Holiday Inn Express Surrey is off the freeway, and a straight drive from Canada to another US-Canadian border checkpoint. It is a three-star hotel, located near Guildford town center. There is nothing much around, but we were attending a lacrosse game in Langley. I booked this hotel because IHG is having an Accelerate 2016 promotion, and I’ll get 10000 points for my first stay in January. At a rate of ~70 USD, I actually break even, so this made sense to me.
Check In/Check Out:
It was quick both ways. I booked a standard King room, and when we checked in, we were upgraded to a King feature room. I was also offered a platinum amenity, and took the points.
Location:
There is not much around, except the Guildford town center. It is convenient for commuting, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it if you are trying to maximize your time in Vancouver.
Room:
Our given room was on the ground floor, facing the yard. It was quiet. If you get a ground floor room facing the lot, you might potentially be bothered by the headlights of cars pulling into the parking lot.
The King feature room is pretty large. It has a little kitchenette with a mini-fridge and sink, and there’s also a little seating area with a pull-out sofa bed, and coffee table, where we ate our dinner. There is not much room around the King bed area, but the bed is very comfortable.
The bathroom is nothing special, but functional. The sink is actually open to the bedroom, so there is only privacy for the bathtub and the toilet. The space in the enclosed area is rather tight.
Breakfast:
Holiday Inn Expresses offer complimentary breakfast. We got up a little late and arrived at the buffet at 9.30am, and it closes at 10am. One of the highlights of Holiday Inn Express is their cinnamon rolls, but by this point, they stopped having it.
This Holiday Inn Express breakfast is pretty much alike other Holiday Inn Express breakfast – deconstructed McDonald’s – sausage patties, bacon, pastries, yogurt, etc. It’s not something to write home about, but it’s filling.
Overall:
Service was brisk and friendly, and it was all that I expected of a Holiday Inn Express. I also broke even in terms of the number of points I got for the rate I paid, so can’t complain about a free hotel.
Wanderlust 