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About
4.0
#32 of 42 hotels in Carlsbad
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Beautiful hotel with convenient access to I-5 Freeway, Carlsbad Beaches, and LEGOLANDThe modern Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach is located near I-5, just 30 miles north of San Diego. Our location offers convenient access to Carlsbad Flower Fields, Oceanside Pier, South Carlsbad State Beach, Del Mar Fairgrounds & Racetrack and Legoland! If you're coming for business, we are only a few miles from many corporate business parks including Thermo Fisher, Philips, Siemens, Adidas-Taylor Made, ViaSat, Callaway Golf, and Camp Pendleton.Throughout your stay, take advantage of our enhanced amenities at no additional cost including a healthy Express Start breakfast, our top-of-the-line Wi-Fi bandwidth at 100 mbps, plenty of parking, onsite Fitness Center and outdoor pool and spa. Our hotel is committed to do our part in reducing our carbon footprint in an effort to help stop global warming.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
To be reward. Breakfast needs to start @6 like most places. When you are on a business trip and have to be out early, it would be nice for Breakfast to start early like Hilton rewards. The room was nice. I would recommend that housekeeping ckean the soap containers, you can tell they haven't been touched. Maybe a higher toilet seat as well. Overall it was a nice expensive stay. They should allow you to get juice and something to eat at 6 a.m. when you are headed out. That would be nice. The guys at the front desk were nice. Charging for parking is kind of ridiculous when you are a rewards member. The bed was comfortable, I enjoyed my stay. Just a few concerns.
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Date of stay: October 2023Trip type: Travelled on business
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from General Manager, General Manager at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Oct 29, 2023
Good Afternoon Sheree, Thank you for your recent stay with us. Guest feedback is appreciated and welcome, and we thank you for taking the time to leave a review. We always strive to exceed the needs of our visitors, so while we're glad to know you appreciated our friendly staff and comfortable beds, we apologize that other aspects of your experience didn't meet your expectations. As a result, we will pass along your constructive feedback to our team. It would be an honor to welcome you back to our hotel the next time you're in town. Sincerely, AJ Comeau, AGM of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
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I’ve stayed at this property at least 8 times in the past 4 years & it’s nice to have consistency & know what We’re getting. The rooms can use an updating & A/C-Heater units should be converted to central if possible at some point as they’re fairly loud, but do the job effectively. It’s a clean hotel overall & staff are usually very helpful, knowledgeable & courteous as well as try to fulfill most reasonable requests. Located close to beaches, Carlsbad city center, Encinitas & restaurants - with Benihanas literally in the same parking lot.
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Date of stay: September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from General Manager, General Manager at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Sep 19, 2023
Good Afternoon, Thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us. We are glad to know that we have been able to provide you with a comfortable, convenient, and friendly place to stay over the last four years. Consistency is key for us. Thank you, and we look forward to your next visit. Sincerely, AJ Comeau, AGM of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach.
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We chose this hotel since they had decent hot breakfast (for a family of 5 it is very important), location is right next to the freeway exit, ocean beech is just block away. Located in the nice residential neighborhood. Rite Aid and few nice eateries within a mile or even a walk away (Benihana restaurant - do a reservation in advance). Within 25 min from San Diego SeaWorld. The hotel itself is nice, but carpet is getting old in the hallways. Cleaning crew vigorously cleans hotel everyday, and our room was cleaned everyday without asking them.
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Date of stay: July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from General Manager, General Manager at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Jul 27, 2023
Good Morning Sergey, It was such a pleasure having you as our guest! Location is one of the most important aspects of a trip, so we’re glad you could experience all the convenience ours offers. Receiving recognition for our high standards of cleanliness and delicious breakfast offerings is always appreciated as well. Thank you for your kind review, and we hope you will allow us the opportunity to welcome you back for another incredible stay soon! Sincerely, AJ Comeau, AGM of Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach.
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Day 1 arrive late to check in. We had a strong smell of urine in the bathroom though bathroom looked somewhat clean. We were very tired as we just drove 7 hours and finished unloading daughters stuff at her new dorm as for reason we were in town. Day 2 we requested room service as we noticed on the bed skirt what we hope was yogurt and not male ejaculation. We came back to our room late that evening. We did find the beds and room to be picked up but the bed skirts were not changed and when we were unmaking the bed. The bed next to the a/c unit on the sheet had blood! The other bed, we found what look to be pubic hair. I immediately contacted front desk made them aware and requested for a supervisor to come to our room but only the cleaning lady showed up. She took pictures and proceeded to change the sheets on both beds. She had to come back and forth. We were disturb by all this and we finally got our room to ourselves close to midnight! We are now about to check out and I guess the manager of the hotel has not received the memo from the night before or really don’t care. I hope someone else doesn’t have this experience at this location being that we noticed a lot of families use this location being that it is closed to legoland.
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Date of stay: August 2022Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Samantha Buffington, Guest Services / Front Office at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Aug 5, 2022
Luissibo, Thank you for providing feedback about your recent stay at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Carlsbad Beach. We are sorry to hear you experienced these housekeeping issues throughout your stay with us. We have shared your feedback with our housekeeping supervisor and our management team to further address the concerns you expressed. We assure you, we want each of our guests to be comfortable in their rooms and will use your feedback to coach our housekeeping team further. We hope you can give us another opportunity in the future to show you that your previous unsatisfactory stay was a one time exception. Thank you for choosing the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Carlsbad Beach.
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We stayed at this Holiday Inn Express for a Soccer Tournament. The overall Hotel location was good, with easy access to the freeway, restaurants and beach. The room and the overall upkeep of this hotel are greatly lacking in cleanliness, updates, security! As you can see from the photos, wall paper peeling, fridge is leveled with a microfiber rag, screw holes and old silicon left behind from what use to be a glass door closure ( now only a cheap curtain remains ) we had to ask for toilet paper right when we checked in, as we only had a 1/4 of a roll and no back ups. No towel holders or rings to hang wet towels. weird stains and pen marks, scuff marks on the walls. The wall next to the bed and the curtain had pink yogurt or something like that splattered on it, obviously never cleaned. The toilet seat was broken and squeaked so bad the guests next door could hear it ( after notifying the front desk, they did come and replace ). The security doors into the pool/ or first floor rooms was broken. We felt a bit unsafe. The carpets in the room are GROSS, I reluctantly walked around barefoot as my feet stuck to the floor. They do not clean the room on a daily basis, nor would they know we needed service, as they did not provide us with a door tag saying Do Not Disturb or we need Maid service. We paid around $280 per night or $861 for three nights and this is way to much for this Hotel/Motel.
The staff members were great, anytime we needed something they came through. The items mentioned above are not the employees fault for the most part but more so the owners or whom ever is in charge of quality control.
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Date of stay: July 2022
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Samantha Buffington, Guest Services / Front Office at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Aug 2, 2022
Duramax2011, Thank you for taking your time to provide feedback regarding your previous stay at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Carlsbad Beach. We are sorry to hear you did not find the cleanliness or hotel up to your standards. We have shared your feedback with our maintenance team to further address the concerns you expressed. We hope you can give us another opportunity to host you again in the future and show you that your previous unsatisfactory stay was a one time exception. Thank you for choosing the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Carlsbad Beach.
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The room, definitely needs an upgrade. A desk chair that is not ripped, a bathroom mirror that is hung straight and a TV unit that is not scratch, oh an a TV with more than about 10 digital channels would be nice. We didn’t get hand soap to wash our hands in the bathroom, I asked about this and apparently there was none. Very unhygienic of the hotel not to offer soap considering the last two years of life. Also your elevators certificate is out of date.
Breakfast is nice, they are all the same only I would like to just have staying guest attended breakfast. As on a few occasion people entered straight from the street one lady that helped herself too breakfast even had an ankle monitor on and was quite happy to tell everyone trying to eat breakfast. If breakfast is open to helping people that need it, I understanding only it would be nice for paying guest to know that breakfast is open to anyone that knows about it.
During our stay we had a group of school soccer players over two days, which means that more food is generally eaten and drunk. Two mornings we had to use milk that was not in the individual cartons, bananas were never seen after day 1, yogurt choices were down to one and no hot chocolate. Yes, it is hard to keep everyone happy with supply but this group of school kids would have booked in advance, maybe the hotel should prepare for this situation.
Room service, I did not put out the green sign and wanted my room cleaned, do you think it happened? No, I went to reception to ask why and was told that they are under staffed and had to clean a 5th of the rooms. I am glad that me as a guest is not seen as a priority to have a roomed clean, clearly my hard earned money is not worth the time. As a hotel guest you pay to have these services if the hotel can not offer these services, tell the guest or offer a discount for half the services of the hotel.
Pool, the morning of Sunday at my stay I went for a swim, around 10am. Firstly the pool was not open, it apparently opens at 9am. Once we got it open pool towels were not available as they were all over the ground from the day/night before. Yes, I know it is hard to get staff, if this is the case close half the hotel and let the guests know otherwise you are expecting these facilities to be functional and up to some sort of standard when paying full price for a stay.
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Date of stay: February 2023
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jeraldine Rimban, Owner at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Feb 22, 2023
Hello haylesdwi, Thank you for your stay and for taking the time to leave us feedback. We're determined to make your stay with us pleasant, and I am sorry to learn that some aspects of your visit turned out otherwise. I have alerted the hotel management regarding your comments, and I am certain that the steps that will be taken will improve your next visits with us. I have also sent you a private message regarding your experience. I am looking forward to your response. Best regards, Clayton G. Case Manager IHGService
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I hate to write a bad review on a Holiday Inn because we have had such good luck with them in the past couple years! But this one was not good. Our room was good size since we upgraded to a king suite, but there was only one small window and it looked directly at another wall! The room was so dark! The elevators are old and noisy. Strange smell in hallway. Breakfast area is very communal so most likely you will be sitting with others because it was very crowded. Breakfast is nothing special but the cinnamon rolls were good. Business center had two computers but one was down for repair and the other one was having problems and the desk clerk had to fix. The pool area has no regular lounge chairs. Instead they have a few ground loungers that were impossible to get in and out of. No towels so we asked at the front desk and they said they would have someone restock them. We were out for 1.5 hours and no one ever came. Ground loungers were so hot that you needed a towel. We ended up switching to another hotel. Just a note that the staff were pleasant - this is not a staff problem - it’s a management problem!
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from IHGService, Guest Relations Manager at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Mar 23, 2020
Hello Barb1923, Thanks for the stay and feedback. I am very sorry to hear about the noisy elevator, the condition of the room and the pool area. I regret that we have these shortcomings. I have forwarded your feedback to our hotel management to work on these points raised in your review to give you the best hotel experience in the future. Once again, thank you for staying with us and hope you visit us again. Best Regards, John O Case Manager IHGService
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Best said...Inattentive Management that has forgotten what hospitality management is all about. What we experienced was not the level of comfort or cleanliness we have become accustomed to at Holiday Inn Express properties.
For example, renting rooms with broken HVAC or rooms with a musty smell is not HI Express quality. The musty smell was like the carpets had been really wet (which is what might have explained why the window was open when we arrived).
Check In individual forgot to mention that there was no room service unless reserved ahead of time, no mention of how to dispose of garbage from room or how to get fresh towels during a multiple day stay.
Room was DARK...only 4 low wattage LED bulbs in the room. It was like staying in what I imagined it would be like in a medieval castle.
The toilet was so low it felt like I was back in elementary school. Funny how things that shouldn't be bring back memories. How about using a regular height or comfort height toilet.
Last time we are staying at this property...
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Date of stay: April 2021
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Best rooms DO NOT face I-5
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Do not stay here. The room smells like urine, and there is poop on the bathroom walls.
Here is a copy and pasted email sent to the manager that still has not received a response…
Hello,
I am in room 316 and checked in last night for a family vacation. I would like to share with you some pictures of our room. I am highly disappointed in the quality of the furniture and room finishes. There is also a very strong urine smell that turns our stomachs upon entering the room. There are brown splatters on the bathroom wall, hair on the bathroom wall and the room curtains are very dirty and stained. The light fixtures are rusted and peeling… Needless to say, the quality of our stay here has not been good and I am disappointed in my decision to book at the Holiday Inn Express amongst the other options I could have chosen.
To anyone considering this hotel…. This place is the worst hotel I have ever been to. Spend your hard earned money elsewhere.Believe me. The manager AJ is a coward, and chooses not to take care of this hotel. I went to the front desk every day for the Manager, unknowingly, I was speaking to him, and he hands me HIS OWN CARD to send the pictures I just showed him to the “manager” Day of check out, He has his front desk attendant do his dirty work for him and lie for him that he’s in a meeting and will be out soon. We waited and guess who never came out? AJ…the manager. The attendant was going back and forth as the middle man for him because he didn’t want to face us himself. I sent an email to the “manager” after being so disgusted at the conditions of our room and the entire hotel amenities but never got a response to this day….
A few things I didn’t include in the email I will list for you below: 1: remote doesn’t turn on the tv 2: wall AC unit knobs don’t function properly 3: only 1 elevator that doesn’t function properly for the entire hotel 4: No stairs…Atleast not to the main lobby or anywhere inside the bottom floor…so that’s not an option
Attached are room pictures
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Date of stay: March 2023Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:Do not stay here, spend your hard earned money someone better. Trust me.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from General Manager, General Manager at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Mar 19, 2023
We're distressed to hear about your experience. Please accept our apologies for any concerns about the condition of the room and for any disappointment with how it was handled. We strive to ensure an excellent experience for all our guests, and we'll look into your comments further. Should you be in the area again, we'd appreciate the chance to provide you with a more positive experience.
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Let’s begin with how the room smells like a dirty dish cloth. Next, our pillows have mold and we had to request new ones. Third, the front desk staff is not very kind nor is it easy to get ahold of them. Lastly, someone has been smoking copious amounts of marijuana in one of the rooms and the smell has penetrated into our room so it now smells like dishwater weed.
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from IHG Service, Owner at Holiday Inn Express & Suites Carlsbad Beach
Responded Aug 1, 2020
Hello 850amberlyd, Thank you for your stay and for taking the time to leave us feedback. I am sorry to learn that the level of cleanliness of the room allocated for your fell below expectations. I have alerted the hotel management regarding your comments, and I trust that the actions that will be taken will avoid similar issues from happening again. I hope you give our hotel another try! Best regards, Clayton G. Case Manager IHGService
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There are more places to choose from in the Carlsbad area.
PRICE RANGE
C$213 - C$379 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Carlsbad Beach
LOCATION
United StatesCaliforniaCarlsbad
NUMBER OF ROOMS
120
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect nightly room rates, including any mandatory fees. Taxes not included. Please see our partners for more details.
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