Holiday Inn Express & Suites Harrison

Because I’ve stayed in hotels in multiple third world countries, I can say this is not the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in, and that is the highest compliment I can give the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Harrison, Ohio. My wife and I have stayed in dozens of HI Express hotels in at least a dozen states, but this is by far the worst. When my wife and I arrived early Saturday evening (April 19, 2025), there was a disheveled man sitting by the front door and turning the air blue with his cigarette smoke, but I went inside to check us in, and after waiting at the front desk for someone to acknowledge my presence I finally said “Hello” toward the back room. Almost immediately a voice came from behind me saying “Wait. I’ll be there.” It was the disheveled man from the front door. He was the front desk clerk!! I was shocked, but I shouldn’t have been. I had already been there long enough to notice the duct tape substituting for laminate on the front desk and similar duct tape substituting for upholstery on the red cushioned chair behind the desk. All of this should have been a clue as to the condition of our room. While, considering everything I had seen and experienced so far, it was much cleaner than I expected, but the local building inspector should check the wiring in this place. There was a hanging lamp in the corner of our room that flashed like a strobe light whenever it was turned on, and neither my wife nor I could find a working electrical outlet anywhere in the room – yes anywhere. There were built-in USB ports on the right side of the bed. One didn’t work at all, and the other was so mangled I couldn’t even plug in my cell phone to know whether the port worked or not. In short, if this were our first experience with Holiday Inn Express, it most certainly would have been our last.

Nice place to stay

There was a nasty stain on the carpet between the two queen beds. Looked dark and bloody