This was my second stay at this location, tho 2 years ago, it was a Holiday Inn. Both have been as part of a group booking for a hockey tournament in Aston PA.The transformation to a Crowne Plaza is still underway (the site is listed as closed on several websites) and while there are a few bumps in the road, the refurbished rooms are definitely an improvement over the Holiday Inn. It is right off I95, which is convenient, but also adjacent to not the best area in DE, and has only outdoor parking. Last visit, several cars were broken into in the lot in broad daylight, so be warned NOT to leave anything of value in your vehicle.
Our room was large with 2 queen beds. It was a handicapped room, so we had an accessible shower stall, which was actually quite nice. No closet, just a hanging bar, and no refrigerator as other rooms seemed to have but overall, the room was fine.
There is an outdoor pool, which was open for Memorial Day, which has NOT been the case at other philly area hotels we've stayed at for past tournaments.
The good..
The rooms are clean and spacious, tho what you get depends on where that particular room is within the renovation process. The beds are comfortable and the towels are larger than hand towels and don't double as loofahs!! they were soft and extras were available. The bed pillows are normal sized. Our AC (a wall unit, not central) worked well.
The bad..
Our team reservation was a train wreck. There was a soccer club and a wedding at the hotel, so it was very close to if not at capacity, and they weren't as prepared for the onslaught as the could have been.
One coach had no room upon arrival, and another family who asked for a second room (a suite) arrived to find they had neither. A suite was located, but not a second room. Another family, tho had a king room (and the king rooms are NOT king with pull-outs), which did not accomodate their needs. Instead of giving the second room to the family with a reservation for 2 rooms, they gave a second room to the "king" family leaving them with 1 person per room and the others with 6 people in a room. Worst of all, one family had no AC at midnight. (following a 90 degree day) The unit was replaced, but that didn't work either, so they had to move rooms at nearly 1 AM. Don't unpack til you check that as they were not the only ones with that issue!
Late checkout isn't easily accomodated. We were told it would be $50 to check out after 1 until we pointed out the MANY issues our team had (and rather graciously accomodated) and the volume of business we brought them. (and have for years) The front desk staff was generally very pleasant tho, and when our keys didn't work after 1, they reactivated them no questions asked.
- Holiday Inn Claymont
- Claymont Holiday Inn
