HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS HOTEL & SUITES IRVING NORTH-LAS COLINAS

For under $100 a night before taxes with free parking, the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Irving Convention Center is hard to beat from a price standpoint. The hotel sits about half a block off the main road in Las Colinas. The location is genuinely excellent. The Irving Convention Center is right there, the Toyota Music Factory concert venue is an easy walk away, and Lake Carolyn is just down the road. Aside from the nearby Westin, Omni and Marriott hotels, this probably ranks as one of the best hotel locations anywhere around Las Colinas. The property itself is an older Holiday Inn Express dating to the late 1990s, but it underwent renovations before the pandemic. Six years later it still feels mostly fresh and well maintained. My room was a king suite. If I'm being honest, it was more of a junior suite or extra-large room since there was no dividing wall between the bed and the sofa. Anyways, it was in very good condition and spotlessly clean. The bed was comfortable and thoughtfully outfitted with a mattress protector, which is something you don’t always see even at more expensive hotels. The room also had plenty of electrical and USB outlets, a half-size refrigerator, a microwave, and a small sink area with cabinets that appear intended for glasses or kitchen items (nothing was stocked).  The one notable downside in the room was the television. The 50-inch TV was dated 2017 and lacked any smart TV functionality. Many newer hotels now offer 55- or even 65-inch TVs with streaming capability. So, this felt a bit dated. The bathroom showed a little wear and tear, particularly around the caulking, but it was clean and perfectly functional. Importantly, the bathroom features a traditional shower-tub combination, which I personally prefer over walk-in showers. Public spaces were a mixed bag. The lobby is bright and clean, though somewhat sterile in design. The front desk staff were polite and efficient.  However, the fitness room is extremely small and a bit unkempt. No sanitary wipes to clean the equipment between uses. The laundry room was the most concerning area: there appeared to be mouse or rat droppings near the washers. Fixtures were rusted. That space clearly needs attention. I didn't see a local newspaper or any local information anywhere in the lobby. In the lobby, there's a small market next to the Front Desk that sells soda, some junk food snacks, and ice cream from Walmart's private label. Breakfast is the standard Holiday Inn Express complimentary buffet. It’s adequate but unremarkable — honestly, you’ll get a better breakfast at McDonald’s. Still, considering the excellent location, clean rooms and sub-$100 price point, this hotel represents strong value. If you need an affordable place to stay near the convention center or Toyota Music Factory, it’s a solid choice — even if a few maintenance details could use improvement.

I travel fairly often to the Irving area for work. I usually stay between 2 to 4 nights. I have stayed at nearly every hotel within a 1 mile radius of the office and I find the hotels in this area to be pretty poor at the price point that I normally choose. This Holiday Inn express was one of the better options. The bed was comfortable. The room was pretty good, I did not smell, moldy carpet, the elevators worked, I did not find rats in the room, or roaches or any other major negative that I’ve seen another hotels. The shower worked great the bathroom is fine. There are only two negative things that I saw. One, Hyatt place has a better breakfast, especially with fresh fruits, which did not exist at the Holiday Inn express. There is also quite a bit of noise coming from the pipes and a louder than normal AC. I had to sleep with earplugs – which out of all the accommodations I’ve had to make in hotels in the area, I can live with that one.

I pulled into the parking lot because car began to lose power, and then simply stopped. I exited the car and began to call for a tow when my car caught fire with flames coming out from the bottom of the hood. Shaista, the person at the front desk of the hotel, saw what was happening, called for someone to bring their fire extinguisher and he put out the fire sparing my vehicle from further damage. Shaista and the employee who used the fire extinguisher were exceptionally kind and helpful as we waited for the police, the fire department and a tow truck. Although I cannot comment on the accommodations, I can tell you the employees are clearly exceptional.