the right side were large doors and behind the doors were the closets, ironing board and iron, safe, and coffee maker; there was lots of space but the doors and look of the closets looked dated.  Along the left side of the room was the bathroom which contained a toilet, a sink with a long countertop, and a tub which contained only a half-door.  The half-door did absolutely nothing to hold the water in, the facilities in the bathroom did not look updated and the overall look was dated.  There were reusable toiletries in the shower and next to the sink; this hotel used Dove and while it smelled decent, it seemed a bit cheap (I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Warsaw and the product they used smelled and seemed more upscale).

As you moved further into the room, on the left were the two twin beds.  Each bed had a small nightstand on either side and each night stand had a small light as well as a plug and USB ports - at least that was updated and that was convenient.  The beds were updated and although somewhat small, provided a decent nights sleep.  Across from the beds was a TV screen mounted to the wall, a desk with an outdated phone and furniture, and along the wall was nice open windows which shown out onto the street and let it light; luckily they were also blackout curtains since the sun rose at 3am.

Amenities in the hotel included a restaurant, wifi, business centre, and fitness center.  Because of my limited time there, I was not able to visit the fitness center and had no need to visit the business center - which basically was the computer station in the lobby.  I did try the wifi which was fast and you could connect many devices.  As I said, the lobby was very open and spacious and there were lots of amenities as well as working spaces in there.  To me, the best feature about the hotel was the location as it was right next to the train station, it had a grocery store across the street, it was a 2-3 minute to many restaurants and shops and it was a 10-minute walk to the University and Main Square.  Overall, the location was very nice, the lobby and customer service was very nice but the rooms need to be updated. 

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Prague Airport (Czech Republic - August 2018)

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Prague Airport
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I was traveling in Prague with a friend and staying at an AirBnB in the city, but they were leaving a day earlier and I had an early morning flight the next day so I decided to leave the AirBnB and stay next to the airport.  There are two hotels located next to Prague Airport - Courtyard by Marriott or Holiday Inn.  The Courtyard is located on the airport property and is probably a 2-minute walk to terminal, while the Holiday Inn is located further way on airport property but is a 10-15 minute walk outside.  I decided on the Holiday Inn because there was a significant price difference between the two, and for me the higher price did not justify the distance to the airport (especially since Holiday Inn also runs a complimentary shuttle to/from the airport).  Booking the stay through the IHG website was very convenient, and it was very easy to manage the reservation through the IHG app.  

Check-in time was stated to be around 1pm, but I went to the hotel early (as my friend's flight was leaving early) and the hotel was accommodating and allowed for an early check-in.  From the outside, the hotel looks newly built and modern.  As you enter into the lobby, the bar/restaurant is your right-hand side while in front is a lounge/sitting area.  To the left, against the wall, are the check-in desks.  Check-in went smoothly and during check-in we inquired about the shuttle (since we had an early flight) and the check-in attendant asked if we wanted to order breakfast to go.  Apparently breakfast was complimentary and for those who have early flights, they prepare breakfast to go in bags for passengers to take with them.  Its a nice gesture (and one that I have only seen at a few hotels) and it was nice for the check-in attendant to mention this.  I got my key and took the elevator, which were open elevators so you can see outside and which were located next to the check-in desks, and went up to the 4th floor to my room.

The 4th floor is considered the "IHG Floor", and after looking at the room I am not sure what that meant considering it was a standard HI room.  As you entered into the room, on left was an open closet and a place to sit down (which was nice) and next to it was another open storage area that contained the iron and ironing board.  Across from the open closet was the bathroom which was a decent size and contained a sink, a toilet, and a stand-up shower.  The size of the bathroom and the items in the bathroom were decent, but the bathroom toiletries needed to be improved.  The open closet continued into the bedroom area where there was a space to place your suitcase.  This was connected to the ledge which run across the
wall and continued into the desk.  Above the ledge was a TV and on the ledge were books about the city, the TV remote, complimentary bottle of water, as well as coffee/tea set.  Below the ledge, right next to the desk, was a storage space as well as a mini-fridge.


On the other side of the wall, away from the TV, was the bed.  It was a queen-size bed so it was a decent size and it was comfortable enough for the one night (the bed was comfortable enough for one or two nights - but not sure it would be comfortable for a longer stay).  On either side of the bed were two small nightstands connected to the bed and next to bed, facing the window, was a small table and chair.  While the additional furniture is appreciated, it was a lot of stuff in a not so big room; however, all the room and the bed were comfortable enough for the one night.

Since I was only there for one night I could only try out some of the hotel's facilities.  I tried the airport shuttle, which operated at specific times until 11am and then by request afterwards (it was a 5-minute ride to the airport); the wifi which was free and fast (with no security restrictions or passwords); and I went to the gym but it looked really small and basic - the sign said 'mini gym' and they were not joking.  The gym was located in the basement, next to the kitchen and staff quarters and seemed to be an afterthought and looked really depressing.  The hotel had additional amenities such as the restaurant but I was not able to try that; I did try the complimentary breakfast which was given to me in a to-go bag and this was a nice gesture.


Overall, it was an average stay at the Holiday Inn Prague Airport.  The hotel is located on the airport property but at the farther end making it a longer walk or a short car ride away from the airport.  To access the city from here, you either need to take a car, paid transportation, or a bus which connects to the metro (which was not that complicated as many locals were also using this method).  The hotel and rooms are decent for one or two nights, and that seems to be what most people use this hotel for (park and go).  Given the price, you get a decent and updated hotel with free and fast wifi, a comfortable bed, and a complimentary breakfast.

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Paris - CDG Airport (Paris, December 2011)

Stay Report: Holiday Inn Paris - CDG Airport
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photo courtesy of IHG

I had a day layover between two flights so I was looking for a hotel that was near CDG airport and also had access to the train to go into the city.  There were many options that met these criteria, but since I was only going to be there for a little while I did not want to spend a lot.  The Holiday Inn Paris CDG Airport provided nice accommodation in a comfortable setting at a low cost.

It is very easy to book the hotel through the IHG website.  The hotel is located in the Roissy village, which is the town/village located right next to the airport and where most of the hotels are located.  The hotel is not connected to the train station, but there is a free bus that goes from the train station and makes a loop to the surrounding hotels in the area (it runs about every 10-15 minutes).  From the train station to the hotel was about a 5-10 minutes bus ride (the Holiday Inn is part of the later stops).  As the bus runs a loop, you can take the bus from the hotel to the train station but it does take some time so factor this in.  Even though the hotel is located towards the back of the ‘hotel’ village, it is actually closer to the real village so you can walk (about 5-7 minutes) to the village town center to access restaurants, coffee shops, ATM and bank, as well as a convenience store/market. 

From the road, you walk up a nice covered walkway to enter into the hotel.  There are benches on either side of the walkway so it provides a nice place to sit outside and wait for the bus.  As you enter in the hotel, straight ahead is the check-in desks.  To the left of the check-in desks is the restaurant and bar as well as little sitting area.  To the right of the check-in desks is access to the first floor rooms as well as the elevators.  There is also a monitor that provides live information on your flights.  Check-in was quick and efficient, I received my key for my room on the first floor, and proceeded to my room.

The room itself was comfortable, nice and updated, but it was not the biggest room.  I had booked a

photo courtesy of IHG

room with 1 queen bed so as I opened the door, on the left was the entrance to the bathroom while on the right was the closet.  The bathroom was clean but very small; it reminded me of a standard European bathroom.  The bathroom had a toilet, a bidet, a shower, and a sink but it was all right next to each other with very little room to move.  The shower was also very small and tight.  The interesting and nice thing about the hotel was that they had dispensers for shampoo, body wash, and lotion instead of individual, travel-size containers – a nice eco-touch.  The bathroom shared a wall with the main area of the room. 

The main area had a queen size bed against the right-hand wall and across from the bed was a desk along with a chest with drawers on the bottom and TV mounted against the wall.  Next to the bed was a small chair and table that faced the windows – there wasn't much to look at but the curtains were thick so they could block out most of the sun (if you wanted to sleep during the day – again a nice touch since passengers are coming in from all over the world).  The bed was a standard Queen-size bed that you would fine in America and it provided a really comfortable sleep.  (I was surprised at the size of the bed as I was expecting the smaller, European-style beds).  Overall, the room looked and smelled clean and comfortable. 

photo courtesy of IHG

The hotel has many facilities, but since I was there for a short while I did not experience them all.  The hotel has a business center, fitness center, restaurant, bar, wifi, and complimentary shuttle.  I did experience the wifi, which was complimentary and had good speeds.  I was also able to print out my boarding pass from the business center.  As previously stated, I also used the complimentary shuttle which, although took some time, provided good access to the trains and to the city.

Overall, it was a nice stay at the hotel.  The hotel looked modern, the lobby smelled really nice, and the service was really good.  The hotel had access to the bus for transportation (the hotel was in contact with the bus so you could wait inside the warm hotel until the bus alerted the hotel that it was on its way) as well as was in walking distance to the Roissy village to access restaurant, shops, and ATMs.  The only negative was the ‘small-ish’ bathroom and the transportation via bus, but both of those were small negatives as overall it was a pleasant stay.

Stay Report: Holiday Inn - Attica Av., Airport West (Athens, Greece - July 2017)

Stay Report: Holiday Inn - Attica Av., Airport West
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

We had an overnight in Athens from one flight to another so we decided to find a hotel near Athens Airport.  There are a couple of options, but we had some IHG points so decided to use them for a free night at the Holiday Inn Athens West.  The hotel is located about 15-20 minutes away from the airport, and there is a free shuttle that operates between the hotel and the airport.  The shuttle was one of the negatives of the hotel as it is not very convenient.  The shuttle only operates on the hour from the airport to the hotel, and on the half an hour from the hotel to the airport (so if you miss it, there is A LONG waiting time for the next shuttle).  Also the shuttle is a small van that seats approximately 15-18 people, but since there is a long waiting time usually there are more individuals waiting for the bus so it was always packed.

We had arrived at night around 9:20p so we had to wait about 40 minutes for the 10p shuttle to arrive.  When it arrived, it was a very chaotic to get onto the bus and then it was a 15-20 minute drive to the hotel.  The hotel is very big and has a lot of services to offer including a business center, an indoor pool, a fitness center, as well as two restaurants.  There were two check-in attendants for a big group, so if you were in the back of the line it was going to take a while to check-in; luckily we were in the front of the line so check-in happened rather quickly.  We received our key and took the elevator up to our room.  The elevator was located in the middle of the hotel, with corridors on each side leading to the rooms.  

The hallway look updated and the rooms also had updated keys.  As you entered into the

room, on the left was the bathroom while on the right was the open closet and storage area.  Overall, the size of the room was decent and not too small but not too big either.  The bathroom was the same way, there was enough room to move about but it was not a spacious bathroom.  The bathroom had a sink, a full tub on the right, and a toilet and bidet on the left.  The only negative of the bathroom were the amenities, which were not standard IHG amenities but local ‘Greek’ amenities which were not as good. 

Back inside the room, the open closet and storage connect to a counter which also housed the coffee maker. Below the coffee maker was the minifridge/bar and above the coffee maker where more shelves which held the coffee supplies.  Further along this wall was the TV, and then next to the window was a desk with power outlets along the wall.  Behind the desk was a small table, which was not very convenient as there was little room between the desk and the table.  On the other side of the table was a chair, a nice addition but again it was tight room. 

The beds were located against the wall, next to the chair and opposite to the TV.   If you faced the bed, on the left-hand side of each bed was a night stand, again with power outlets.  This was a nice amenity to have convenient power outlets so you don’t have to go search for them.  The beds themselves were comfortable and provided a nice and restful sleep.  The beds were definitely European in their size, as they felt more like full-size beds instead of the regular size beds in American rooms.

As we were only there for one night, we did not get to experience other amenities of the hotel besides the free wifi.  The wifi was strong and decent enough to check emails and stream videos.  Overall, it was a pleasant overnight stay at the Holiday Inn.  The hotel was comfortable and provided a nice rest.  The only negatives were the chaotic shuttle and the bathroom amenities.  The positives were the decent room size and the comfortable beds.