Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Clearwater Beach

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1827 reviews

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  Staff is great, but the hotel is way out of date and needs a major upgrade

  Hotel staff is really good. That the best thing about that hotel. The rooms are very dated and don’t smell the greatest. Basically a mildew smell with the air conditioning is running. The options for the hotel are great. Nice pool and restaurant on site. Parking is good. For someone who travels for a living this is not the place to bring a family.

  Jul 04, 2025
• 

  Great location of the Clearwater Pass and a 5 minute walk to the beach or a 5 minute drive to Sand Key Park

  We were allowed to check in early around 1:30 on June 21st. I'm an IHG Platinum member so I'm not sure if that was why of if the room was just available at the time we arrived. Plenty of parking available at the hotel or next door parking garage. Free drink tickets from Jimmys Bar and Grill in the hotel and 4 free passes to the Splash Harbor Waterpark at Indian Rocks beach were included with the stay. We had a balcony gulf view 7th floor suite room (756/756A) and loved sitting out there watching all the activity on the Clearwater Pass. We saw dolphins, manatees, all kinds of wildlife and it was nice to watch the boats come and go all day. They sunset was off to our right and could not be seen from our room but the cloud colors were great. You could see the sun dip into the ocean from Jimmys just below down near the pool. The only minor complaint I would have is that breakfast was not included with the stay since this was a IHG property. Parlor donut shop, Bad Ass coffee, and Taco Bar were used almost daily and so many other places to eat were just over a 5 minute walk. Pier 60 was probably a 10 minute walk from the hotel parking lot. Be sure to head to the beach (5 minutes away or about 765 steps, we counted) for the sunsets. They are some of the best you will ever see!! Just go near the rock jetty and you can see the sun go down and watch dolphins to the left of the rocks while you wait. We tried clearwater beach on a Saturday and it was very, very busy but tried Sand Key Park Beach (less than a mile away across the bridge) on Sunday and Monday and it was so much better and less crowded. Stop by Publix and pack some sandwiches and chips since there is only a snack shack on that beach. It only 6 dollars per car for the day to park. We snorkeled near the rock jetty on the beach side and saw tons of fish and dolphins surfacing nearby, we even had a manatee pass less than 10 feet from us. I will definitely return. I was able to use my free anniversary night and we paid for the other 2 nights during our stay.

  Jun 28, 2025
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  Great here, not so great nextdoor at Shephard's

  We were right next door to Shephard's Beach Resort and our experience was soooooo much better than our friends that stayed at Shephard's Beach "Resort" next door. The bar staff at Jimmy's was accommodating and super friendly (our favorites from the whole trip), the pool was relaxed and clean with very little staff bugging us or asking for our IDs (I'm 56 and they kept checking my ID at Shephard's?!?!) and we stayed way cheaper than the friends that stayed at Shepherd's "resort." I actually felt bad for our friends next door. Shephard's "security" was completely overbearing. They were afraid to look the wrong way because "security" kept telling them they would get "evicted" for taking a WATER to their pool (an obviously pregnant friend had to leave the pool with her Yeti of water because they told her she would be "evicted" for it). We thought something else was going on there, and sure enough..,. THERE WAS A CRIME SCENE OUTSIDE SHEPHARD's on the day we left, with CSI vehicles and "crime scene" tape right outside of Shephard's on the day we left (06/16/25). We have video. Our state's great!!! We are soooo glad we had a relaxing and safe trip without any overbearing ridiculous "security." And Jimmy's calamari was great. See you next year!!

  Jun 16, 2025
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  Hidden Fees and No Ice

  The hotel itself is a bit outdated. But the location is nice and right on the water. What I am frustrated about is that a week after our stay we were charged $125 for amenities without being advised of this charge. After already paying almost $400 a night, this additional charge was added without my knowledge. Not a single ice machine in the entire building worked, no continental breakfast and they expected us to purchase their drinks if we were at the pool. I will not stay here again.

  Jun 04, 2025
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  Clean and convenient

  Overall a decent stay! We requested early check in and were able to get in the room around 2pm, we received a call from Nigel letting us know the room was ready. Our room was very clean! Sheets immaculate, not a hair anywhere. There were some maintenance details that could use a look (crack in the bathroom door handle made locking it impossible) but nothing that impacted my stay (room 416). I stopped by the desk to let them know at checkout but there was no one there. I did see them often coming from behind the desk to assist guests so this is not a reflection of their work! Staff we encountered were very nice, we got confused and went to the wrong elevator and the housekeeping team redirected us. Hotel was obviously in the middle of work, from what I understand they are still recovering from hurricane damage and also doing renovations. Our room was beautifully done with what looked like new furniture and flooring? And very appreciative for the complimentary upgrade with my platinum status, loved our gulf view room!

  Jun 01, 2025