Holiday Inn Express Bothell by IHG

Clean, Close to freeway and fast food joints

I hate to write bad reviews, but this one is deserving. I booked my stay through their site on 3/31 for a one night stay on 04/03. My 3 year-old daughter came down with a cold on 04/02, but still intended to stick with my plans. My daughter declined through the night and I decided to cancel my plans the morning of 04/03. Made an attempt to “modify” my reservation through the confirmation email and select a different day, and no date was presenting as available. I called the hotel and front desk, stated the reservation was non-refundable and was unable to help. Transferred me to “reservations” and man stated he kept getting an error when selecting a different day, even though he was able to see the rate for the desired date. Wanted to transfer me back to front desk, but stopped him and told him front desk was unable to help and transferred me to his department. He then suggested I speak to the hotel manager. The manager, Vanessa, also stated she couldn’t override the system to allow a change in date, and offered to seek assistance from “the property??” She came back on the line and said she was unable to get ahold of anyone at “the property” and that she’d be putting in a ticket to request help. I, very calmly, said to her that I felt I was being given the run-around, transferring me from department to department, only to have no resolve, and eventually discouraging me from continuing to seek a modification to my reservation. I explained my circumstance with my daughter and how exhausted I was from being up all night caring for her. I told her I had no patience to be on the phone any further, and that although I knew the reservation was non-refundable, I never thought I would have had a problem changing the date of my reservation, knowing well I’d pay a difference depending on the rate. I also mentioned it was pointless to offer a link to “modify or cancel” reservation through the confirmation email, if modifying wasn’t an actual option. I thanked her for her time and efforts and ended the call. The hotel called me twice within the hour, left a voicemail once, offering to change the date of my reservation but stating my card would still be charged for the 04/03 reservation. Also, within this hour, Rebecca emailed stating the same message, but in addition, they were willing to offer the same rate for my desired future date. To Rebecca and staff, why on earth would I invest MORE money in your institution given the outcome and my loss???? No, thank you. Your silly offer is insulting. Nowhere in the fine print is there any information for or against modifying a reservation. Should’ve booked at McMenamins Anderson School from the get-go.

Breakfast was excellent

Nice rooms with plenty of room to get around. Very nice breakfast for a hotel!

Layout of the hotel was easy to navigate and never took too long to get from lobby to room or vise versa

Great room, great location, great staff

Great room, great location, great people

The cleanest and the bed was so comfortable excellent service

Clean and friendly staff. Excellent breakfast variety

We needed to be in or close to Bothell, and this property seemed to be well reviewed and offered good value. Plus, we had an IHG free night certificate to use before expiration and used points for another night. Ultimately, we strung together three one-night reservations between my wife and me: one paid, one certificate, one on points. Despite this potentially confusing situation, Rebecca at the front desk was not phased. She checked us in for the first night, and made notes in the system to link each of the next two nights. As a result, while we had to stop by the front desk during the mornings after the first and second nights, we were able to stay in the same room.

Rebecca also recognized my IHG status and gave us a nice room on the third (top) floor, and free soft drinks and snacks. We found the room clean and functional, with both a mini-fridge and a microwave, a safe, ample room to set up our luggage, a closet with adequate room and hangers, drawer space, a sofa bed and easy chair, desk space, ample lighting, and an adequate bathroom. The tub/shower was fine, the valve sensible, and the water pressure reasonable. The heating/AC system seemed to work fine and was quiet. The only thing missing from the room was an in-room coffee maker but the hotel features two good coffee machines on the first floor that are accessible 24/7 that makes good regular and decafe coffee, as well as hot water with a good selection of teas. We found this set up to be very convenient and did not miss the in-room coffee maker, since we didn’t have to worry about not being supplied decafe, running out of coffee or creamer, etc.

The free breakfast offered in the room rate was typical for this chain, although the first morning, eggs and bacon had run out before 9 am and was not replenished until nearly the end of the breakfast time (9:30 am). We liked the fact that there was a bit of variation offered in the way of cheese omelette the second morning and a veggie omelette and veggie sausage the third morning. Plus, the Pancake machine” is always a treat. There were plenty of tables and chairs in the breakfast area, which was filled with light from ample windows. There seems to be an adequate amount of free parking around the hotel. We were glad the hotel did not nickel and dime us with parking charges.

Although we did not use them, the hotel does have an indoor pool and a small fitness room. There were a few restaurants and fast food places that one could walk to from the hotel, if one did not have a car. We found the hotel to be generally quiet but on our final night, we heard snoring through the walls. Our next-door traveler must have one of those legendary loud snores!

Close to shopping and restaurants. Bed was very comfortable.

Good location comfortable

Very clean and comfortable.