Stayed at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Carbondale, Illinois this weekend. The people at the front desk told me that they were testing a new concept hotel at this property that included a new H logo for Holiday Inn.

I must say I was impressed, and this is from someone who is not a huge Holiday Inn fan. The rooms were nicely updated, more upscale and modern than your traditional Holiday Inns (especially in the Midwest where most need several decades of updating).

The bed and bedding was very nice, very nice pillows, and a large flat screen TV (not HD but a nice Sony SD). Bathroom had a newer one piece shower/tug with a nice sliding glass door instead of the usual shower curtain. Floor had newer larger tiles, and a granite slab sink counter.

The logo was just an H. The lobby was more open with a center pedastal, rather than the standard tired front desk counter.

I was impressed with the new concept and hope they put this into place at more hotels. They should also find a way to clone the staff at the Carbondale location and put them around the country. The front desk (or pedastal) always had someone there, they always made eye contact and spoke to the guests.

Excellent, excellent hotel, if all Holiday Inns were like this it would be my chain of choice.