Holiday Inn Express & Suites Lake Zurich-Barrington

We selected the Holiday Inn Express in Lake Zurich as our hotel for our wedding guests to stay at the night before and the night of our wedding. We signed a room block agreement with them about 14 months before our wedding. We chose this hotel because it is only a few miles from our wedding venue and because they also advertise that they provide shuttle service for your guests to and from your wedding.
The hotel is very nice and clean and provided us with a perfect rehearsal dinner space for our families the night before our wedding. During our time at the hotel every single staff member we interacted with was friendly and polite and helpful. However, we had a very terrible experience with this hotel leading up to our wedding and we decided to share it to hopefully keep others from going through similar headaches and frustrations during their wedding planning.
This hotel has experienced turnover in its management within the last year, which may be partially to blame for the problems we had. However, the position of Event Coordinator at this hotel has had turnover twice in the 14 months that we worked with them and that turnover was not handled well either time. When the Event Coordinator left the first time, we weren’t told at all. So, we were continuing to email an address that was no longer checked by anybody. We went weeks without answers to emails and eventually had to call to get somebody to help us. Additionally, any email correspondence we had with that first coordinator was not kept for the new employee to see, so none of the details about our wedding (dates, estimated total of guests, etc.) that we had shared were read by the new coordinator.
When the position experienced turn over a second time, we were again not informed and went weeks without email response. At this point we were nearing the wedding date and got a call from a family member 4 weeks before the wedding telling us that they had been told the hotel was booked for our wedding night. Our room block had accidentally gotten closed and the hotel filled up with other guests 4 weeks before our wedding. There was so much confusion with our wedding block contract due to our file twice being turned over to different people, and nobody seemed to know what was going on.
Eventually hotel guests were moved around and our family members were accommodated, but it was a lot of confusion and chaos in the interim. Management was apologetic but also kept saying, «We can’t be held to promises made by our predecessors» — referring to their previous employees who left the Events Coordinator position. It was an incredibly frustrating experience. Additionally, the shuttle service advertised is one 14– person van that, in our case, could make only one trip to the venue and one trip back at the end of the night. We were informed of this 3 weeks before our wedding, which meant we were also scrambling to get last-​minute shuttle service lined up and spending money for shuttles that we hadn’t planned on spending.
Hopefully this hotel improves with its Event Coordination soon, but until it does, I would strongly recommended not booking a room block here for your wedding.

I have stayed at Holiday Express’s on many personal and business trips and have always had a great experience. This, though, is a hotel moment that is like from the books of «how to delight your customer». I recently lost my phone in the lobby at this Holiday Inn. When I called the hotel hours later to see if they’d found it, they had — and wished me a happy birthday! Apparently they’d been getting a kick out of the bells and buzzers and other alerts going off on my phone while they’d held it (yes, it was my birthday). When I stopped by to reconnect with my iphone, a bouquet of balloons, some wonderful staffers were there to greet me. What a standout, unforgettable conclusion to what could have been a very different day. I am a HUGE fan of this kind of customer service. Thank you, LZ staff, for making my day and going way beyond the call of duty!

Adequate but horrendously overpriced. The room was obviously supposed to be a single but made into a double since our room had a chair wedged between the wall and the bed. No room for the ottoman so that was jammed in to another corner So a very crowded feel. Guess
for the $ 150 it was too much to ask for two bars of soap so the one bar has to go between the shower and the sink. The «high speed internet»? Forget about it. NON EXISISTENT during our stay. Front desk people are nice enough but clearly practiced in the (no doubt) Corporate mandated NON STOP «I apologize» mantra that is supposed to absolve them from not offering what they advertise. Breakfast is the usual «free breakfast» fare. This is a Motel 6 accommodations with a high price tag.

I love this hotel. My family and I came on a Saturday and stayed 2 nights. We were only planned to stay 1 night, but we added a night after realizing how much we wanted to do around town. The staff was very accommodating and helped us get that extra night. The breakfast is delicious, and the décor is nice and new. This hotel isn’t in the middle of nowhere if you’ve been to the suburbs before, and there’s plenty to do. I will definitely be back.

Staff were very pleasant. Walls were thin. Stayed 7 nights, 8 days… same breakfast every morning got old. Tried to use the shuttle 3 days, but it made us late because it was a new driver each day & they kept getting lost. Rooms were comfortable & 24 hour pool was nice. No outdoor pool. Took 6 days before I was able to locate the fitness room. Had to rent a car because the shuttle wasn’t dependable but it was nice when we could use it but the hours it ran didn’t allow evening travel. Was disappointed they don’t recycle anything.

This hotel is very elegant. Right away as you enter the lobby it’s very fancy. Staff is incredibly pleasant as well. A bit cramped, narrow maze-​like hallways lead to the business center, pool and elevator. There’s only one elevator that goes to the hotel’s three floors.
The room is average size. Bathroom is quite spacious. Beds are comfortable and the tv is huge. Also comes with the standard microwave and fridge, etc. There is a small desk and a small sofa in the room as well.
The name gives it justice, «Express». Very good for a quick trip. Nothing really bad to say except for the size but if you’re not intending to stay longer than a night or two it’ll be perfectly fine considering the low price.

We stayed at this hotel for my friend’s wedding last weekend. We arrived before the check in time and they accommodated us. The staff was pleasant. We also brought the after party to the indoor pool after the wedding and the staff were very nice about letting us stay in there as long as we were careful (even though the pool was closed). If you are going to be in the middle of nowhere, IL, then I suggest staying here.