The property itself is about average for the new Holiday Inn Expresses out there - but the service was outstanding. The hotel has easy access on to/off of I-35, but I noticed no road noise during the night. Free breakfast was pretty good (not great, but for the price, we'll take it). They were proactive, offered us a great alternative and made sure they were ready with a Plan B for our arrival. They even brought down the DVD player from the suite so the kids could watch their movies. They had already set-up two adjoining rooms on the first floor for our use (which netted us an extra bedroom), and gave the two rooms to us at the same price as the suite (a huge cost savings over two rooms). But, they were prepared for that contingency.
Two asthmatic preschoolers and an asthmatic dad meant no way we could stay there. When we arrived, the front desk informed us that the bozos who stayed in the suite the night before had smoked in it (despite it clearly being marketed as a non-smoking room). Their historic downtown was hosting a Christmas celebration, so we stopped there for the night with my wife, mother-in-law and two preschoolers, on our way to see my wife's family in Oklahoma. All I can say is, 'Wow.' We stayed in Gainesville for a Christmastime getaway.
