WA Spokane Holiday Inn Express Spokane Valley

[blkjck1]

For something to do during the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada, I booked a trip to Spokane (the closest larger American city to my home city of Calgary within driving distance) to do some shopping and see a couple of Gonzaga U. baseball games. I booked a room for 3 nights through Priceline at $50 a night, and was not disappointed to receive the HI Express Spokane Valley because of the high Tripadvisor rating (#1 at the time of writing). We were not disappointed with the resulting stay.

Check-in was a very quick process, and was made more enjoyable by Kip, the canine greeting committee. We had asked in advance for a two bed suite that was non-smoking, and we got just that on the third floor. The room was clean, good sized, and well equipped. We never heard any noise from the exterior of the hotel, nor in the hall way. The breakfast bar was well equipped in the morning. The location of the hotel is very convenient, as you were one or two minutes away from I-90, and a 10-15 minute drive into Spokane proper.

The quibbles that I have about this place are minor. I'm not a fan of hotels where the bathroom vanity sink are external to the toilet and shower, but that's just me. We did leave our hotel room at 8 am one morning, and came back around 3:30 to find that the housekeeping staff had not done our room yet, and knocked on our door around 4:30 to get to it. I would rather they did the room earlier as I kind of felt that I needed to leave for the evening before I was ready, but if the staff was busy that day, then the staff was busy. There was also this old style tube TV in the room that suffered from interference whenever someone was getting a Blackberry message, and the screen image was not very good. We were asked by the front desk if there was anything that would have made our stay better, and when I mentioned the TV, they said that they were having new flat screens installed in all the rooms by the end of the summer 2010. Really, I am just being picky, but that doesn't impact my rating whatsoever.

Kip is just a wonderful dog, and I was happy to see that he makes the lobby his own, as his stuffy toys were strewn in random spots on the floor. While I never had the chance to walk or play with him, I truly enjoyed patting him and doing what I would normally do with my own dog. One day, after spending a few minutes patting him, he followed me like I was his master, which really made it feel like home and my own pup. Kip is a nice touch, and I love how this establishment has a house dog.

We won't hesitate to stay here again!