TN Knoxville Holiday Inn Central Papermill Drive

[PDB_905]

Holiday Inns (not Express or Select) are just plain old. At least in my experience. This was no exception.

My stay was 8/6/10 to 8/7/10. I was just looking for a place to spend the night during a road trip on I-40. I got this hotel for $41 on Priceline so my expectations weren't super high.

Anyway, as expected the property feels, looks, and smells old.

At check in, I presented my Priority Club number and they gave me a certificate for a free breakfast buffet (normally $10) or a free drink at the bar. OK.

I got to my room and the first thing I noticed was that the bathroom smelled like mildew and the room was freezing. I turned off the A/C to let the room warm up and initially decided not to complain about the room as I just wanted to sleep and get back on the road in the morning.

Once I turned the A/C back on, it was constantly turning off and on, and making weird noises. I didn't like the idea of trying to sleep with that going on, so I decided to request a different room.

They were very nice and apologetic, and gave me a different room immediately. The new room was nice, the bathroom had been remodeled and was quite clean, and the A/C worked beautifully. It also was a little larger, with a full size sleeper sofa.

The first room was appropriate for a 1-star property. The second room was appropriate for a basic 2.5-star property.

I'm disappointed they tried to stick me in a sub-standard room when they had better rooms available. That was my biggest complaint.

So be adivsed, as of this date this hotel has some decent rooms and some crappy ones, just don't let them try to put you in a crappy one.