This is exactly what you get at HIX (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_Inn_Express)!
Frankly, I would not book these in SE Asia since other brands (especially in Bangkok --> HI Silom and Sukhumvit) are also rather cheap.
In Europe, HIX sometimes offer great value (esp. in expensive cities like London e.g.)

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Good

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked standard room on PointBreaks, received deluxe (courtyard view) which is much more quiet.

How are the rooms?
Small, basic interior and furnishing. Bathroom is very small but at least there are additional toiletries (apart from the Dove-dispenser). Minibar is well stocked for a HI and prices are acceptable.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?
^
- upgrade
- free internet voucher
- friendly staff, even if it was late at night when I arrived
- train station in walking distance
- price for garage is ok (9�)


- only partly refurbished
- very basic interior and design

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
On Pointbreaks it was definitely ok

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked standard with 15 day parking, upgraded to Executive.

How are the rooms?
Average Euro HI Exec.

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
WiFi free to Plats
Given 2 drink coupons
The parking deal is slightly cheaper than the Resa Vacances at CDG and it is underground and more secure.

Bad
The shuttle currently only serves Roissypole due to works going on. It should be back to normal in a few weeks though.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Yes especially if I need long term airport parking

I didn't expect much, I got less. BTW: HI Suk doesn't open until mid-Q4 so it's irrelevant.

If I prepay for a queen room I don't want a double/full bed. How difficult is that to understand?

That's clever to use the hotel for the parking.

What is your Priority Club status?
Long time Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Somewhat

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked standard, "upgraded" to club floor but hard to tell difference from standard room

How are the rooms?
Recently remodeled in very attractive palette BUT furnishings are not in scale with room size - e.g., coffee table too big, keep bumping into it when sitting in desk chair. Rooms are not particularly spacious but could be better if furniture were better sized in relation to available space. Maybe this was a smaller room but it was pretty darn cramped.

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Bedding
Bath towels
Reading lights on headboard
Breakfast comped in lieu of Exec lounge - very nice buffet and omelet station, great service

Bad
A/C is NOISY!! The way the system is constructed, even when your room AC is not running you hear the squeaks and squeals from the AC in other rooms. Think sound is being carried via the duct work, loud enough to wake during the night. Somebody desperately needs to put some oil on those fans!
Exec lounge closed - not even coffee in the AM. How hard would it be to just set up a coffee station?
Coffee pot in room changed to single serve Keurig. Four capsules - 2 coffee, 2 tea - provided, BUT only decaf left after day one. Also, that godawful powdered creamer!!
HBO not working
WiFi charged 12.95/day - thought it was supposed to be comped for Plats??? Not even free WiFi in public areas or the lobby Starbucks!


Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Maybe, but the accumulation of several minor annoyances is leading me to consider trying other properties in the area

My Godson was bound for Westmont, Sta Barbara so part of his Graduation Gift included a 3 day stay at the HIEx in Sta Barbara so his parents could get him settled. Instead of paying the $841 for 3 nights, we used 75K.

What is your Priority Club status?
RA Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
They were.

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked King Standard room as it was the only one available. Called Hotel and requested for 2 Qn which they said they would provide as soon as they could arrange for it. Front Desk was very helpful & accommodating noting that they were happy to assist their Plat members booking them rooms they requested for.

What was good and what was bad?
Following is a quote from them:
Our stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Santa Barbara really suited our needs for the occasion.

We were greeted by a friendly and helpful valet attendant and front desk personnel and our room was very pleasing to the eye and offered everything we needed.

The breakfast bar was more than sufficient in quality and quantity and the fact that all the tables were taken during the peak hour shows that we are not alone in that thought.

The location in downtown Santa Barbara allowed us to leave the car in the parking lot in order to explore the beautiful town and walk to the beach.

The maid service was thorough and our rooms were very well cleaned each day.

We have no need to look for another place the next time we are in Santa Barbara. Thank you.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
They sounded really happy with their stay. 25K per night worth it to me then !I might even give this a try if I visit Westmont.

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked standard room on points, upgraded to executive room

How are the rooms? Small but well appointed, shower only, windows opened slightly, street noise not a problem

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
25,000 points at the time, now 35,000
Location!
Granted an early check in @ 0900
Turndown service
Staff polite and friendly

Bad:
Nothing

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Excellent at 25,000 points, unfortuntely now 35,000 but would return

sorry, my fault - of course I did not mean the new HI Suk but the HI Bangkok next to the IC

My post basically stated that one should not expect (i.e. mentioned on the 'bad'-list) a high service level (e.g. delivering toiletries) or certain facilities (e.g. gym) at HIX.

Actually for me HIX Siam was one of the best I've been to so far. Just compared to the old style HIX in Europe:


However,in regards to value I highly recommend HI Silom...

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked standard room via the "Old Flame" promo which included room, dinner (set menu) and breakfast for 2. Received an executive room overlooking the car park upon check in.

How are the rooms? Shabby but as this is a busy airport property it wasn't unexpected.

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Rate
Location (5 mins from South Terminal)
Property grounds are well maintained
24 hour airport shuttle
Great buffet breakfast

Bad:
Could use a renovation of interior spaces
Refrigerator in room broken

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Very reasonable as dinner and breakfast included but would probably try somewhere else next time

- Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport UK


- What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum

- Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes - the Pros outweighed the Cons, but there were a few Cons

- Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked "Queen Executive with Sofabed" and received the same. The platinum welcome letter at this hotel was interesting - to me it appeared to totally rule out category upgrades. The exact text is:"Complimentary upgrades to best available room in their category". Having taken that on board, I find it hard to believe that the room allocated was best-in-category: 3/4 below ground level looking out onto a breeze-block wall 6 feet away..

- How are the rooms?
Fully refurbished in latest dark brown/olive green style. Decent size even with the sofabed open. Water and chocolate bar (standard for UK executive room) replaced daily - not always replaced daily at other hotels in my experience. Ironing board neatly tucked away in seperate cupboard can fold-out for use. Good LCD TV and iBahn guest interface: view bill, alarm etc all working. Bathroom very new and decent layout. Plenty of "seaweed" bits-and-bobs. Hotel was once a Posthouse but not a trace of Posthouse legacy.
Mini-bar (chargeable) was fully stocked. Only shortfalls was lack of in-room safe and only one robe provided (for 2 adults). The single robe did however have slippers tucked into belt - not universal in the UK.

- How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

- What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Breakfast good at �9.95 with voucher. Expanded selection on buffet over standard HI (many more fruits, pancakes, etc.) plus kippers, porridge, eggs benedict, etc, to order with no supplement. All coffee refills are from waiting staff so frequency depends on how busy things are, but this was generally OK.
Very nice clean pool and changing area. Some Tripadvisor reviews mention the pool is small, but it is pretty standard size for a UK HI - but by far the tidiest I have seen for a long time. Great warm towels provided.
The whole interior of the hotel appears refurbished and modern.
The shuttle to Birmigham international I personally found excellent. Some reviews have found this not to be running, but for us (with 1 exception - see later) it ran reliably at xx00 and xx30 from the hotel and back at xx15 and xx45. Clean well-signed large mini-bus and friendly driver. I had understood that there was a lull in service from 1300 - 1500. Maybe I mis-understood, but on attempting to get a 1500 shuttle from the hotel, we were told the shuttle did not start until 1700. Not sure who made the mistake there, but reception organised a complementary taxi. This was handled really well by a great member of staff (not one that had checked me in or out, and not the equally excellent staff member who gave me the residents car park ticket - see later).
All dealings with reception apart from Check-in and Check-out were good.
Excellent choice of magazines in reception, good pile of "i's" and also "Irish Independent"

Bad:
Check-in (and thus first impression which did set the tone for the first night) wasn't great. Long queue and Priority Check-in unstaffed. Other PC members clearly not wishing to 'jump the queue' to empty PC area. Plat letter lists benefit of 'Priority Check in - exclusive check in area... to avoid the queues!'-rather an admission, I would say. I wasn't asked if I wanted a newspaper. Check-in not particularly friendly. I asked about car parking arrangements and was told I would need to go to reception each time I wanted to exit for an exit ticket. Not convenient given location of room & car. (However, on a subsequent visit to reception for an exit ticket, I was given a "residents 2-day" car park pass - from a very helpful receptionist. At least I now know what to ask for if there is a next time.)
Check-out also wasn't great. Long queue again. Plat letter also states another benefit: "Priority Check Out (exclusive to Birmingham Airport)". Not sure what that is (they offer breakfast check-out but that is hardly exclusive). If it is simply going to the Priority Check-in sign, then that was again unstaffed. I made it clear I wanted to settle the bill and depart myself, but that the rest of the family would depart at 2pm. However the key was de-activated anyway, leaving them with a trip to reception and another queue.
Parking charge �7.50 per night. I was told this was a discount for residents. Well I suppose it was better than the �10 per night that the CP up the road at the NEC charges.
No tangible Platinum offer - only standard 'offers' or items where delivery does not live up to the hype.

- Value for � or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Good value for the price paid (even including parking) when you factor in the shuttle and pool. Yes I would return and now could avoid the very few pitfalls. The 'hard product' was excellent; if some reception issues were ironed out and true upgrades were offered this could be an excellent hotel.

What is your Priority Club status?
Club level - first paid stay this year

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Very happy

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
I booked a standard king room, and was given an upgrade to a suite

How are the rooms?
Looks like either a new property or a recent remodel. Very spacious two room suite, everything in perfect condition.

What was good and what was bad?
Clean & well maintained, very friendly staff, and I was surprised to get a room upgrade without any status. Choice of 500 points, a welcome bag, or a free appetizer in the restaurant on check-in.

Can't think of anything to criticize...

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
The 'burbs aren't expensive for hotels, but $124 is a pretty good value!

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Very good

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked King Standard and upgraded to Partial Ocean View on top floor

How are the rooms?
You can tell it is an older property, with fairly noisy air-con and old (but very clean) bathroom. However, the room has been very nicely refurbished

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Very well located hotel; nicely refurbished
Nice upgrade
Free parking for Platinum members
Coupon for bicycle rental

Bad
Older property with some odd design flaws (most bizarre is having to walk through the parking garage to get to the pool)

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Stayed on points so excellent value - Santa Monica hotels (inc HI) were very expensive at the weekend

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum Ambassador

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
No

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked King Leisure on points; received same

How are the rooms?
Bland (most unlike any other Indigo rooms) and very small (luggage rack is stored under the bed; no seating area other than desk chair). Bathroom is poorly designed with combined toilet/shower area. Very noisy - as well as trains going past, the room I had was close to the area where rubbish was stored (which was collected at 6am) and there is a building being demolished next door

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A - there are a couple of nice public patios though

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Really nice public areas
Friendly staff
Looks like there will be a good restaurant in the near future (at the moment, you're directed to another hotel)

Bad
Tiny, bland rooms
Bizarre bathroom
Noisy

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Poor value (although obviously Santa Barbara is quite expensive in the summer). Would not return - unfortunately I don't think there's anything that can be done to improve the property. The HIX is far better

What is your Priority Club status?
Platinum

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
It was just OK

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked 2 Standards, received one upgrade to executive but no upgrade for the other room

How are the rooms?
The exec room was nice, but the standard room was terrible. Really big difference. Small, dark and out of date, scratched furniture, tiny bed.

How is the exec. lounge?
N/A

What was good and what was bad?
Good:
Location

Bad
Too expensive for what it is.

Value for $ or Priority Club Points? Would you return?
Not a great value. Not sure if I would return