Holiday Inn Express Harrisburg I-81 - Hershey By IHG

We have been coming to Hersheypark for a family vacation every year since 2018. We’ve always stayed at the same Holiday Inn Express at 7744 Linglestown Rd every year. The experience in the past has always been phenomenal. However it seems the hotel has changed hands and is under new ownership/management. We checked in on 7/21/25 and the first thing my son exclaimed while bringing bags inside was “the pool is GREEN!” He sure wasn’t wrong. It was a literal cesspool. I talked to the manager Nick. He told me a large group had been in it the night before and it needed to be shocked so it was closed for maintenance. I hopped on Expedia to check reviews and folks had been complaining about the pool being green in reviews starting 7/18/25. We got moved into room #103 to quickly discover the faucet wasn’t attached to the sink. The towel bar fell off simply by washing your hands. The bath tub was covered in rust marks and the caulking around the edges was cracked and splitting. The icing on the cake was the first time someone used the bathroom the toilet clogged. We’ve now been in the room less than two hours and I’m nervous. I go to the desk and Nick graciously moved us to a different ADA room #133. This room while also not perfect was overall better than the initial room. However I did find mold on the side of one bed. The AC unit has black mold on the vent. The room phone was set on a desk and not plugged into anything at all. Staff definitely made an effort to resolve issues.

This hotel was not worth the money. The pool was closed with no explanation. The snacks they had in the little convenience area adjacent to the front desk were as expensive as going to a ball park like Yankee Stadium. The hotel staff were all snippy and rude.

Pool was green so we couldn’t swim and staff wasn’t really helpful during our stay. Ice machines were broken down expect for on the third floor

This hotel is under renovations and the pool/hot tub were closed. Also the breakfast was limited- pancake machine and juice machine were not operating. The front desk charged me for the night even though it was booked through Expedia and resolution is pending.

Great staff, nice brrakfast. The pool was cold and.murky green so I was concerned about using it but otherwise a.great property/stay

Hotel was under construction for renovations which was not shown on Expedia. This made it inconvenient and bad . Rooms filthy. Bed sheet have blood stain. Carpets were stained.

Under construction

This is the worst hotel I have ever stayed at. Our shower had mold growing in. The carpet around the airconditioner was sopping wet. None of the ice machines worked. Our keys would not work to get in the exterior doors, the pool area, or the workout room. When we mentioned it at the front desk the staff seemed put out, and gave us lanyard with keys on it that had a chip to open the doors with. The breakfast was terrible, the pancake machine did not work, and the options were limited. The pool was dirty, had things floating in it. The tires on the luggage carts were flat. Would NOT recommend staying here.

When we arrived, there was a boil water advisory due to a failed inspection at the hotel. We were not offered any safe drinking water and had to purchase bottled water upon arrival with no apologies. One of the outlets in e room had some form of alarm going off to the point that we had to unplug the entire device from the wall. There were items from a previous guest that were left in the fridge. The pool looked almost green so we decided not to swim. The lobby area was clean and bright and the breakfast was largely good. All in all was maybe something we would pay $100 a night for - not the nearly $250 they charged.

Was not informed of indoor pool being closed. Some areas of rooms were in poor condition.

This hotel has bed bugs in room 313, 330, 318, and 319! My family large group stayed there for a Hershey Park weekend and all had bed bugs! The hotel tried to say they were not even after the front desk attendant saw them on video and pictures we showed them. The pool is loud and open until 10pm and the breakfast options are limited. We will never return!

Disappointing Stay – Room Not Clean - Parking I was very disappointed with the cleanliness of the room, especially the bathroom. The tub was stained and appeared to have pubic hair — it clearly hadn’t been properly cleaned. For the price, I expected a much higher standard of hygiene and maintenance. What’s frustrating is that hotels seem more focused on charging premium rates than maintaining their facilities. Even the shower curtain, which looked old and worn out (probably costs $20 to replace), hadn’t been addressed. I ended up buying soap and cleaning the tub myself, but honestly, that’s not what I paid for — it either needs to be properly maintained or the prices need to come down. In the end, it feels like guests and staff both suffer, while management still walks away with bonuses. I would not recommend staying here based on this experience. Be ready for not finding parking after 10 pm . I stay 2 nights and come here to find no parking is an issue. Nothing against my trucking fellows but is a huge parking for trucks right across. See my pictures here .

I never write reviews but this hotel was terrible. The room was discussing and not clean. The AC unit leaked making the floor wet. There was black mold on the walls. The beds were not clean at all and there was still candy and crumbs on the floor from the previous guest. The shower was also unsanitary. Lots of grime and dried soap everywhere. Half of the breakfast equipment didn’t work and the pool was green the entire stay. Check out wasn’t till 11am and they tried to come in to the room twice at 8:30 and wanted to rush us out of the hotel. Worst stay I’ve ever had and felt very uncomfortable the whole time.

I stayed with my family at Holiday Inn Harrisburg on the night of August 17, and it was the worst hotel experience we’ve ever had. * First, we were given Room 328, which had a strong mold smell. * After complaining, we were moved to Room 125. In the middle of the night, we felt something crawling on us and discovered ants all over the bed. * When I reported this to the front desk, the staff brushed it off as if it was normal and not a big deal. * Finally, we were moved to Room 105, but again found ants on the floor and table. We are a family of four, including two kids, and this was not only extremely uncomfortable but also unacceptable. I never expected this from a Holiday Inn property. If I could give 0 stars, I would. Definitely would not recommend this hotel.

Bathroom is not very clean

The bathroom needs to be cleaned and renovated. The tub was dirty and had some type of patch on it that was dirty and cheaply repaired.

The room was dirty. Carpet stained, musty and wet, had a smell, bathroom tub was moldy and rusted. Beds had 2 different comforters which we didn’t use but…spring mattresses. Uncomfortable. Don’t understand the reviews saying how good this place was. Will not be back.

There was black mold around the tub an hour assigned room. We asked to change rooms and the second room smelled bad and the lock was broken on the door. My children were there to visit Harrisburg university but even they were uncomfortable and we checked out shortly after having checked in.

Very nice place. Pool was nice. Room was very clean and comfortable.

The stay was horrible I was over charge twice ! They won’t refund me for over charging there were bugs in room bugs in sink sheets were dirty bad experience wont be back !

Pool was great, easy to find , close to Hershey park , staff was very friendly . Wasn’t a fan of the room setup with the bathroom sink outside in the bedroom. Toilet was short and small.

Uncomfortable bedding! Had us next to the elevator, kept making noise which was annoying

Very big rooms!!! And reasonably priced.

The first impression wasn’t great. They sent me to a room that was COMPLETELY torn apart. Mattresses off the beds, every light on in the room, and a gallon of water on the nightstand. I turned around and went right back down the elevator. They apologized and fixed it, but why wouldn’t they know that it was like that?? The room layout was terrible. The sink was in the open room with three walls around it, which let very little room to function. Having the sink in the bathroom with adequate counter space makes sense…this set up did not. You have to leave the toilet/shower room to wash your hands. Then the toilet was so low to the ground that I felt like I was using one of those preschool potties. The room looked very worn in spots and had some terrible repair spots (like messy spackle.) I was very disappointed that my loyalty to IHG properties was let down this time. I always stay at a Holiday Inn because of the consistency in amenities and room space. I will choose another hotel next time I stay in this area.

The owners of this hotel were excellent! They were polite and extremely helpful. However, I will probably never stay at another Holiday Inn because of the uncomfortable furniture. From what I understand it is the corporation that decided to put in beds that are way too high and chairs that give me neck aches. CHANGE THE FURNITURE IN ALL YOUR HOTELS!!!!

A one night stay worked for traveling purposes but I would not have wanted to stay more. I shared with the front desk that our room's bathroom and tub needed work. The drain did not work, the nozzle was askew and the tub itself looked like it needed to be replaced. The window in the room was damaged and needed to be replaced and the "sofa" was very old and not in great condition. It worked for us for a one night stay to get off the road but we expected a little better environment for a Holiday Inn Express. It was definitely different than the Holiday Inn express we had stayed in in the city of Richmond just a week earlier.

The hotel itself was clean, which is the most important in my mind! The bathroom was very small, the shower was small and outdated. The only food near us was mcdonald’s or perkins which kinda sucked, but it was quiet and clean so it was a great stay to me!! 18 mins from Hershey park is a plus too

Mattress quality could have been better. Started severe backache after sleeping Need a firm bed.

I like the fact that the hotel was located near the interstate. I did not like the fact that my room was located near the lobby and so I could hear people talking in the hallways and walking around while I am trying to sleep.

Large very spacious. Our room had its own movie theater area.

The checkin guy was one of the least welcoming hotel check-in people I've had. He was on the phone the whole time and barely interacted with me. He got the job done but it was not welcoming at all

Lovely place but beds were half made upon our later arrival. The remote didn’t work and someone had to bring us another remote. There were no coffee cups in the room. The facility was attractive and clean otherwise.

One of the desk clerks harassed my wife while she was sitting outside demanding to know her room number and saying it was so he could “cross check her with the room”. He got into her face demanding to know her name and room and she refused saying that the room was booked under my name (her husband. She didn’t change her last name when we got married). When she walked into the lobby he once again accosted her asking her for this information. My friends and I had just gone out and she called me extremely upset asking us to come back because she was scared and shaking. She locked herself in our room until we got back. When I heard all of this I asked the desk clerk what had happened and he denied everything. He said he was just asking to confirm she was a guest. (We had been there since the previous day). Upon checkout I spoke with the manager on duty (possibly the owner) and he was apologetic saying he would deal with the employee as well as refund our stay and call me the following day. Never called, never credited anything. He also said he’d credit my friends room being their shower had over two inches of water in it and he had said on our first day that he’d send a plumber to take care of it. No plumber ever showed up and his excuse was that he told the plumber to come and he never did. Horrible experience all around.

Upon arrival checked n was quick and efficient. Staff (Fredo) was very friendly and courteous. The facility was well equipped, clean and my room was very spacious. I truly enjoyed my stay.

Everything was great from checkin to checkout. We only stayed one night but if we are ever in the area again we would most definitely stay here. The front desk manager was very accommodating which made the experience even better. An added perk was the shampoo, conditioner, soap and lotion were all Dove which was amazing we have never stayed anywhere that had Dove. 5 out of 5 stars. Overall great experience here.

Upon arrival during check in the desk person was not very welcoming. Once we entered the room the toilet would not flush and was running continuous. During our three day stay we had two instances where housekeeping staff walked into our room unannounced. My wife was not comfortable as these were men housekeepers who entered both times while I was down on fisrt floor or out to get ice.

Check in was very slow.

Great staff

I reserved 3 rooms for me and my coworkers. All 3 rooms were dirty. One had a broken shower curtain and one had bugs on the desk in the morning. We only stayed the one night and cancelled the remaining rooms. The staff seemed to be new. The general manager was very nice.

Upon check in, Clerk was answered 3 phone calls and didn't even look at me as she made the calls, and not my check in, a priority... THEN helped her co worker with an issues as I was standing there waiting to he checked in. She talked very fast and not so interested in good communication nor customer service.This was VERY poor customer service, as well as too long processing time to be checked in. NOT basic hospitality which is pretty standard. Past the check in at the elevator to my room, there was a tiny sign saying "boil all water before drinking". This would have been important info to tell a guest before or at checking in as the sign could have been easily missed. I went back to the front desk to enquire and was given a only two 8 oz. bottles of water. ALSO the tile perimeter topping the inside of the pool was dirty. Changing area for pool was in clear sight of checkin desk... it should have a privacy screen.

Stayed here while at Hershey. Hotel was close and clean.

easy on and off of the highway

Our family loved the pool, the hotels location, the staff were very helpful and pleasant

Convenient to restaurants and about a 15 minute ride to Hershey park. Well kept hotel. Very helpful staff.

The hotel itself was clean, which is the most important in my mind! The bathroom was very small, the shower was small and outdated. The only food near us was mcdonald’s or perkins which kinda sucked, but it was quiet and clean so it was a great stay to me!! 18 mins from Hershey park is a plus too

Stayed here to attend a concert at Hershey Stadium. There is a lot of truck stops in that specific area but hotel is great. Breakfast was good, staff was helpful. I would stay again.

Not bad for the price, being about 15 to 20 minutes from Hershey Park. Could use more than the 2 avaialble luggage trollys.

Good location to visit for Hershey Park. Nice stay. Staff was friendly.

All you need for a one night stay. Clean, quiet and well located. Would stay here again.

It was a real treasure. Easy on and off I-81. Our room was immaculate…it was clean and the beds were so comfortable. A great hot & cold breakfast and the staff were friendly, helpful and professional. I have some mobility issues and they addressed all my needs. We would definitely stay here again.

Don’t count on breakfast. Seemed to close early on Sundays. No sign posted or info on hours. Bathrooms in need of deep cleaning

Clean room , friendly staff and good breakfast.

Will definitely stay here again. Good breakfast, rooms were quiet and clean, and coffee in the lobby was very good

The front desk staff was no very friendly. We didn't have a TV connection in our room for the 2 days they were there. They offered to move us but said it could be the same thing in the other room because they were switching providers. The ice machines on 2 floors did not work. I told the front desk staff and they said 'OK". They ran out of food during breakfast and when I told the front desk staff, she pointed vaguely and said 'she is taking care of it.' It was not refilled while we were there wanting to eat.

Great breakfast. My only complaint was how loud the doors are. 5am all I heard were slamming doors.

Breakfast was awesome

The room wasn’t cleaned properly. The tub didn’t drain, so I told management the next day. They said they would send maintenance to the room to fix it and it still didn’t drain the next night. They put breakfast away on Sunday at 9:15. Will not be staying again.

Great breakfast,comfortable room

Very Clean property, Staff was extremely friendly, breakfast was great. Very easy to get to Hershey park for concert.

Breakfast is awful not enough sitting and not big enough area to get your food, everyone is trying to get around each other. One worker in the breakfast area trying to keep everything filled while other workers are standing at the front desk not helping her. Pancake machine is turned to make mini pancakes and takes forever for machine. Rooms need updated.