Holiday Inn Express & Suites Atlanta Downtown

First and foremost, a tip of the cap to Felicia, the front desk manager here (and Mus, the valet).
This hotel appears to be an older apartment building that has been renovated and converted into a hotel. The rooms are a little musty, but to be expected — I suspect the building is 80 years old. However, I must emphasize — the rooms were not dirty, not in the least.
Here’s a good secret and how I learned it. Originally, I had reserved a suite, because I intended to be in town for 4 days. But, I ended up in a regular room. Here’s a secret — the regular rooms might be better than the suites. It’s the same desk, fridge, and microwave. The suite literally gives you an extra TV, and that’s about it (lesson learned for next time).
As to Felicia and her team. apparently, the computer system had some glitch and my reservation was changed from the suite I reserved to a regular room with two beds. Apparently, there was some computer error that showed my reservation preference was for two beds, instead of a suite, so when they started running out of suites, the yield management software thought they were helping me out kicking me down. The following morning, Felicia arranged for me to get moved back to a suite, and well compensated me for the trouble. She was probably the most friendly person I dealt with during this entire trip to Atlanta.
Candidly, the breakfast was likely the worst breakfast I have ever had at a Holiday Inn property. The first day, they were out of several items, and the sausage was overcooked and very dry. The second day, they had most everything but the biscuits were rock hard. It was certainly not enough to discourage me from staying here again. But, the lousy breakfast was likely the only thing holding this property back from 5 stars.

This is one of the Overflow Hotels offered for Dragon Con, due to its close proximity to the host hotels. I stayed here with a group of people Labor Day weekend, and I was actually surprised at the size of the room. I’ve stayed at considerably smaller sized rooms for Dragon Con, with the same amount of people before. There was one king sized bed that could fit 3 people, and a pull out mattress on the sofa. Unfortunately, that was a piece of crap. So much so, in fact, that the air mattresses we used was waaay more comfortable. There was also a mini kitchenette, with a microwave (but no sink), a mini fridge, and some cabinet space for food storage. Each of the two «rooms» also had a large flat screen TV. The hot breakfast was decent, with items like sweet rolls, cereal, fruit (bananas and apples), muffins, and sausage. There were plenty of tables to eat it on, as well.
PROS:
–Proximity to Dragon Con was pretty good. About a 5 – 10 minute walk away.
–Location itself is very good, because it’s near a bunch of other restaurants and places of interest.
–Hotel staff was very accommodating.
–They had a free hot breakfast, which helped us save money for the one day we got up early enough to use it.
–The bathroom appeared fairly updated, with a waterfall flow sink, toilet with two flush options, and a shower that flowed hot and had great water pressure.
–At the end of the day, they were able to store our luggage behind the desk.
CONS:
–The mini kitchenette didn’t have a sink.
–The mattress on the sofa bed was abysmal, and probably wouldn’t be comfortable for anyone over 90 pounds, much less two people over that weight.
–The elevators are freakishly small. So if you’ve got on a large costume, good luck fitting in there. There is a warning that says a maximum of 5 people, but that’s being generous. We were able to fix 7 of us in one elevator because we are relatively average sized people. But there was a family of 4 who were all very rotund, and only 3 of them could fit on the elevator at one time. You’ve been warned.
–They charged the person whose name was on the card twice, and now she’s having to go through a bunch of crap to sort of their mistake.
THE VERDICT:
All in all, it was a decent stay, but not really priced that affordably. Just like every hotel in the area, they use Labor Day as an excuse to hike up their rates 300%. The hotel staff was as accommodating as they could be, considering the onslaught of con goers that were there over the weekend. When we needed fresh towels and toilet paper, they made sure that we had it. When we left trash bags outside of the room because we didn’t wake up until 3pm, they made sure to take them away.
At the end of the weekend, they were even able to store our stuff behind the desk, with individual tags to designate who they belonged to. We did have some issues retrieving a dress for someone in the room there. She didn’t pick it up the day we checked out, so for some reason they misplaced it and put it in the basement. Initially they told us it would either be stored behind the desk or upstairs, «But nowhere else.» Instead of calling her and making sure she knew they still had it, they just stored it out if sight. They also doubly changed the person whose name was on the bill. Even though it came out of her account 30 days before check in, they did it again. I don’t know the entire circumstances about it, but it sounded like she was out several hundred dollars in fees. Because of those issues, I wouldn’t book this hotel again.

Came here with a sports package to watch the Red Sox and Braves. First room was more like a train or cruise ship room. No windows. Narrow. When we asked at the front desk to pay to upgrade and improve our room, the manager stepped in and gave us a suite at no extra cost. We have a great view and are very appreciative to the staff at Holiday Inn Express. Very close to everything downtown, easy walk to all attractions. Easy cab ride to Turner Field.

It’s small for American standards, ever been in a cruise ship bathroom? Rooms were clean. Coffee was weak! They need to invest in soft close doors. So unless you enjoy hearing slamming doors all night long, go elsewhere. But for one night we liked the low price. You get what you pay for.

Terrible! Amazing location but from making the reservation to paying for it after we checked out sucked! Will never stay here again!

Good location. Very small room is clean. Tiny elevator. Avoid this place if you’re claustrophobic.

3.5 ‘s overall rating.
Location 4’s.
Parking 2’s it’s $ 20 a night but secure.
Staff 5’s. They were friendly and kind.
Room Size 2’s.
Room cleanliness 3’s.
Bed cleanliness/​comfort 4’s.
Price 3’s.
Continental breakfast 3’s.
Overall, I ended up having a good stay in the end.
However, there are problems with the internet not being able to connect with certain devices. It’s in a 120 year old building so it’s somewhat outdated amenity wise, and the bathtub drain was clogged and never drained.
It’s a fair price, availability regularly, and they give USAA and military members discounted rates, as well as AAA members.

Older property but fairly nice. Friendly, helpful staff. More dirty (floor, walls, etc) than most hotels I can remember. Good location for Atlanta nightlife especially the Tabernacle. Comfortable but small room. 4 stars but minus a star for the dirtiness.

The room we stayed in was great. Not a single complaint. Even had satellite tv instead of the standard crappy hotel tv stations. Had no issues with noise, didn’t even hear them slip the checkout packet under the door.
Had a paper waiting on me when I opened the door.
Valet parking was $ 25. Self park $ 15
Will definitely stay here again.

My company paid for the room, so can’t attest to the price. It’s ok for what it is. It’s not super fancy, but isn’t too run down either, typical renovated old building hotel.
The big killer for me is the WiFi. You definitely won’t be watching Netflix or YouTube. It even struggles to run most regular webpages. Internet users should look elsewhere.

The hotel is convenient to the CNN Center and other attractions in downtown ATL. The elevator is extremely shall… only 4 people can fit in comfortably. The room was small but clean. The bathroom was EXTREMELY small and had an odor.

Very pricey even for the location a few blocks from the Atlanta Hawks arena. Possibly the smallest and least accessible bathroom I have every seen (Maybe 50 square feet, 5×10). Clean, but noise noticeable from other rooms. Comfortable and soft beds. Modern, updated rooms and décor.

Stayed here with my Platinum points. I loved it. The staff made me feel at home right away.
The room was clean and comfortable. The room was an upgraded suite.
I was able to log into the internet without a drop of problems. The bed was clean and comfortable.
The breakfast was the best. Hot bacon, pancakes, juice, rolls, yogurt and cinnamon buns.
After I had checked out I had to do some work on my computer. They let me use there internet and stay and work for another 2 hours.
While I was working on my computer I was offered free sodas and refreshments.
Did I tell you I loved it here.
Close to the peach tree Marta center for subway.
I would stay here again.
i was able to get a late check out without a problem. Again the staff was super.
Would stay here again.

I’ve read a few of the other reviews here, and I have to say that yes, it is an older property. It appears to be in the middle of a remodel. The parking is a bit misleading, and yes, you can stay at a parking garage for $ 12 a day instead of $ 15, but you get no in and out privileges. The hallways are a bit worn, and the rooms could use a bit better maintenance.
Being a Priority Club Platinum member, I stay in a LOT of Holiday Inn Express properties. This one is, unfortunately, below average. But I did get upgraded to a suite. And, the king suite is a very nice size. There are some paint marks on the walls, but not bad. The room is clean, the bathroom is tiny but clean. In the bathroom, I actually really like the sink, a large bowl on a table fixture (pretty sure I saw something like this for sale at Costco once) which maximizes both available space and a nice large sink. The shower is marble. And it’s tiny. But it’s clean, and the water is warm, and the water needed a bit of a flush to make the taste not weird, but it’s not bad.
The bed was comfy, the staff was EXTREMELY friendly (I mean, wow, friendly, like compliment my husband’s purple hair friendly).
While the property lacks some amenities like a pool and a rather sparse selection of breakfast items, it’s $ 100 a night downtown. What more do you want? Thus, it’s OK, right in the middle, not a dump and not a top shelf place.

This appears to be a renovated «historic» building and it shows. First there is no parking onsite. Parking was $ 15 for me and takes place in a public garage across a side street (not across from the lobby entrance). Apparently, paying the garage directly would have saved me $ 3 a night. Also, the «front door» is barely marked and has no awning to protect from inclement weather nor is there a real loading zone (you simply park on the side of the street and try not avoid the panhandlers). Once inside the hotel does have a neat what I would call modern retro style. While small the elevators were retained from the original building and reminded me ones from movies set in the 40s. In the summer the hallways were HOT as I guess they are not air conditioned while also being small and featureless. Our queen «suite’s» living area featured an nook for hang ups, a small cabinet with a timer microwave and mini fridge, a small flat screen, and … a single armchair (I suppose my wife and I could take turns in the chair). The «bedroom» had a night stand, a 3 drawer chest, a 20″ tv inset into the wall to the side of the bed, and about a foot of clearance between the bed side and walls. I guess they built the bed piece by piece or put the bed there then the walls. The bathroom was outfitted with a premium sink and granite, but had barely enough room to put a contact case and toothbrush. The shower had nice tiling, but we never got to use it. Unfortunately, the bathroom had not been fully cleaned and the smallness revealed it’s hidden secret. Since we had a bathroom door that opens into the bathroom (in our floorplan) one must enter the bathroom, then close the door to use the toilet. After closing the door my wife found a collection of… hair we guess from some «personal» grooming the prior tenant had done. After a call to the front desk we were quickly moved to another «mini» queen suite that had an extra chest and a outward opening door to the bathroom. Once prepped for sleep, we found that this room had perhaps the loudest in window a/​c unit we had heard, which spent a lot of time filling the curtains with air. The curtains did a job of blocking out the lights from the buildings across the street. We didn’t stay for breakfast. Since it was «free» (I was staying as a rewards night), I suppose you get what you pay for, but in the future I’ll be paying for something else.

I am so disappointed with this hotel. I have stayed at other Holiday Inn Express and the rooms are roomy and comfortable.
This hotel room is far from spacious, more like a sardine can. We stayed with our kids and I have to compliment my kids for being good sports in such a crammed space. This place was depressing and made my visit to Atlanta a title uncomfortable. We didn’t have enough towels, the sink got stuck and the team from the bath triggered the smoke alarm.
I won’t discard this hotel line altogether but don’t recommend this location at all.
I have to agree that the staff was very nice.
And to the question of sausage gravy, they served it one day only.

We have usually found the Holiday Inn Express chain to be a great value when traveling. However, occasionally we get a dud.
This was, without a doubt, the smallest hotel room I have ever occupied. If airplane restrooms had showers, it would be just like the tiny bathroom in this hotel room.
There was something wrong with the bed frame, causing it to make a disturbing sound if you moved around much. I don’t know the thread count of the bed linen but the sheets were extremely scratchy.
The halls are dingy and depressing.
Overnight parking is across the street and costs $ 15 for overnight.
There was no sausage gravy at the breakfast buffet. They always have sausage gravy at the breakfast buffet! That’s why I stay there.
On the plus side, the staff was friendly and everything seemed clean