Holiday Inn Express Solvang

I find that the Holiday Inn Express Hotels are usually a good place to stay overnight, no matter what town. I was a little disappointed in the Solvang location as they were upgrading the entire wing of the hotel room I was spending the night in. Some of the sounds can be excused if they let you know at the time you make the reservations that the hotel is in renovation and the drill and sledgehammer sounds may disturb you during the day. Hopefully, this is only a short time renovation and this location will be up to par with the other Holiday Inn Express Hotels.

But...the constant humm of a air conditioner/heater the size of a large refrigerator in a closet in the room, which was a suite, was not acceptable. Did not find this out till my wife and I returned from dinner and settled in for the night. The heater was on and when it turned off, the humm was quite noticeable. The front desk could not give me a clue as to what it was, but said they would look into it. When, at midnight! Forget it. Restless night at a chain of hotels that say you will get a restful night. The room was boring and a dresser was placed in front of the sliding glass door in the bedroom that went out to a patio. Great! Smart designer/decorator. Not. I trust they get their act together, because if this were the first time I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express, it would have been my last.

Unique Quality: At the edge of town, walkable to town. The bathroom was clean. A great view from the private patio.

Directions: On the main road, route CA-246, Mission Drive, just at the entrance to Solvang, about 3 1/2 miles from the Buellton/Solvang offramp at the US-101 Fwy, exit 140A.

I stayed at this hotel the weekend after Thanksgiving. Everything else in town was booked, so I figured something must be wrong with this place…I was wrong. This Holiday Inn Express served its purpose nicely. It’s located on the edge of town in Solvang, so it’s a nice easy stroll into town to shop, eat, etc.

My brother stayed down the road at the Best Western and said he couldn’t even sleep because it was so noisy. I don’t know if anybody else was at the Holiday Inn, but it was actually very quite. I wasn’t excited about paying $170.00 for a basic room, but I guess that’s what we should expect on a weekend. I think they serve a continental breakfast at this place, but I didn’t stick around to find out – neither should you. Instead, walk into town and eat at Paula’s Pancake House, but get there before 9:00 AM or you will definitely be waiting for 20 min.

Directions: On the edge of town, but plenty close to everything.