Holiday Inn Express Hotels in Gillette

Clean and comfortable. Those are the two words I would use to describe the Holiday Inn Express in Gillette. While the rooms are older and need a renovation, my room was extremely clean. Probably the cleanest Holiday Inn Express that I've stayed at in a while. Absent a renovation, some minor updating would help. The TV in my room was from 2011 -- as in 12 years ago. There was no smart TV capability. A new TV would help. Also, all of the wall art looked from the mid-2000s. I don't mind the color scheme but the art on the walls throughout the hotel just feels dated. It wasn't even that great to begin with. Those things aside ... The hotel itself is a slightly older Holiday Inn Express. For example, there's no market or pantry. The breakfast area is small and be cramped on a busy morning. Staff were polite. The breakfast offering was one of the better Holiday Inn Express breakfasts I've seen in a long time. I appreciated that they had eggs whites and turkey sausage -- two items that many other Holiday Inn Express properties seem to have eliminated from their breakfast offering since the pandemic. while. My only complaints besides the old TV and ugly wall art? 1) Despite having IHG Diamond status, I did not receive a suite upgrade. Every category of suites were available during my stay. But the front desk never offered an upgrade. Upgrades are a defined benefit. 2) No bar of soap was provided in the bathroom. 3) The bedding wasn't the typical Holiday Inn Express bedding. The duvet cover was that textured sheet you see at Marriott's Courtyard and Fairfield hotels. 4) No newspapers in the lobby. 5) In-room lighting was horrible. Instead of one or two central overhead lights, there were at least five lamps each with their own switch. All things consider, there aren't many good hotels in Gillette. If I was in the area again and the rates were fair, I would return. I would be more likely to return if the hotel was updated and the management recognized IHG status by providing an upgrade.