We drove 950 miles & stayed here for several nights last week due to a death in the family. The staff gave exceptional customer service, were very pleasant & professional. The room was very clean & the bed was comfortable. Great location, close to I-95 & reasonably priced. Would definitely stay there again & highly recommend this hotel for anyone staying in the North East, MD area.

I arrived to the hotel driving from Ohio around 12:00 PM on July 30th. At the front desk, Jay Desai, the hotel manager, asked me for my name. When I gave him my name, he said that my smoking room was ready. I said to him that I did not want a smoking room. He said that the reservation came as a smoking room and because this came through Priceline.com there was nothing he could do. He then said that he was looking for a room that did not smell like cigarette too much. Then he gave me the key.

When I entered the room, is smelled really bad. I called Priceline and told them what happened. They asked me to go back to the front desk and have the manager call them.

I went back to the front desk and asked Jay to call Priceline. With a little hesitation he called. As he was waiting for Priceline on the phone, he said that he just received a cancellation for a non-smoking room. He asked me if I wanted a one king bed of two queen bed room. I said two. Now all this time I'm thinking that he is just going to switch rooms since the smoking room was already paid. He looked at me dead in the face and said that it was an additional $45.00 and some change. (Smoking and non-smoking room rates are the same.) I could not believe what I heard. He kept on insisting that, because I got a discounted rate through Priceline, there was nothing that he could do.

When the Priceline representative answered the phone, he immediately told him that I wanted a refund. I did not want a refund, I wanted a non-smoking room. He did not even try to talk Priceline to see if they could get me a non-smoking room.

He got Priceline to agree to give me a refund. I gave him the key, and he said that he was sorry for what happened but, again there was nothing that he could do.

Here are some thoughts:

1. I'm not aware if Holiday Inn Express Hotels are franchises, like McDonnalds, where they have an owner, but operate under the name of the for the name brand holder. I this is the case, I could understand why Jay would be so upset for me cheating him, personally, of the $45.00 discount I got. He may have a family to feed and $45.00 can come in handy. However, if the above is the case, I would suggest for him to stop the relationship with Priceline.com or any other discount service. Then he would not have his day ruined by somebody like me who is trying to stay at his hotel at a discount.

2. If Jay is not the owner the hotel, but an employee of Holiday Inn Express, then he should have switched the smoking room to a non-smoking room what it became available. Thus providing excellent customer service.

3. If Holiday Inn as a company does not like to give discounts through Priceline.com, Hotwire and such, then they should end their relationship with these companies and avoid leaving potential direct guests without a room to stay after driving 8 hours.

As a result, I had to go to drive to several hotels in the area to get a room. Finally, I was able to stay in a non-international-recognized-hotel named New Eastern Inn Elkton, MD who provided me with the excellent customer service that was lacking in Jay.

Perhaps Holiday Inn should send Mr. Desai in an internship to New Eastern Inn so he can learn a few things. I can provide address and phone number if interested.

when I looked for this site to write a review, I start reading the older ones..and was shocked...all the reviews was bad...I thank my god that I didn't read it before booking
This Holidayinn is very clean and comftrable...the room was very nice, well decorated, the beds was very clean, the bathroom, nice with natural stone, well mentained
The Breakfast was the best that I had in travelling hotels - motels...It's not like a five stars hotel..but its much better that all the others in this industry
We enjoyed the Pool and the Jackuzi..and Sauna too

The only two things that I can say is the noise from the highway...and the courtains...the should put longer and wider ones so you can make the room darker and not wake up so early

I've stayed at this location approximately 8 times over the last five years. Sadly, the things that I raved about in an earlier review have not held steady. The rooms are showing wear and it appears that only the minimum has been done to maintain rooms. The breakfast room is still very nice and clean. The staff is pleasant.

I wouldn't vacation here but for an overnight to/from someplace, it is fine. The beds are getting a little too soft and it is now just an average hotel vs. its performance 5 years ago. For the quality offered, it does seem to be a bit overpriced.

Too bad, as it has the potential to be a winner in the brand.