Holiday Inn Cleveland-Strongsville

Just spent the weekend here for a hockey tournament.
First for the good. The free breakfast was nice, though they had problems keeping the buffet stocked. The other nice thing is that the ice arena is a short walk across the parking lot. The cleaning and wait staff were all exceptionally nice and helpful.
Now for the bad. There was no microwave in the room and you had to pay extra for a small refrigerator. Most $ 100 a night hotels provide these with the room. The pool seemed nice, but the water was so cold that swimming was not an option. One very significant problem was that the elevators kept breaking down. Not just one of them… but all of them broke down at some point during our three day, two night stay. At one point there was an elderly couple stuck in one for 30 minutes. Afterwards they asked for a new room that was not on the 5h floor, but that request was denied. My wife and I offered to swap rooms with them, but again… denied.
WARNING! If you are there with a large group, expect to see an armed police officer patrolling the hallways starting at 9 PM. Our high school aged boys… some of whom are 18, are all well behaved and we had about 20 parents with us to keep a close eye on them. However, the officer felt it was necessary to harass them whenever they were out in the halls going between rooms. I just don’t see how its a good idea to have an armed and confrontational police officer patrolling the halls when there have been no behavioral instances.
The final complaint is that this hotel advertised that it was recently renovated. I did see some fancy cultured stone veneer and whatnot, but it was all lipstick on a pig. Our ceiling had holes in it, the door was so misshapen that it wouldn’t lock correctly and you could see right into the room through the large space in between the door and the room heater had a sheet of ice in top of it, on the inside, for the whole stay. The room’s thermostat also didn’t work. As a contractor I noticed a lot of areas where they went cheap… like using plastic panels instead of actual plaster to cover the walls. I also noticed a lot of corner cutting when it came to finish work, which drives me nuts, but it mostly did not effect the functionality of the facilities.
Oh… and expect to pay $ 7 for a decent beer on tap in the lounge.
So there ya have it. I have nothing against Holiday Inn in general. My preference has always been Marriott, but we gave them a shot with this tournament and this is what we experienced.

Bar tender at this hotel (Jess) was extremely disrespectful and accused my husband of smuggling in beer because she forgot to take the cap off of the beer. We spent $ 100 within 20 minutes really we would not tying to smuggle in a $ 4 beer. She started to argue. She was trash! We also ask if they would provide a room for a pizza party for our hockey team and they refused. I would recommend that anyone that has any tournament in Strongsville to not stay at this hotel or do not go to the bar.

Hotel options are fairly limited in Strongsville, so I checked into the Holiday Inn with higher expectations compared to the alternatives. My expectations were not met.
On the positive side, the staff are great… always greeting me with a smile. In fact, one employee graciously offered to help me carry my bags down the stairs to the lobby because the elevators were not working.
Despite all the friendliness and helpfulness, this hotel needs some serious attention. Among my list of things to get right are…
1) Improve the comfort of the bed linens. My sheet was old and felt like cheesecloth… sticking to my skin. and keeping me awake. My pillows were lumpy and felt like they were stuffed with old socks. The blanket did not breath well and trapped my body heat. So, each night I had to remove it.
2) Make sure the cleaning staff is on top of maintenance. I had to go to the front desk to get replacement toiletries because I ran out. One day my room was not cleaned and I had to remove leftovers from the garbage.
3) Keep the exercise equipment in top shape. The exercise room is small and only has a few machines… which is all the more reason why it’s important to maintain this equipment. I cycle a lot and was looking forward to using their only resistance bike. The resistance on it wasn’t working. So, I jumped on a treadmill but it wasn’t recording my activity.
4) Keep the elevators smelling fresh… or simply not smelling at all. Often when I would enter any of the elevators, I was met with a strong industrial cleanser smell.
5) Maintain the elevators. On the day I checked out, I waited at the main elevator bank for nearly 10 minutes. I then flagged down an employee and he told me they were not working. Two of two elevators were down and there was no sign to inform guests.

The only thing good about this place is that the room was big and the king size bed was comfortable. The negatives are that, the bathroom light was as bright as a night light, the curtains didn’t completely cover the window, the overhead light flashed constantly, even when off (my husband had to drag a chair over to dismantle it), the batteries in the tv remote were dead (front desk wouldn’t replace them, said maintenance had to do that, but maintenance never showed up).

I had to stay here because they canceled my flight.
The rooms were clean and spacious.
Good closet space. Easy to tuck away luggage.
A generous sized desk with many charging outlets.
The bathroom might have needed some renovations.
The hospitality wasn’t over the top. Very casual, actually.
The kitchen stayed open till midnight.

I wouldn’t choose this place. Morning front desk is a sour looking lady who doesn’t smile or look you in the face. There was an extension cord in the middle of my floor. As of this date there is remodeling, which is sorely needed. The restaurant closes at 1p and the bar food is expensive and sub par. Found dirty towels behind my bathroom door. When I told them about it, not so much as an apology. Lastly, their Internet is a pain to try to access.

Haven’t stayed here in a long time, but live close and visit often; The bar and lounge has GREAT beer selection, Milk Stout in nitro, New Belgium and Dam Adams seasonals, Blue Moon, etc. Also a very good amount of scotch and bourbon including Oban and Basil Hayden’s. Tasty appetizers and wings, steak from Del Monico’s Steakhouse, in house cut chips and ground pork, and Ohio City pasta. For a hotel prices are quite reasonable as well.

The Simmering Pot and Vinnies Lounge are GREAT! The employees are so friendly and the food is delicious, the Eggplant Parm sandwich was amazing, (even without the bun) portions were good sizes also! I wouldn’t mind staying here again knowing they have great food options!

It was a clean hotel, warm bed but when it came time for my shower, the water wouldn’t warm up. I called down to the front office about the issue and they offered me another room to take my shower, but I would have been late for the shuttle to the airport. It would’ve been nice if they told me to change rooms earlier so I didn’t have to take a freezing cold shower. I went downstairs to check out and was expecting an apology which I didn’t get. I probably should give it one star but it did have comfortable beds.

The sales department at this location are dishonest, wishy washy, and horrible communicators. In planning accommodations for my out of town guests, I was told that there would be a shuttle to take guests to and from our venue. The day before our wedding, I confirmed with Andrew about the shuttle service and he confirmed that our guests can just call the front desk and they would radio the shuttle to pick guests up. On our wedding day, as we were taking photos downtown, our guests were calling saying that they did not have shuttle service. My groom had to spend time on the phone fighting with the manager on duty who stated, «We don’t do shuttle service for weddings». When it was explained that Andrew had confirmed this the manager on duty stated «That’s not what Andrew told us». Luckily after much time of being on hold with the manager on duty while they got their story straight they provided two shuttles at 11pm and 12am thanks to the efforts of one our groomsmen who took over while we enjoyed taking pictures. We will never recommend this hotel to anyone. Our day was absolutely perfect despite the interaction with this hotel!

The hotel itself was pretty nice, bed was comfortable, staff was friendly, wifi was fast, it’s exactly what you would expect from a Holiday Inn. But the walls were paper thin. I could hear everything in the hallway, and I could hear my neighbor’s TV like it was in my room. The most important thing to me about a hotel room is being able to sleep, and with the noise in the hallway and being able to hear the TV from next door I could not fall asleep and I was awoken several times. Based on that I can’t recommend this location.

Had to come into town unexpectedly for a funeral and wanted a hotel close to my family. For the Strongsville area, I would say this is the nicest hotel around. Very close (and viewable) from I-​71, and close to the Ice Rink (walking distance).
The hotel itself was pretty reasonable for last minute and a weekend ($ 90 a night)… the rooms were clean and they have a nice restaurant (breakfast is NOT included :)). They seems to have a lot of airline employees staying there and I saw a shuttle that was taking them back and forth, presumably to Cleveland Airport.
They are close to just about everything just over the freeway. target, CVS, Rite Aid, the Mall and several restaurants. To the East of them there is a nice metropark system to enjoy hiking, walking, or ever driving.
I will for sure stay here again, I have no problem starting up my points with these guys either.
Great staff, stress free stay, during a very emotional time.
thank you,

I wish there was a negative rating possible. This hotel is excellent competition in the «most disgusting hotel» challenge. The carpets are filthy, the rooms are in beyond terrible condition, and the manager probably couldn’t care any less.
Construction was being done outside during my stay which was understandable but the workers were playing loud music right outside my window while they were working and they continued to work all the way past 7PM which is ABSOLUTELY unacceptable. A hotel is a place of rest and relaxation, and late construction work while loud music is being played is just shameful.
I asked the front desk twice to ask the workers to lower the music and finally called Intercontinental Hotels Group and complained, and this finally got the mangers attention that I was extremely upset. After a half hour he went outside and got the men to lower the music, and this was at nearly 7PM. They turned it off and then the front desk called me back and said I could change rooms if I wanted but the men were going to be working and playing music the next day as well.
Unbelievable.

If I could give this hotel a 0, I would. My 2-​night stay with them this past week was awful. I had booked a block of rooms for my wedding, and earlier in the week dropped off «welcome bags» for the guests who reserved a room. I had also spoken with a sales representative who said we could utilize the airport transport services for free to travel to and from the venue, which was a big plus for us. When we checked in late on the first evening, everything seemed to be ok. We noticed when we got to the room that a lot of the furniture was worn and the carpet seemed to be coming up on some of the edges, but we weren’t too terribly concerned as we were tired and wanted to get some rest for our big day.
In the morning we were awoken by the sounds of construction in nearby rooms. We then got up and started our day. I had my bridal party come to the suite to get our hair on makeup done. Halfway through the day the cleaning crew knocked on our door to see if we needed anything. When I walked to get the door I noticed the carpet was wet. I let the crew person know, she bent down, touched the carpet, and said «no it’s not» then walked away. I didn’t have the time to deal with the wet carpet so we continued our session.
An hour before we needed to leave I called the front desk to let them know when we would be ready and how many people we had. They said that the shuttle was for airport use only, not weddings, and they couldn’t take us because the venue was too far (less than 10 minutes away). I told the front desk what the sales rep had told me, and she was rude and said that they were booked anyway so they couldn’t help me. I argued with her for another minute before she said she would talk to the driver. I went immediately downstairs to speak with her face-​to face. She was able to get a driver to take us to the venue and pick us up, but she made it a point to say «this hasn’t happened before» and «that is outside of our range.» The ride there and back went smoothly.
In the morning we were awoken by construction noises again. We got up and decided to get breakfast at a local diner. When we passed the front desk I greeted one of the ladies and asked if she had a rubber band I could have. She didn’t smile, say hello, or even make eye contact, but just handed one to me.
We came back, and when we were leaving the room to check out we noticed that the carpet was wet again. When we were checking out at the front desk we told them about the wet carpet and that we thought there was a leak. All they did was apologize and say they would look into it. She then handed us the bags we had dropped off for the guests and asked if it was for us. We explained that those were supposed to be for the other wedding guests. She laughed, shrugged her shoulders, and said «oh, well {today’s date} is written on it, so do you want it back?» We said yes and she apologized with a laugh.
Overall, terrible service from multiple employees paired with a leaky room leaves me stating that I will never stay at this hotel again, and I recommend others to avoid it as well.

Stayed at this hotel for two periods of 2 nights while visiting family in the Cleveland area. Upon check-​in at just after 4pm, was notified that the room would be ready in a couple of minutes and was given vouchers for a free breakfast for my 2 night stay. The room was ready in a couple of minutes and upon arrival in the room, noticed that the room had a refrigerator and microwave which was nice. The staff was very helpful and friendly. The room on both stays was comfortable and clean. The restaurant was nice with good food and the bar was pretty nice too. I would definitely stay here again.

This hotel must have changed managers. I have come here with work for years and this is the first time I had such a bad experience. The hotel was dirty, the front desk area and hallways needed a vacuum. Once in my room it was obvious it had not been cleaned. Someone’s medicine was on the floor and debris was on the bathroom tile. They had changed the beds to do a hotel «fake clean». I would definitely not stay at this hotel if I was traveling on my own or with my family. The manager, the house keeping manager and the house keepers need to work on actually keeping this place clean… room service trays littering the hallway the next day, gross.

If I had to describe this hotel in one word? Surprising.
My husband and I came through here twice on a road trip from Indianapolis to upstate New York for the July 4^th weekend. After 5 hours on the road, after an 8-​hour day of work, we were both pretty exhausted. Thankfully, my brilliant husband made a reservation for a king executive room a week prior to our arrival. Lovely! At check-​in, the desk clerk said that king rooms are reserved for handi-​capable guests because they are handicap accessible. She continued to ask us if we wanted a room with two double beds instead. She really didn’t explain all this very well at the time, and we were too exhausted to make sense of why we couldn’t have the room we reserved.
The room itself was ok, but didn’t fit our needs. We ask for a larger bed because my husband needs the space to sleep properly due to medical reasons. Also, the tap dripped constantly and no fridge/​microwave. Double bummer. In the morning, my husband spoke with the hotel manager about the mix-​up and how it caused him to not get enough sleep. She set up up with free breakfast, 10,000 points, and a complimentary stay on our way back to Indy.
Restaurant food was pretty tasty and moderately priced. I had the Mediterranean omelette and the summer salad. We also noticed that they had a free shuttle to the airport, indoor pool, and a fitness room. WiFi was fast and the hotel is right off the highway.
The following Sunday, we finally received the king executive room, with a king bed, fridge AND microwave, and complimentary breakfast. Everything the second time around was perfect. I just wish it was like that the first time.

Nice clean hotel. Free shuttle to and from the airport. 15 minute drive so make some time. They had a nice gym, pretty good pool area and the rooms are really nice for a Holiday Inn. Comfortable beds, flat screen, clean, nice view.
The bar staff is amazing. Super quick and in top of their game. Food and drink was great.
Wifi in the hotel is surprisingly fast.
Also the hotel is in a great location. Close to parks, a mall and many other things that the driver will take you to as long as they’re not swamped.

I have been to more than one Holiday Inn in my days. You can always tell how old they are the second you step out of your car. This Holiday Inn appears to be a bit on the older side and is starting to show signs of its age. I ended up on the «Executive Level» and while the room had all the amenities I needed it was also showing its age. There were a few stains here but nothing gross. The windows (which use to open I guess) had a sign on them saying they didn’t open and were glued shut.
Things changed when I got on the wireless network. It was much faster than any other hotel network I had been on. I know for some people this isn’t a big deal but as a geek I am a big fan of plenty of bandwidth. In the morning I got breakfast at the built in restaurant. The food was good and surprisingly fairly priced for a hotel restaurant. I have had the same breakfast in other places and paid double. A little TLC and this place could be a four easy. As it stands it is clean, the services are good, and really not a bad place to stay.

This is a great single-​night hotel option for the interstate-​weary traveller, and a superb value overall. I don’t think that I’ve ever been treated so well by a hotel getting less than a hundred bucks a night from me (in this case, way less – $ 81 through hotels dot com).
First off, the service was with a smile, and an apology, as they did not have any more king rooms despite our «reservation» and pre-​pay. So they comped us two breakfasts and two drinks at the bar.
That bar? Way better than you’d expect. It’s open (kitchen too) until 1:30am. They have separate bar and lounge areas. The beer list is impressive for a hotel bar and included Guinness and Great Lakes Dortmunder.
And the breakfast? Well, it wasn’t the most delicious I’ve had, but it was just fine, and the service was just as pleasant as the front desk staff.
How about some other positives?
+ Free wifi throughout the building, with no password needed
+ Less than two miles from I-​80
+ Multiple «Firm» and «Soft» pillow options per bed, all labelled
+ Shower: the water pressure and temperature control were a-​ok
+ There were a wedding party and guests staying there, and the hotel had decked out the entry archway and lobby area
+/​-​The room décor was nice, with rich, deep earth tones and a couple of paintings of lonely trees that I really liked. However, there was a slight musty smell to the carpets that was more pronounced in the hallway areas.
These people obviously take pride in their guest experience, regardless of their price point. That earns big kudos from me.