Holiday Inn Express Wilkes Barre East, an IHG Hotel, Wilkes-Barre PA

Get here before dark. It's sort of out of the way. Rooms are fine. Staff are very helpful, my only gripe is luke warm water for morning shower. They did their best and found us a room with warmer water.

Stopped here after a long day of driving. Chose this hotel because it was not off route. Check in was fairly smooth, had to yell for someone to come to the front to assist us. No problem there. Was prob busy. Got up bright and early to get back on the road but wanted to grab a coffee and banana from the included breakfast that is supposed to be served at 6am. Got down there and all the lights are off and a lady is working in the dark. Sees us and asks if we are waiting for breakfast. (Duh) Tells us it will not be ready u.til 6: 30. Fine, no problem even though we wanted to grab and go and get on the road. 6: 20 rolls around, lights still off and said lady is in the back hacking her head off. We left. Checkout was the same, has to stand at the counter and yell for someone. Rooms good, a little dated and the building smells like old basement.

Being a Gold member of IHG hotels this hotel was a big disappointment.
The front desk gentleman was very courteous and helpful when we arrived late evening. Giving one star for just that! Except that everything else was a mess. The hallway carpets, elevators, room carpets were not clean and run-down. Room carpet was not vacuumed and had ripped. The AC and the curtains were dirty. Thought of complaining but the phone was disconnected and it was just a showpiece. The bathroom though had hot shower but the curtain was ripped a d couldn't be pulled either ways, so the water came out on the floor from shower.the skid mat was dirty. That too we stayed in non-smoking room. Though the breakfast place had basic things, can't complain for it being complimentary but really a disaster compared to other Holiday Inn Express. The tables were not cleaned and wobbly, one even had paper towels/napkins under to hold it, old messy chairs. Please maintain hygiene and cleanliness.
The management really needs to look into these matters or they need to shut it down. We had to cut short the visit and check out a day early.

Stay anywhere but here! The staff was friendly and helpful, that’s the only nice thing I can say. Old smelly rooms, plumbing issues, no hot water in the shower, toilet won’t flush properly, cracked sink, faucet runs all night, AC not working, place is in desperate need of maintenance. I can’t even list all of the broken/non working issues. Can’t believe this place is associated with IHG. Literally stay anywhere else!

The people at the front desk are always very courteous and helpful. When we checked in on Sunday night 12/18, after a long day of driving, we were exhausted. Lataisha and Charlie, at the front desk were very pleasant. I didn't realize that I had left my purse at the front desk. When my husband went back down to finish getting our luggage out of our car, Lataisha gave the purse back to him. We can't express enough our deep gratitude to these two employees of the Holiday Inn Express. I hope in some way Lataisha and Charlie can be rewarded by the company for their loyalty and honesty to their customers.
Even though the rooms need a major updating, we always enjoy our stay at that hotel because the employees are all very helpful.

Hotel is okay! Very nice pool, outside area, nice balcony room with great view, micro wave and fridge with large tvs and a king size Bed with extra pull out bed! The hot tub was broken though. For atleast 3 months. My only dislike is how uncomfortable, stiff and hard the king size bed was, and how flat the pillows get. I couldn’t sleep at ALL & woke up with a stiff back and neck. I think the floor was comfier!

It's a typical HIE somewhat outdated needing some renovations IMHO. We had a very comfortable overnight stay here. It provided a very good sleep quality that I normally expect from any IHG locations.

Our standard room with a king-size bed was spacious and provided a very comfortable quiet room. 46-in TV was a plus. The signature breakfast was fairly good offering a normal hot breakfast though it was lacking a pancake machine and signature cinnamon rolls. Other than that, it was a great accommodation.

We're in town for wedding and were given a room with mold in the bathroom, mold in the ac unit, and a shower with no water pressure. I didn't expect much, but I expected at least basic health codes being met. Despite all that, the group tailgating directly outside the entrance offered me a beer, which was nice of them.

The service, I'll admit was fine. The manager was nice and tentative.

If your in the area. This is the one you want to go to. Clean rooms and gym. No riff-raff in the hotel. Nice view from on top of the mountain

First, the positives: the check in process was great and the staff was extremely friendly.
That’s it…

Cons: The rooms are dated, dirty, and falling apart. Our bed wasn’t completely made, our phone had no buttons, the fan in the bathroom was not working (not legal). On top of this, we had to ask for sheets and pillows for one of our beds because there weren’t any in the room. The smell is cigarette smoke and weed was terrible throughout the hotel.

Tip: Don’t stay here unless you need to especially if you have a family…

I tried posting this review on the hotel's website with my confirmation number, but it hasn't made it through their review process: For a Holiday Inn and the price we paid, this hotel was horrible. It needs major remodeling and security needs enforced. It is located at the end of a long private driveway, and signs directed us through an empty parking lot, which was confusing. The hotel staff was very friendly, the breakfast options were good, and the beds were comfortable, but those were the only positives. After checking in, we tried to enter the side door, which ended up being an emergency door despite not being latched. The all-metal stairwell was not typical for a decent hotel. The carpet needs replaced. Room doors were tiny and old, wallpaper was ripped, and the shower heads were disgusting. The rooms were also small with barely any walking space. We tried to go swimming, but a group was having a smoking/drinking party just outside the backdoor, which wasn't latched either, thus letting in their smoke. The keycard access to the pool needs fixed too. We also found a foreign object at the bottom of the pool, so we immediately left the pool area. The next day we found an open bottle of beer on a table just outside the elevator doors. I don't recommend staying here, especially if you are bringing your family.

I had a reservation for June 8th (which was my daughters bday) to june 15th. Upon arrival I checked in at the front desk where the employee was shoving some type of pasta down her throat and seemed much more concerned about that than assisting me. When my family and I went up to our room it was absolutely disgusting! There were holes in the carpet, stains, mildew and mold in corners of tub, stains even on ceiling, peeling wall paper, and the bottom of the tub was brown, and multiple other things. I Immediately took my family downstairs and told the lady at the front desk about the situation and that I wanted to cancel the stay and have the charges returned to my card. I had to leave there for a Hilton which was up to standards. The charges from IHG is still on my credit card as pending over a week ago. They told me it is just taking there bank longer than expected. This is the third time in a row holiday inn express has let my family down. I travel a lot being a service member and this is just unacceptable! I expect some type of compensation for the wasted time of my experience. I will never stay at holiday inn again. Avoid at all costs!

Mold, dust, rust, torn shower curtain and an old piece of toast stuck in between the refrigerator and dresser. Who knows how long itvwas there.the worse place I ever stayed.

Please do not consider this venue!
This place is an absolute DUMP.
Probably last renovated in mid 90s.
Extremely run down: every piece of furniture in our room was nicked and or broken, carper filthy, bathroom run down and fixtures rusty, wallpaper peeling off the walls and black MOLD on the ceilings, mattress super uncomfortable, no support, dirty bed skirt and God know when it was changed.
We stayed because we were exhausted, however I will NEVER book holiday inn Express ever again.
This is my 3rd successive booking in different locations, cities and states.
Same type of experience.

Hallway smelled strong of cigarettes… not their fault. Was just unpleasant. However. After spending more than 100 for a night, you’d think the carpet would be vacuumed (besides the crumbs of food, was also wrappers and hair ties under the bed) and that the sheets wouldn’t have hair that doesn’t match anywhere close to yours or your partners. Long and grey…obviously a humans hair. Have stayed in plenty of hotels due to my job, this one may have been the worst stay I’ve encountered. Even after checking the bed I went to bed itching at the thought of how dirty the room was.

Everything was fantastic. One of the best holiday inns I've ever stayed at. Great food, hot tub, pool, sauna, room and room was fantastic. Outdoor fire pit and dining domes for cold weather. Outstanding hotel.