Holiday Inn Express - Arlington Heights, IL ⑧
With the exception of a few stays elsewhere; I spent about 6 weeks at this hotel and IT. WAS. AWESOME! There were so many amazing things that happened here during my stay; all of which are spiritual and prophetic in nature, but the hotel itself is hands-down the best "middle-class" I've stayed at thus far.
The two rooms we alternated between were HUGE! The beds were extremely comfortable, there was a ton of space on the sides of both beds, a large entertainment center that held a mini-fridge and microwave, a two-seat dining table, extra cubby space for luggage storage, and the bathroom was NICE! Everything was updated, modern, and very clean; NO issues with bugs, pet dander, or the smell of smoke.
This is their every morning free breakfast spread; they didn't mess around! There was a refrigerator full of various yogurts, hard-boiled eggs, multiple cream cheese flavors, and four different kinds of milk/silk. They had freshly made cinnamon rolls, four kinds of cereal, various flavored oatmeal, fruit, and juices; as well as rice, bagels, muffins, toast, pancakes, biscuits, sausage gravy, pork sausage, turkey sausage links, bacon, and all the fixins you could think of. There were plenty of stashes of nuts, dried fruits, and peanut butter packages with various jellies, jams, and syrups.
And now for one of my favorite parts of the entire experience...the coffee! They had hot coffee available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, along with two brands of hot tea and sweeteners. My absolute fave was the hazelnut creamer they had tucked in the back of the tray. I was able to setup my "office" in their quiet, spacious lobby and make myself a cup of Joe the way I like it. I discovered I make a pretty good hazelnut ice coffee!
The only thing I'd suggest is to keep an eye on the deposits they require with each purchase. You may need to watch their transactions to make sure you're not being doubly charged and that your deposits are being credited back to you.
Though there is sentimental reason for my high rating; this was a very cozy time with access to nice amenities! It's typically just under $200/night, but we found it every day on Priceline for around $60.
