OverviewLocated along Highway 60 and roughly a 6-minute drive from Old Tampa Bay, the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Clearwater US 19N is geared towards road travellers who prefer a hotel with a free breakfast, easy highway access and an outdoor pool.
Each of the hotel's air-conditioned guest rooms and suites offers free Wi-Fi, cable TV, a coffeemaker, a mini-fridge, a microwave, a desk, an iron and ironing board and a hair dryer. Rooms with a separate bedroom, a kitchenette, a dining table and a living area with a sofabed are also available, as are wheelchair-accessible rooms.
Hotel amenities include an outdoor pool, a fitness centre, meeting/event space, a business centre, guest laundry, free parking and a free breakfast. Cafe Del Mar is adjacent to the hotel and serves lunch and dinner daily. Pets are not permitted.
Clearwater Beach is about an 11-minute drive from the hotel, while Clearwater Collection offers shopping 3 minutes away by car. Celebration Station is roughy a 9-minute drive away and St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) is a 15-minute drive away. (All distances and travel time estimates: Google Maps)
Verified with a front desk agent: Free Wi-Fi, free parking, pets not permitted, wheelchair accessible. (Call Date: September 19, 2013)
The GoodThe majority of the reviews sourced for this analysis were positive, with much praise going to the hotel's staff, location and rooms.
The hotel's staff were the source of numerous compliments by reviewers, characterizing them as helpful, professional, friendly and efficient.
Many lodgers were pleased with the hotel's location. They found it close to Clearwater Beach, the highway, the airport, shopping, restaurants, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Busch Gardens and St. Petersburg College.
Several guests enjoyed their accommodations at the hotel. They described their rooms as clean, spacious, modern, well equipped, well maintained and quiet. A few patrons had complaints about their rooms, however (see below).
The Bad
While the majority of reviews consulted for this analysis were positive, there were a few common complaints about the free breakfast and the rooms.
Several guests were disappointed with the hotel's free breakfast. They described it as limited, chaotic and of poor quality, with long waits for food. A broken pancake maker was reported by many guests over a period of several months.
Although several reviewers enjoyed their clean and spacious rooms, a few patrons had complaints. They reported cigarette odours in non-smoking rooms, traffic noise in rooms facing the highway and musty odours.
Expedia.ca guest reviews rated the hotel 4 out of 5 with a 93% recommendation rate from 100 reviews.
TripAdvisor.com guest reviews ranked the hotel #62 of 95 Clearwater hotels with an average rating of 3.5 out of 5 from 85 reviews.
Booking.com guest reviews rated the hotel 7.7 out of 10 from 27 reviews
The author called the hotel on September 19, 2013 to verify some information.
