Surrounded by the Annapolis Mall, the Towne Centre, the Anne Arundel Medical Center and close to the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and downtown Annapolis, General Manager Grace Scott’s Holiday Inn Express has seen a little bit of everything and stands strong to tell the tale.
Just off West Street at the Riva Road junction, this Holiday Inn Express leverages both the quality of their Annapolis accommodations and willingness of the staff to adapt itself to the visitor’s situation.
“I take pride in fostering patient, friendly employees, because I know when I go somewhere I of course want a clean comfortable room but I also want to be treated the right way. I can get a good room –I know how — but I am also looking to be treated the right way,” Scott said.
The Towne Centre is the draw that keeps this Annapolis hotel busy — with the Annapolis Mall coming in at a close second. Annapolis shoppers, diners and visitors galore pour through these centers and find their way into a good hotel at the right price.
That these qualities are evident, shows — user feedback is mostly positive on the whole and overwhelmingly positive on staff interactions and comfort of the bedrooms. Some visitors find the bathrooms small; a feature Scott herself admits is under review. Plus the access to the hotel sometimes requires a U-turn, which can be mildly inconvenient. But that kind of access has been determined by the city of Annapolis, not the hotel that happens to be there.
“I run a nice hotel. Downtown is about four miles away, and the football stadium is a five-minute drive,” Scott said.
Another way the Holiday Inn Express excels is dealing with more sensitive clients. Since the hotel is one of the closest to the Anne Arundel Medical Center, people aren’t always staying for pleasure. Â This is why Scott spends a lot of time cultivating the right staff to provide the right kind of atmosphere. It is important to discern who your customers are and why they are choosing your business. We do that at the Holiday Inn Express Annapolis so we can provide them with the excellent service they expect and deserve, Scott said.
“I want the people who come into my hotel and into Annapolis to feel like they have our support. People sometimes come in here alone. Sometimes they’re waiting for family or friends; sometimes there is no family or there are no friends to come. Sometimes they’re facing a four-hour drive alone. We need to be here for them,†she explained.
It’s a tough thing to get guests to return to your hotel time and again, but Scott said she sees an ever-growing number of familiar faces returning to her Holiday Inn Express and she’s proud of that. It’s a skill she seems to have, and one she instills upon all the members of her staff.
Like several other hotels, the Holiday Inn Express offers a continental breakfast bar, but the difference here are the rave reviews it garners on sites such as TripAdvisor.com. We didn’t think we’d see the day either, but there they are, repeatedly complimenting a specific Annapolis hotel on their delicious breakfasts.
Review sites have a special place in Scott’s heart as she can been seen personally responding to both the positive and negative reviews and offering solutions, explanations, and heartfelt kudos to staff members who are mentioned.
Be it business, pleasure or necessity that drives your trip to an Annapolis hotel and warrants a stay, choosing the Holiday Inn Express under Grace Scott is a winning move. With its location close to all the major facilities plus the experience and expertise of Grace Scott and the staff she diligently trains to adapt to any visitor’s situation, the Holiday Inn Express Annapolis delivers. The staff realizes that sometimes a hotel room is just another hotel room but what can set them apart is adapting to the personal needs of everyone who walks through their door.
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