Holiday Inn Express Grover Beach-Pismo Beach Area, an IHG Hotel Review

Booking & Stay Details

This was a last-minute reservation, and I wasn’t sure if I would need that hotel stay. Luckily, IHG is very generous with most of their Holiday Inn Express hotels, and you can cancel until 6 p.m. on the day of arrival. Thanks to my AAA membership, I got a cheap rate of about $110/night for a two Queen guest room. As I would be only transiting through here and I would be arriving late anyway, I just looked for the cheapest option. At first, I thought driving all the way to the Courtyard by Marriott San Luis Obispo, but they didn’t have such a generous cancellation policy. I decided on booking the Holiday Inn Express Grover Beach-Pismo Beach.

Location

The Holiday Inn Express Grover Beach-Pismo Beach Area is located next to Highway 101, which runs up and down the California coast. There is nothing in the immediate area which would be interesting, but after only a few minutes of driving, you have many amazing spots, like the Pacific Ocean, Pismo Beach Pier, and the Oceano Dunes Natural Preserve State Park.

Parking

There are plenty of parking spaces available on various levels of the property. Parking is complimentary and no parking pass is required. You only have to provide your vehicle information at the front desk. Overflow parking is available at AJ’s Restaurant.

Check-In

I checked in at about 10 p.m. and because of my late arrival, I was the only one checking in. I first completely missed the lobby and drove the wrong way, back out of the property on the other end, when I noticed the sign for the lobby and turned around swiftly. Check-in was as always quick and painless. Just an ID check and a swipe of the credit card and I was set with my room keys.

Check-In: 3 p.m.
Check-Out: 11 a.m.

2 Queen Bed Room (Room 327)

The room is located in the Zinfandel Building, which is right across from the lobby. If you walk straight across from the lobby, you will enter the building on the first floor. If you park in the parking lot, you will enter through the second floor. Luckily the elevators are right next to the main entrances on each floor. From the elevator, it was just a short walk down the hallway to my room on the right side.

The room comes with 2 Queen-sized beds which share a central nightstand in the center of both beds. Above the nightstand are a few power outlets and USB ports to charge your devices. Across from the beds is a closet that holds an iron, an ironing board, and a hair dryer. Next to the closet is a dresser which is integrated into a work desk. The desk comes with a nice office chair as well as a small lamp on top of the desk. There are a few power outlets and USB ports on top of the dresser and desk. Above the dresser is a wall-mounted TV.

The room comes with a sliding door that leads out onto a small balcony. An additional sliding fly screen will keep bugs out if you leave the door open. There are no chairs on the balcony, but the view isn’t that great anyway. You are overlooking the parking lot and the nearby street. Also, the AC unit, which is mounted next to the door is sticking out into the balcony. 

The bathroom is located near the main entrance to the room. The bathroom has a regular door and inside is a small vanity with a single sink and wall-mounted mirror. You will also find a shower-bathtub combination with wall-mounted soap dispensers. This room also comes with a second sink just outside the bathroom in a small niche between the bathroom and the main room door.

Public Areas & Amenities

Lobby

Besides housing the front desk, the lobby space mainly houses tables and chairs for the breakfast dining area. 

Business Center

The business center is located in the lobby. When you walk in through the main entrance it is in the right wing of the lobby at the very end. It only comes with one workstation and a printer.

Fitness Center

There is no fitness center at this property. Alternatively, you can use the pool for some sports activities.

Pool

The pool is located outside the lobby building. You can enter from the driveway leading up to the hotel or a small walkway from the parking lot next to the lobby building. Even though the pool was supposed to open at 8:00 a.m. it wasn’t when I checked it out quarter past eight. After checking the website, I found out that the pool actually opens at 9:00 a.m. and that the sign at the gate was outdated.

Hours
9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. daily

Guest Laundry

Besides the missing fitness center, there is also no guest laundry facility. Besides the missing guest laundry, there is also no dry-cleaning service either, which the hotel provides, but there are a few laundromats in town.

Housekeeping

Daily housekeeping service is offered at this hotel.

Dining

Breakfast

Breakfast is served in the lobby building. The buffet is set up in a separate part of the room which gets locked after breakfast hours. You get the usual continental breakfast you are used to from Holiday Inn locations. However, the hotel uses the buffet room also for storage and a bunch of boxes are stored in one corner. They are not in the way at all, it just looks strange.

AJ’s Restaurant

AJ Spurs, an award-winning steakhouse is located next to the hotel, and you can get a 10% discount as a hotel guest.

Conclusion

Not much to say here. The Holiday Inn Express Grover Beach-Pismo Beach Area was a great stop on my road trip south. I only enjoyed the place for a few hours, but they were great. The price was right, and the hotel’s location was perfect for my stay overnight. Might be not a destination hotel, it really depends on what your plans are.