Avid IHG Hotel Review – Madison Wisconsin

I had a recent business trip that required a stay in Madison Wisconsin. Thankfully the weather was mild and almost warm for January in Madison. I picked one of the new IHG brands that just launched, called Avid. I didn’t bother to read the press releases they have done on this so I’m not sure what they are trying to achieve.

My impression is that it’s a minimalist Euro Budget approach. Something like a cross between an Ibis and Holiday Inn Express. This property opened on December 19th, 2019 so it is only a couple of weeks old. It’s hard not to like a brand new property of any type. I’ll be interested to see what it’s like in say 3 years but I guess that’s on the local management to keep it in good shape.

I liked the free breakfast offering that has self service hot sandwiches that seemed to be really good quality. They also have self service cereals, fruit and a good selection of items that all seem fresh.

I also really like the higher end Bunn self service coffee machines but I think they missed a chance to add a high end self service espresso / cappuccino type unit in this area. It just seems like a natural fit to have a Nespresso or Illy type machine in addition to what they have on offer. Not a big deal though.

This Avid hotel has a 24 hour fitness center with nice new equipment. No swimming pool which is fine for this property. Free parking at this location and they offer a grab and go market store in the lobby that had a lot of soda, bottled waters, snacks, etc. Overall a nice concept. I think adding a small bistro lobby bar sort of like Hyatt Place or some Holiday Inn Expresses in Europe have would be a bonus but not a big deal.

The rooms are nice because they are new and also well arranged. They are small. Not Clubquarters small but about half the size of many USA Holiday Inn Express properties. They offer laminate flooring much like the latest HIX designs from IHG. My room had a shower and no bathtub. I assume all the rooms are shower only which I like.

PRO’s – Nice new fun concept.

Simple brand with good service and clean.

Price point seemed to be lower than other hotels at time of my stay.

Free parking.

24 hour fitness center.

Free breakfast with good food. Great staff.

CON’s – No bar soap. I don’t love it but I “get” the virtue-signaling / cost savings of the bulk shampoo and soap bottles in the shower but bar soap is a must for me. This is a big negative in my world and such a simple thing to make right.

TV was good but didn’t seem easy to stream your own content or watch Netflix, Crackle, etc. Marriott seems to be a leader in this area. Not a big deal.

Rooms a bit noisy with somewhat thin walls and the typical self slamming doors. Not a big deal but could be a killer if around those with lack of an indoor voice or door slamming habits.

Overall I really love this hotel (other than the bar soap issue). I would stay here or at other Avid’s again but I need to remember to pack my own bar soap for some odd reason #brokenrecord. I’m not sure we really need another hotel brand but I could learn to love Avid hotels.

Hotel Photo Review Holiday Inn Express West St. Louis Wentzille

September 29, 2019 DaninMCI hotel points, hotel review, hotels, Travel, trip review HIX, holiday inn, holiday inn express, hotel, hotel review, I-70, IHG, intercontinental, Missouri, st. Louis stl

This HIX hotel is a brand new hotel right on I-70 near Exit 208 in the far West Suburbs of St.Louis. It is a typical new design. I love new hotels as they are usually spotless and clean. This is no exception. Indoor pool is nice, sorry no photos as too many people swimming during my stay.

The real bright spot of this hotel is the great staff. Only downside is that breakfast doesn’t start until 6:30am which isn’t the end of the world unless you need to leave early.

Hotel Review of Holiday Inn Express Phoenix Airport University Drive PHX

July 12, 2019 DaninMCI hotel points, hotel review, hotels, Travel, trip review airports, Arizona, HIX, holiday inn, holiday inn express, hotel, hotel review, IHG, Phoenix, phx, trip report, trip review

Quick photo review of the Holiday Inn Express Airport. This was a quick overnight before an early morning flight. Overall this is a very nice HIX a couple miles from PHX and they do have shuttle service and free parking for guests.

I was disappointed to find that breakfast isn’t served until 6am which normally would be OK but airport hotels should know better. Many people staying at airport hotels have early departures of course.

There is a waffle house in the parking lot but no other restaurants within walking distance except the Hilton Garden Inn nearby.

Because of my Spire status I was upgraded to a Junior Suite which was very nice and roomy. Overall I slept well with good AC on a day with 113 degree temps. I didn’t try the pool but i enjoyed the stay here.

IHG 2nd Quarter Accelerate Promo Now Live but….

May 2, 2019 DaninMCI Contest, hotels, miles, Travel business travel, holiday inn, holiday inn express, hotel, hotel points, hotels, IHG, promo, Travel

In case you’re not familiar IHG Hotels has for many years run a quarterly bonus point earning promo called Accelerate. It has been decent for many years however it is targeted and seems to track how often you stay at IHG. So in other words, if you don’t stay at IHG hotels (Holiday Inn’s, etc.) often then you tend to get really good offers. Like “Stay 1 Night and earn 4,000 bonus points” or whatever. If you stay at a lot of IHG hotels the offers tend to get harder to achieve but also may offer greater rewards. For example “Stay 26 nights this quarter and get 20,000 bonus points” or whatever.

IHG says:

Complete your customized offers now and get your points. With offers designed for the way you like to travel, Accelerate helps you experience more of life. Earn bonus points, get rewards, and make every stay count more.

How does it work?

1. Book and stay at any IHG® hotel around the world from now until August 31.
2. Earn bonus points to use for great rewards and moments that matter.

So we get to:

Have: Customized offers, great (See above)

Offers that are designed for “the way you like to travel”, Apparently not the way others like to travel for me to travel the way I do or something.

“Experience more of life”. Apparently by staying at IHG hotels “life” is more of an “Experience”

And we get to “make every stay count more”.

All sounds great unless you get a crappy offer like my wife did this year.

Here is her offer:

OK let’s say you aren’t familiar with this promo and think this is a great offer. That would be good if you didn’t know that my wife usually has an Accelerate promo worth like 50,000 points but can be hard to reach. She stays about 100 nights a year in hotels so targeting 24 nights’ish in a quarter to get some bonus works for her and IHG. This promo is so low AND requires her to stay for leisure to obtain it. Since she is a business traveler she doesn’t usually stay over on Saturday night. She doesn’t usually book for points & cash and uses a business credit card. Kind of disappointed.

Before you accuse me of kicking the gift horse that IHG Accelerate usually provides I will point out the offer I got below. Why is mine better? Because IHG had done the same to me in early 2018 and I moved all my stays over to Marriott in early 2018 to try and reset the clock with IHG. Good plan right? Sure except I found out that I REALLY like Marriott. In the marketing world, I would consider that a failure. So by IHG having targeted promo’s that punish loyal customers (11,600 versus 60,100) it can backfire I think.

I won’t bring up the registration process issues on this latest promo. Mine worked fine and my wife’s didn’t load until after May 1st. Not sure why. I assume IT issues and not that they more closely reviewed her’s for extra crappy-ness.

Anyway. I urge you to register if you even think you’ll stay at an IHG hotel soon.

How does it work?

1. Sign up for Accelerate.
2. Book and stay at any of your favorite IHG® hotels from May 1, 2019, and August 31, 2019.
3. Earn bonus points to use for great rewards.

You can sign up for the latest promotion by June 18, 2019, and each offer must be completed between 5/1/18 and May 1, 2019, and August 31, 2019.

Holiday Inn Express Early Texas Photo Review

November 27, 2018 DaninMCI hotel review, hotels, Travel, trip review holiday inn, holiday inn express, hotel, hotel review, hotels, Travel, trip report, trip review

The HIX in Early Texas is a new, nice hotel with great staff. 6am breakfast, 24 hour large fitness center with excellent equipment and a nice outdoor pool cap off an excellent experience. Although the somewhat thin wall construction next to a busy road subtract some this is likely the best hotel within an hour or more in any direction. I will also note that Verizon has terrible coverage in this town. The free WiFi helped a ton on this stay.

Holiday Inn Express York Nebraska Photo Review

August 11, 2018 DaninMCI hotels, Travel, trip review HIX, holiday inn, holiday inn express, hotel review, Nebraska, Travel, trip review, York nebraska

Recently had a quick business overnight at the HIX in York. This hotel is fairly new and fairly typical. Good service but breakfast was a bit off on the day I was there. Seems like some of the supplies running low but nothing to complain about. This hotel is right on the interstate with nearby fast food and Walmart. Mostly business and construction workers but hotel was quiet. Rooms seem larger than most and spotless.

Quick Photo Share of Holiday Inn Express Norman Oklahoma

December 29, 2017 DaninMCI hotels, Travel, trip review HIX, holiday inn, holiday inn express, hotel review, oklahoma, trip review

Lobby area

Fitness room. Not bad. Newer equipment.

Standard but welcome Keurig and K-cups supplied daily at most HIX which I love.

Decent work area and TV. I always wish the TV’s could be bigger in most hotels.

Nice beds at this hotel. Updated decor is pleasant and calming at this hotel I think.

Nice clean hotel spotless bathrooms.

Photo review of Holiday Inn Express – Woodward Oklahoma

December 28, 2017 DaninMCI hotels, Travel, trip review HIX, holiday inn, holiday inn express, oklahoma, Travel, trip report, trip review, Woodward

Fairly typical layout. Small town HIX but well located. Several restaurants and a Wal-Mart next door.

Decent beds and pillows. Clean.

Decent workspace although not all the ovehead lights connected on the furniture like other HIX of this style.

This is an older hotel but with remodeled rooms and door slamming oilfield workers.

Typical HIX breakfast.

Main lobby room.

Indoor pool. Sorry I didny get a photo of the fitness center but it featured a sauna as well.

Overall not bad. Limited choices in this area so I’d stay here again.

Trip review Houston / Kemah Texas

November 14, 2016 DaninMCI hotels, Travel, trip review holiday inn express, hotels, IHG, review, Travel, united

I had a recent quick trip to Houston for business. I stayed at the Kemah Texas Holiday Inn Express. Not a bad hotel located near the Ocean front boardwalk area in Kemah. This is on the South side of Houston.

The room was decent although I’m not sure it was much of an upgrade based on my IHG Spire and Ambassador status. The room was comfortable, clean and quiet. The only negative was the HVAC system. It seemed to be set way too sensitive. It has the dumb Inncom electronic thermostat which can be set to VIP mode but it would switch between cold and hot. For example I came in the room and it was slightly too cold like at 68 degrees so I turned it up to say 69 and the AC would go off and then switch to heat to try and moderate 1 degree.

The view from my room was nice. It was a bit cloudy and rainy but you could see the boardwalk area and ocean.

The wild colored bathroom sink. Interesting. This room had a walk in good shower. Not sure if all the rooms have walk-in showers.

Another view of the room. Microwave and mini frig. Desk was fairly good set up for work.

A morning run view of the boardwalk amusement area. Part of my morning run in the area. View of the rough sea on a cloudy morning.

I flew into Houston Hobby on AA but had to get over to El Paso for other business so I elected to fly the United non-stop out of IAH. I was surprised that I didn’t have to pay a big surcharge to drop the rental car from National at a different airport so that was impressive.

The regional UA jets are lumped into one terminal cattle holding area where they call you down the hallway method to walk outside to board. I always love it for some odd reason. My wife things I’m an idiot for getting so excited about walking out on the tarmac. Always a good photo-op situation. I love it.

Quick trip summary El Paso Texas ELP

August 10, 2016 DaninMCI Travel AA, aadvantage, airports, american airlines, El Paso, ELP, holiday inn, holiday inn express, Travel

I was in El Paso for business recently and thought I’d post a few photos. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites West hotel in the Northwest suburbs of town. Good hotel with good staff. I would recommend it if in the area. It’s a little ways from the airport, like say 20 minutes but not bad.

The ELP airport wasn’t bad but I was a bit disappointed in the AA gate employee. Super laid back and in no big hurry to board passengers. Not good about communications, boarded late, etc. It really didn’t effect the flight as it was on time and a small plane but in an IROP situation I can see where things could get ugly here.