HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS HOTEL & SUITES TAMPA-FAIRGROUNDS-CASINO

Came to stay again cuz of concert at Fairgrounds across street. Stayed last yr for Felder & Styx, ended up in same room w/great view (407). Came 2023 for Foreigner, & we like it for access, police directing traffic & pedestrians, free parking & delish breakfast. Rewards program gives points but u must redeem when booking, not when checking in as we did, aaaak. I asked Kelli the GM, & Amanda at front desk wrote about downloading app, but too late. They're not cheap, but concerts were great, Styx not Chicago. So we hope to stay at IHG again & redeem points! BTW, IHG stopped their game playing at front desk to win points a few mo ago, & that sure was fun w/Jason!

First of all, it was clean, the staff was wonderful and the buffet breakfast was better than most but when traveling, there are 4 things that are extremely important to a weary traveler: a quiet room, a good bed, a good shower and a toilet that flushes well. The bed was fine... No complaints there but... the walls were not insulated well, and you could hear noise from the hallway... Doors opening and shutting, noisy children and their parents. They supplied the room with ear plugs (I wonder why) with a note saying it was to keep out Tampa's noise, but I think it was the hallway noise and perhaps the hotel's action as a result of complaints. What was the most disturbing though was the toilet wouldn't fill up enough to flush down solid waste... I had to flush it over and over. When I looked inside the tank, I could see a device used to save water. I'm all for eco-friendly, but I want my excrement to be removed promptly. I was looking forward to my shower in the morning but, to my disappointment, it had a rain shower head that only allowed a trickle of water at full blast. They say the best part about getting away is that you appreciate what you have when you get back home, and I was never so glad to get back where it was quiet, I could get a good shower and the toilet flushed well.

As a club member, I would've expected a couple of waters for the room. The hotel is across from the Tampa fairgrounds however the hard rock casino is about 10 minutes away. The absolute worst thing is the road noise which is excessive. If you are in an odd number room, you will not likely get good sleep. They did put earplugs (1 set) in the room. How about fix the problem? I don't recommend staying here.