Holiday Inn Express St. Augustine Dtwn - Historic, An Ihg Hotel

“Smallest HIE I've stayed in!”

I needed 2 more nights for 2024 (had 24 past and 14 planned) to get to 40 nights so I could once again receive access to the IHG Club Lounges (mostly at Intercontinental locations). We decided to visit historic St. Augustine for our getaway. Actually, this hotel is not downtown or in historic St.… more

I needed 2 more nights for 2024 (had 24 past and 14 planned) to get to 40 nights so I could once again receive access to the IHG Club Lounges (mostly at Intercontinental locations). We decided to visit historic St. Augustine for our getaway. Actually, this hotel is not downtown or in historic St. Augustine but just over a mile away. Instead of paying to park in town, we took Lyft each way and left car at hotel. When we arrived, I was surprised to see how small the hotel was. I believe there are about 50 rooms, give or take a few. I had been assigned room 214, but it was adjacent to the elevator and subject to noise from such. I returned to the desk and was given 126, the end room on the 1st floor by the stairs. It was ok. As a Diamond IHG member, I asked about a room upgrade and was told that all 3 suites were taken. (I think some of the management occupies them, but not sure?) The benefits at HIE aren't that great for IHG members with status. Everyone gets breakfast (I will comment later) so that leaves a choice of 500 welcome points or an amenity bag. I was not given a choice and was presented with a bag with 2 bottles of water and a 2 pack of Oreo cookies. Ironically, we had brought a cooler with a dozen bottles of water! (1st time I didn't receive welcome points at an HIE?) As far as the room (both 214 and 126 had the same layout), and include a king sized bed, chaise lounge, desk with coffee maker next to a/c unit, a large TV, and an area with safe, microwave, and fridge from top to bottom. The bathroom had a shower (no bath), tub, and sink. The shower was very slippery so we used the provided rubber floormat. Everything was spotless. The day in between our nights, the room was cleaned as necessary (bed made, towels replaced, garbage cans emptied, extra toilet paper), but the shower was as we left it with floormat, but that was all we needed! Since they only provide squeeze tubes of amenities (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, etc.), there was nothing else left to restock! As far as breakfast, when I received my welcome email a few days prior to our arrival, it implied that there was no hot breakfast (only a grab and go selection). I called the hotel and was told that there was the usual HIE hot breakfast (some IT glitch still posted this incorrect breakfast issue from 2 years ago when the hotel was converted from a Sleep Inn to HIE?) Breakfast was more than adequate and average for HIE. The first morning, there were bacon, scrambled eggs, and egg white omelets for the hot items. The second morning, there were turkey sausage, cheese omelets, and sausage gravy & biscuits. Each day there were pastries, cereals, etc. plus a cranky pancake machine. The 1st day, I went to the front desk where I was told to ask the attendant. I said there was none so she followed and knocked loudly on the door by the juice machine! He did something to make the machine work. The second morning, a more attentive lady, came quickly when I said that it requested a batter replacement. She tried and tried and was able to make only a few pancakes, but the machine didn't work as it should! We stayed at the other HIE on Vilano Beach about 18 months ago, and the manager/owner was very involved and provided the best HIE breakfast ever. It's #1 in the area and charges more for a reason. In conclusion, we stayed here because we got a great rate, and there was free parking. I would stay here again under similar circumstances. Staff were friendly and welcoming. One of the ground workers/maintenance men was chatty. The manager was out in the parking lot vaping much of the time! Location is not that great on busy road and too far to walk to decent restaurants, local attractions, etc.

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“Holiday Inn Express Walking Distance to Historic St. Augustine”

This is a nice looking hotel about 1.25 miles from Historic St. Augustine's Castle. The rooms are newly remodeled and clean. The beds are comfortable as were the pillows. Unfortunately the walls are paper thin. We could hear the guy on one side snorning loudly and the tv on the other side. It'… more

This is a nice looking hotel about 1.25 miles from Historic St. Augustine's Castle. The rooms are newly remodeled and clean. The beds are comfortable as were the pillows. Unfortunately the walls are paper thin. We could hear the guy on one side snorning loudly and the tv on the other side. It's a shame they didn't insulate the walls or do something to quiet each room when they were remodeling.

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“Small and close to beaches and history, but far from food.”

The Holiday Inn Express Historic District in St Augustine was selected using the IHG Rewards app and was the cheapest listed in the St Augustine area. The location is nice being just minutes from the Historic Downtown area and Castillo San Marcos one direction with the Atlantic Ocean beaches at An… more

The Holiday Inn Express Historic District in St Augustine was selected using the IHG Rewards app and was the cheapest listed in the St Augustine area. The location is nice being just minutes from the Historic Downtown area and Castillo San Marcos one direction with the Atlantic Ocean beaches at Anastasio State Park and St Augustine Beach minutes in the other direction. The one downside with the location we experienced was a lack of restaurants other than local "hole in the wall" joints or jam packed tourist themed restaurants. To find mainstream casual or fast food dining, be ready for drive across town to Ponce De Leon Drive. The room itself was smaller than most of the Holiday Inn Express facilities I've seen. We did note some dusty areas in the room such as the desk, TV, clocks, etc, however the bathroom, bed, and high use areas like the bedside tables were spotless. The bathroom and shower appeared to be newly remodeled with modern fixtures. Signs of recent construction did exist such as blue painters tape stuck to the floor under the door and a few gaps in the wood grained laminate flooring between the room and hallway. The bed was clean with a mattress that was very firm, but not too hard to be uncomfortable. Parking is limited with a small parking lot and very narrow entrance/exit onto the A1A. There is a fitness area with modern treadmills on the second floor, and a small pool area is located to the rear of the building. Like all Holiday Inn Express hotels, there is a free hot breakfast buffet until 0930 each morning. Overall, the overall value is pretty good. Be ready for a small room with few options for easy dining and be prepared to return to a full parking lot if you go out for the evening. Using the IHG app makes registration simple and only takes a few minutes. This is a mid tier hotel I'd recommend.

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