After finishing up in Key West, it was time to make the journey northward to Indiana – the 42nd state on our road trip. We stopped in several places along the way, including four nights in Martinsburg to check out if it’s somewhere we’d want to settle once our road trip is over (see more about that here.)
We booked a four night stay at the Holiday Inn Martinsburg as that was a great option when using IHG One Rewards points. It was a very nice stay and we’d be happy to stay there in the future if we ever find ourselves traveling through Martinsburg again.
Here’s a full review of our stay at the Holiday Inn Martinsburg, WV.
Check-In
We drove to Martinsburg from Charlotte, NC which is about a six hour drive, so we arrived at about 5:30pm. The check-in process was pretty quick and we were soon handed our keys to room 412.
Bedroom
When entering our room the bathroom was on the right and the bedroom straight ahead.
On the left as we entered there was a little alcove with a small luggage rack and shelf above that..
To the right of that was a closet containing an iron, ironing board and safe.
The bedroom was a decent enough size with a king bed and an armchair and ottoman in the far corner.
The king bed was nice and comfortable, as were the pillows. The room had blackout blinds which worked well to keep the room dark at night.
The bedside tables had power outlets built into them which was helpful for charging our phones overnight.
Opposite the bed was a desk on rollers so that it could be moved around if needed. On a shelf above that there was a TV and Keurig coffee maker.
On the left of that area was a small dresser drawer, microwave and mini fridge in the larger cupboard door.
The TV had a good selection of channels available.
It was raining when we arrived, but the next morning we looked out of our window to be greeted by snowfall.
Bathroom
The bathroom had a bathtub with shower. The shower’s water pressure was good.
Many IHG properties have moved over to having large refillable bottles of Dove toiletries and the Holiday Inn Martinsburg is no exception.
Heatherfield’s Restaurant – Breakfast
Unlike IHG’s Holiday Inn Express brand, Holiday Inn properties don’t offer complimentary breakfast for guests. There is an exception though; if you have Diamond status in the IHG One Rewards loyalty program, you can choose complimentary breakfast for two people every morning of your stay as your welcome amenity instead of 600 points one time. Seeing as 600 points are worth ~$3, picking free breakfast is easily the better option!
I have Diamond status, so we got breakfast from the hotel’s Heatherfields restaurant each morning. You don’t have to actually eat in the restaurant; a couple of mornings we got our breakfasts in to-go boxes to have up in our room so that we could work.
The other two mornings we had breakfast down in the restaurant. I ordered the three egg omelet one morning which was very filling. The other mornings I got the all-American skillet which was also very filling as well as being tasty. We got chatting to the chef one morning and he said he’d made it with love and it certainly tasted that way 🙂
Some mornings Shae got their Innjoyable breakfast, then the final morning she ordered the French toast which she liked.
Just outside of the restaurant was a complimentary coffee and tea station. This was only available in the morning rather than 24/7 like some hotel chains.
Heatherfield’s Restaurant – Dinner
The hotel’s Heatherfield’s restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We only ever ate breakfast there, but here’s their opening hours and dinner menu.
Amenities
If you need to print anything off during your stay, there’s a business center with a couple of computers and a printer. This came in handy for me as I had a document I needed to print off in order to physically sign it.
Due to the way the hotel is constructed on a hill, you enter the hotel’s lobby on the third floor. You have to go down to the second floor to access the fitness room.
The fitness room had half a dozen pieces of cardio equipment, as well as weights. A feature I appreciated is that guests can adjust the thermostat, so it wasn’t too hot in there.
Also on the second floor is a guest laundry room with two washing machines and two dryers. Both types of machine cost $2 per load which is very reasonable and the laundry room is available 24/7.
Another amenity on the second floor is an indoor swimming pool. This was incredibly warm – it was almost like bath water, so I was disappointed in myself for not making the effort to go for a swim.
Pet Policy
The Holiday Inn Martinsburg is a pet-friendly hotel. There’s a $50 pet fee per stay rather than per night; that’s not bad, especially if you’re staying several nights as that reduces the effective cost per night.
The hotel has grassy areas all around it, as well as sidewalks out the front in case you want to take your pup for a longer walk.
Service
Service was good overall. The front desk staff were nice, while the people working in the restaurant at breakfast were always very friendly too.
Wi-Fi
The hotel offers free-Wi-Fi for all guests. We both worked and had Zoom meetings during our stay and never had any issues with connectivity or internet speed.
Check-In & Check-Out Times
Check-in is from 3pm, while check-out is at 12pm.
Location
The hotel is just off I-81, so it’s a convenient place to stay if you’re just traveling through and need a place to sleep for the night. It’s within walking distance of a few restaurants and is only a short distance to a larger shopping area with a Walmart, other restaurants and more.
A little further afield, Harpers Ferry, WV and Hagerstown, MD are both about a half-hour drive away.
Parking
The Holiday Inn Martinsburg offers free parking for all guests. There’s parking all around the property, so you can park closer to other entrances if that puts you closer to your room.
Cost
We booked our stay using IHG One Rewards points. If you have an IHG Premier, Traveler or Business credit card, you get every fourth night free on award stays. Where possible, we book IHG stays in four night increments to take advantage of that feature and this stay was no exception.
IHG uses dynamic pricing which means the number of points you need for a free night can vary depending on demand. For the nights we stayed, they were charging 17,000 points per night for the first three nights and 16,000 points for the fourth night. That fourth night was free, so we only had to redeem 51,000 points.
I also have an IHG Select credit card. One of its benefits is a 10% points rebate on award stays, so we’ll get 5,100 points back too. That reduced our net cost to 45,900 points, or an average of 11,475 points per night. We bought those points when they were on sale for 0.5cpp (cent per point), so our effective cost for the stay was only $57.38 per night. The cash rate for our dates was $109.35, so we saved almost 50% by booking it this way.
Final Thoughts
We had a nice stay at the Holiday Inn Martinsburg. Our room was clean and comfortable, the blackout blinds worked well and our room was quiet. The breakfast was good, staff members were friendly and it’s in a convenient location for anywhere you need to get to in Martinsburg.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives this property four paws out of four – pawfect! The $50 pet fee was reasonable, she liked that it was quiet at night and didn’t get woken by guests above us or in the hallway, plus it was good having a lot of space to walk around the hotel.
Our Rating
Room = 4.1 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.5 / 5
Food = 4.4 / 5
Location = 4.3 / 5
Service = 4.2 / 5
Overall Value = 4.5 / 5
Total = 4.33 / 5
Address
Holiday Inn, 301 Foxcroft Ave, Martinsburg, WV 25401
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