Holiday Inn Express & Suites South Portland

Room was spacious. Nice view of the airport.
The couch in it had a big stain on one of the cushions, and the coverlet on the bed had been scribbled on with a pen — two things that probably would not have been too hard for the property to clean. But otherwise, the room was clean.
Gym was OK. Warm inside. Maybe there could be a way for the temperature to be changed.
Breakfast … big crowd when we were there, and the attendant was nowhere in sight for most of the time. Food was not replaced quickly.
Still, it was a decent stay and a good value for the price.
I would be OK with staying here again.

I spent 1 night here. I found the room to clean, even looked under the bed for dust bunnies, none!!! Very impressed. My room came with a large, comfortable bed. I sleep good. This place looked pretty modern. Flat screen tv, and mini fridge. The only bad thing was the bathroom was pretty tight. The shower gave a high pitch scream throughout the shower, but the water was plenty hot. Towels and wash cloth were nice and soft. I’d stay here again.

My Family spends a couple of days a year here. Close enough to the ocean, yet not so close there’s sand everywhere! The staff were all quite polite and always smile whenever you walk by. The biggest drawback for me was that the rooms were not as clean as you would expect from a Holiday Inn! One of my children was grossed out when she saw and killed a silverfish insect in the bathroom. One of my children found penis shaped plastic confetti around the bedside table. They must have been left over from some wild party!
At 10:30 in the morning there was a couple of clumps of hair still floating around the pool from yesterday’s guest’s. I had to clean the pool myself! GROSS! Not to mention the broken insulated glass and fogged/​failed glass in the pool room. The back door is always unlocked because the card reader appears broken too.
At the free breakfast buffet this morning there were employees from other motels helping themselves to to coffee and food before the 6:30am serving time.
Another problem, my mattress had springs sticking thru that were very uncomfortable. (Cheap Mattress!)
It’s obvious that the owners of this place think they’ve found a way to cut some corners and maximize their profit margin. At $ 190.00 plus for each night you would expect better. I am a bit disappointed, but don’t mis-​understand me, I have stayed in much worse places then this.
The last thing that I found annoying, The water saving toilets kept getting plugged. This is not an issue that we have experienced anywhere else. It happened so many times that we went out and bought our own plunger. (Who wants the maintenance guys in your room plunging your toilet two or three times a day?)

We are on our way to The Boulders for a family reunion. We stayed two days here! Kudos to the staff! Friendly front desk! Great remodel! Everything was clean and new! Even the shower curtain looked like it was new out of the package! The breakfast was, as always, great with lots of choices!
My sister stayed down the road at 450 US Route 1 and did not have a good experience to say the least! «Crumbs and Sand in the bed!». I feel terrible since I am the one that told them we always stay at Holiday Inn Express. Good thing when I called there for a room they only had a room for over $ 300! The only thing I did not like about this hotel was that the front doors opened out and were not automated and did not have a button for easier access!

I give this place 3 stars because it is about a 3 star hotel. The room I stayed in was the the king suite and there is plenty of room. There is a microwave and a minnie refrigerator. They also supply some plates and stuff in the room. Bed sheets were clean, but for me I don’t like a firm mattress. The A/​C worked great the room was child in just a matter of mins. The staff was friendly no complaints there either. If you’re looking for a bargain stay its not here average rate I have paid with tax is $ 171 a night

Troubles begin at front door which is not handicapped (or for those with luggage) accessible. The air throughout the hotel has the humid and musky odor associated with cheap motels which will linger on your clothes long after you’ve gone. The noisy room heat/​air conditioner runs all the time and must be adjusted continuously. The carpets are dirty and rarely vacuumed. My room was never made up before 5:00 p.m. The free breakfast is fair, tending toward poor. No restaurant. Several are available in a mall about ½ mile away, but don’t plan on walking. You must cross two crowded highways with no crosswalks and no sidewalks. Being able to run fast is an requirement. Even driving is dicey since the driveway to the hotel is on a blind curve with very fast and heavy traffic.

Hotel looks beat/​tired. Stayed at another place on the way up. Portland harbor hotel. Was better. A room you were happy to stay in but it cost more then H. I. Express. But would paid it if I would have known. Staff seemed good thou.

I’m pretty happy with my recent stay here. The hotel was clean and the staff was nice and friendly. Good value for what you pay. The pool area isn’t that great and neither is the free breakfast, but it’s free so I guess that’s to be expected. I’d stay here again though, overall a decent hotel.

Bad service and insensitive to guests —
What kind of hospitality is that?

All of the Holiday Express’ rooms have at least a sleeping area, and a livingroom slash kitchen area. My room came with a microwave, fridge, silverware, coffee, ironing board, sofa, desk, comfortable bed, free wifi, flatscreen TV, menus, free local calls, good quality lighting and mirrors, and everything was relatively new and clean. Air conditioning and heating is adjustable within the room — you control the thermostat. This by the way was just a standard room, not anything special. It cost about $ 175 plus tax per night (although I didn’t bother looking for deals). They also have free shuttle service to the airport, and to/​from anywhere in a 2 mile radius.
A tip to travelers who take the bus from Boston is to grab the #5 Maine Mall bus right outside Portland Transportation Center for a dollar fifty, then take the free shuttle from the mall to the hotel. Beats a taxi fee.
Shuttle will also take you to the grocery store (Marketbasket).
To get good drinking water, go to the fitness room where there is a free brita machine.
They currently serve a complementary breakfast from 6:30 to 9:30a.m. with fruit, bagels, cerial, eggs, bacon, sausage, and pastries. There’s coin-​op laundry on site, a gym, vending machines, free toothpaste/​toothbrushes/​combs, and a swimming pool.
The hotel is amendable to helping travelers with disabilities. There is a tab about that on their website.
They also have a sign in the rooms: Hospitality Promise — «Making your stay a complete success is our goal. Just let our Manager on Duty or front desk staff know if any part of your stay isn’t satisfactory. We promise to make it right or you won’t pay for that part of your stay.»
There are walking paths less than 100 meters away that go near a golf course. Lots of trees, chestnut trees, some interesting plants, and a couple swampy looking ponds to explore.
Cancellation policy should be noted though. I believe that if you make your reservation directly with the hotel, you can cancel up until 6p.m. the night of your arrival. If you book through a website, I believe you cannot cancel at all. It’s worth looking into.
A couple minor details (not serious enough to lose a star over): The shower pressure was a little weak. A new shower head would probably fix that. On a previous visit, the shuttle driver, Jose, was nice enough to drive me around but also was sort of a bad driver, stomping on the breaks, not using air conditioning, and got lost twice (a major time concern). He was also loud in the hallway where residents had quiet signs on their doors. All of the other shuttle drivers were great — efficient, professional, safe drivers, knew their way around, and the vehicles were cool inside despite 80 degree weather. The sink in my room worked but the drain started to get backed up after several minutes. I will mention the maintenance issues so they will probably be fixed in time for your arrival.
Front desk was helpful and professional. Housekeeping was quiet and efficient.

I tend to stay at a Holiday Inn Express when I travel. They are all pretty consistent with service and the rooms are nice. This hotel was no exception.

I have been here a number of times and it has never let me down. The rooms are clean, the staff friendly, and the location is wonderful due to proximity to everything. One of my favorite places to stay while on business.

Nothing out of the ordinarily good or bad about this place. It is priced exactly right for what you can expect (uhm, at a government rate, that is). It’s is really close to the jet park and to the downtown area. The place was crawling with early-​teen athletes most of the week. so beware if you don’t want to be disturbed. don’t hang the sign on the door. it incites kids away from home to frenzy. If there happens to be a big bus in the port-​a– cochiere, make sure to request not to sleep on the same floor the majority of them are.

Stayed for three nights there in two rooms because my original flight back got canceled so I had to stay for one more night.
Heater of the second wasnt working very well. There is a funny smell in the room too. Pillows are ok. Sheets are clean but not quite white anymore. I understand its just the Express but I definitely stayed at better Express before.

I had to go to a friend’s wedding Portland, ME in May of ’09 and needed to find a hotel in my budget and also close enough to the seaside wedding site. Despite being surrounded by a dozen crowded shopping centers and the Maine Mall, I finally settled on H.I.E. because it’s low prices. I could have gone lower, but the rest of my options gave me a bad gut reaction.
I got to the hotel, got my key easily, opened my door… and went, «OH…MY…GAWD.» Never having stayed at a H.I.E. before, I didn’t realize it was made with the business traveler in mind. I feast my eyes upon a living area, an office area, a kitchenette, two double beds, a bathroom, a flat screen TV, then collapsed on a bed in utter awe. I was almost sure a mistake had been made. My friends whom also purchased rooms at this hotel had the same reaction. Being able to come back to my room after a long day of wedding celebration and microwave two Pop-​Tarts in my kitchenette’s microwave and then watch HBO on my huge television in my comfy white sheets was a bit of HEAVEN.
Go here. Please. You shant regret it.

Surprisingly decent. I wouldn’t expect that from a Holiday Inn, from my experiences, but the hotel is very clean, moderately priced (depending on the season) and has everything you need for an extended stay (kitchenette, sofa bed for guests, etc.). The service is very good; always fresh towels and linens, room cleaned quickly and thoroughly. The front desk staff is also very friendly, although young (college students, is my guess). Laundry services, close to the Mall and within a mile of the airport. It’s not what you would find downtown by the gorgeous Portland waterfront though. This is in a business park area, so it’s not beautiful but it’s very convenient to the Westbrook/​Scarborough/​South Portland areas. 10 minutes from downtown, the waterfront and the Old Port.
This has become my preferred stay in Portland when I need to stay on business.

Comfortable, clean and inexpensive. Rooms nicely equipped with microwave, small refrigerator and coffee maker — plates, silverware, cups also provided. The complimentary breakfast offered good variety but wasn’t amazing. The staff was very helpful — found me a down pillow. The hotel is very accessible to the Maine Mall. Hotel provides a shuttle to and from Mall.