Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Coralville

The room was clean and in good condition but had a strong sewer smell. When it was brought to the attention of the front desk I was told they could spray air freshener but it was a known problem. This is a 5 story hotel and has only one elevator so there were extended wait times. The breakfast area is also on the small side, small enough there was no space to serve biscuits and gravy that is common to many Express locations.

We only stayed here one night as we were in town for a wedding. Easy check in and friendly staff. Clean and comfortable room with lots of outlets and usb ports for charging devices. However, the breakfast was probably the worst one ever and we travel a lot. The eggs were like plastic, the coffee was awful and they didn’t have waffles. Pretty sad, but on the plus side it is surrounded by a bunch of great places to eat in walking distance so thats what we did. I would not stay here again though because of one thing. The blowing horn of the train that runs through town not 100 yards from the hotel. It blasted the horn at 3 am and 6 am and I nearly fell out of bed it startled me so much. It sounds like its coming through the walls. Not much of a restful night with that going on. Not sure if any of the other hotels in this town would be any better because of the train. Not the hotels fault but just a heads up to future travelers.

I booked a guaranteed room at Holiday Inn Express Coralville back in April for a big October weekend, using a valid credit card and receiving an email confirmation. When we arrived, we were told our reservation had been cancelled because my credit card had expired in the seven months since booking—and there was no room for us. There was no call, no email, no text at any point to let me know it was cancelled. We were stranded in a completely sold-out city. The front desk quietly admitted this has happened to other guests, leaving people stranded on busy weekends and the front desk employees left to deal with the aftermath. After I complained to IHG, the most troubling part happened: the cancelled stay that had appeared in my online account suddenly disappeared, along with the stored card information tied to it. Additionally, management admitted IHG hadn’t actually held the room for us in April at all—they only entered the reservation about a week before our stay and then cancelled it a minute later. Whether that was a “system glitch” or not, the visible record of what happened was erased. Management has since gone silent—no apology, no compensation, no accountability. I’ve since read about this disturbing trend of hotels doing this to guests during busy weekends—early, lower-rate reservations quietly cancelled while rooms appear to be re-sold at much higher rates. If you’re booking here for a big game or parents’ weekend, be warned: a confirmation and “guaranteed” reservation did not protect my family from being cancelled without notice, stranded.