Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Harbourside

I've stayed at this Holiday Inn Clearwater about five times, usually around the 4th of July, and I've always had a great experience. This time, however, the service was even better. We stayed in room 227, which was very comfortable and exceptionally clean. The housekeeping staff even stopped by our room to make sure we had everything we needed, which I really appreciated. The front desk staff were all very friendly, welcoming, and helpful throughout our stay. I also noticed that the hotel was much cleaner than on my previous visits, and I received text messages during my stay asking if everything was going well and if I needed anything. That extra attention made us feel valued as guests. Thank you to the entire team for making our stay so enjoyable. We will definitely be back!

Let me start with some positives cause there were some! 1. Kids eat free at the on site restaurant every time you go which was convenient and nice food. 2. The adults get free passes to the water park so you only have to pay for the kids which I think we spent $40. It’s also connected to the hotel and an outside bar. 3. It was a quick 5 minute walk to the beach and parking is included on site. 4. There is an 18 hole putt putt on site. Now let’s talk about why we won’t be back 1. The staff was extremely rude. When we called to get towels the lady said “when I have time I’ll let them know”. Hmm 2. The room I chose online was not the room I got. 3. The wall paper was falling off the walls, there was mold on the ceiling in the shower and there were bugs in the bathroom. 4. They do no refresh the rooms like traditional hotels so we had to call for towels and the like.

My previous impression of Holiday Inn was that the rooms were clean and comfortable, the staff were polite, and it gave a real “home away from home” feeling. It was a place where you could truly relax and enjoy your vacation comfortably. However, this experience was completely different! First, rooms are usually ready for check-in by around 1 PM. We arrived at the front desk at about 1 PM, but the staff said our room wasn’t ready yet and that they would call us once it was prepared. We didn’t receive any call until 3 PM. After finally completing check-in, the moment we opened the door, the room was far below our expectations! The actual room looked very different from the pictures online. The most obvious issues were that neither of the two air conditioners worked — they didn’t cool at all. The furniture and decor were quite outdated, and the water pressure from the shower head in the bathroom was too weak, so I couldn’t even rinse the sand out of my daughter’s hair! We immediately called the front desk to report the AC problem. A technician eventually fixed the living room AC, but the one in the bedroom still didn’t work. When we called for service a second time, the technician clearly didn’t want to spend any more time fixing it. We then requested a room change. We had originally booked a room with a kitchen and river view, but we were downgraded to a smaller room without any view, just to resolve the AC and water pressure issues. On top of that, the front desk required us to pack up all our belongings and switch rooms within 15 minutes. My husband even saw the front desk staff member mocking us, laughing at how flustered and embarrassed we looked, like we were fleeing in defeat. At that point, the whole family’s mood was completely ruined! We were stuck dealing with this from 1 PM until 8 PM before we could finally settle in. Then, when it was time to sleep, we discovered that there were no blackout curtains on the windows! I have never experienced a hotel room without curtains before. Even with the lights off at night, the room was still bright, so the whole family couldn’t sleep well. How can a hotel room lack such basic facilities as curtains? For this terrible experience, the hotel only offered a $50 discount as compensation. I have to say this stay left us truly disappointed, and we have now lost all confidence in Holiday Inn.

Very disappointed with our 3 day stay & will not return. This is not a modern facility and EVERYTHING is extra $. It would seem NOTHING is complimentary. Room was dated & tiny, wallpaper was peeling off bathroom wall, room was supposed to have 2 queen sized beds, it was a full & a queen. They 'gift' you w/only 2 Waterpark passes (they actually charge you for them as part of the amenities) and the passes are only good for 1 day. There was no complimentary breakfast, you must pay for it. Upon booking, I believed breakfast was 'part of the deal', nope! The putt-putt golf, also extra $. Who wants to play that in the +95°? Nobody. We were sweating just trying to find our room, after checking in. Feeling slightly robbed by the whole experience. Again, if & when we come back to this area, we will seek other accommodations. AVOID THIS HOTEL!!

I stayed here Friday night and honestly the red flags started waving immediately at check in. The front desk agent acted like answering basic questions was a personal inconvenience like im so sorry for checking into the hotel. From there it only got better. The pool had exactly zero towels. Hope you enjoy air drying. The rooms were a decent size but very outdated. Think less vintage and more hasn’t been touched since flip phones were cool. And for the price? Absolutely not. For what they’re charging I expected at least basic hospitality not attitude, no towels, and a room from 1995. Would not recommend to anyone.