Holiday Inn VA Beach-Oceanside (21st St) by IHG

Reviews

• CB

  Carlos Bayne

  Feb 23, 2026
  5.0
  Room 1101 — February 18, 2026 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5) After a multi-state road trip with several hotel stops, this one absolutely delivered where it counts. Bed: Comfy. No notes. Pillows: Elite. Each pillowcase is embroidered with “Soft” or “Hard,” which might sound minor — but it’s not. No guessing. No midnight pillow roulette. If you want structure, grab Hard. If you want cloud, grab Soft. It’s thoughtful and genuinely appreciated after a few disappointing pillow situations elsewhere on this trip. Shower: Water pressure was adequate — not aggressive, not weak. Just right. During winter they give you a friendly note saying hot water may take a while to warm up. In our case (mid-February), it heated up quickly and ranged from comfortably warm to very hot if that’s your preference. Towels: Bigger than some other hotels we’ve stayed at this week and perfectly adequate. Not scratchy, not overly plush — right in the middle. The room was dark enough for solid sleep, and you can hear the ocean waves at night, which makes for incredible natural white noise. Hemingway’s Happy Hour staff were fantastic — great vibe all around. Jerry, the manager, was wonderful to chat with (ask him about his collegiate swimming days!), and Katie at check-in was a rockstar and set the tone immediately. Oceanfront location + great sleep quality + attentive staff = easy five stars. Would absolutely stay here again. 🌊
• DE

  Dylan England

  Feb 23, 2026
  3.0
  Traveling for work, I try to mix up a few things and actually plan to start doing official reviews of hotels as I travel. Consensus: Not upset I stayed but will try elsewhere next time. Room was nice, balcony looking at the ocean beautiful, sound of waves through the night; calming. The staff were pleasant, breakfast is NOT included like most Holiday Inn IHG hotels. I find this is important to know when booking. I was able to walk to a grocery store and buy a bunch of food. Location: On the water, walkable to restaurants, things to do, and places to see. I loved the location and would love to return. Just finding another local hotel that does not feel like I'm taking a cold plunge and/or has a considerable fitness center. BUT: The showers were very cold (yes ,it was turned the correct way) they stated letting water run for 5-10 minutes. It ran for 35 minutes before having to go to bed to wake for an early flight home. It was still a very cold shower. The gym: is a staple thing I personally enjoy looking for, this one makes it clear you're not here to include your workout with your trip (at least not in doors). Very small, dirty, water source was flashing red due to a dirty filter, there was dumbbells 5-50lbs but very dirty and crumbling. No way to clean the equipment after or before use. Bosu ball existed too but 2/3 inflated. My personal rating was 7/20 when it comes to what equipment they have but I clearly need to change my ratings to consider space and cleanliness in addition to just what equipment exists.
• JB

  Jason Bender

  Feb 21, 2026
  5.0
  Pleasant and friendly staff (except for the female bartender @ Hemingway's), nicely appointed rooms, comfortable. Stayed here 21yrs ago while attending a course at Dam Neck, this wknd as a launching point to recon OBX. 12th floor King suite was superb. Front desk staff is professional, knowledgable, and friendly. Valets are great. Updated, warm, spacious. We'll return.
• TD

  Terry Donaldson

  Feb 14, 2026
  4.0
  5.0 out of 5 stars – Exceptional Stay with Standout Service! I just wrapped up my very first trip to Virginia Beach with a 3-night stay at the Holiday Inn VA Beach-Oceanside, and I can’t recommend it enough! From the moment we arrived, everything felt welcoming and well-maintained. The rooms were spotless—clean, comfortable, and clearly taken care of. I especially loved the remodeled bathrooms; they felt modern and fresh, which made getting ready each day a breeze. The on-site restaurant was a pleasant surprise. The food was great and delicious overall, with flavorful options that hit the spot after a day at the beach. The breakfast buffet was solid—nothing mind-blowing, but perfectly okay and convenient to fuel up for the day. What truly elevated this stay was the staff. Everyone was knowledgeable, friendly, and genuinely helpful. But hands down, the highlight was bartender Paige! She provided the best service I’ve received in a long time—warm, attentive, and full of personality. She made every interaction fun and memorable. If Holiday Inn is reading reviews like this, they need to recognize and keep employees like Paige; she’s a true gem and one of the biggest reasons my stay felt special. Overall, this was a fantastic introduction to Virginia Beach. Clean rooms, tasty dining, oceanfront vibes, and exceptional hospitality—especially from Paige—made it a perfect getaway. I’ll definitely be back! Highly recommend—5 stars all the way!
• SS

  Scott

  Feb 6, 2026
  1.0
  This is a difficult review because ultimately the manager was very nice. But this hotel willingly rented me a room knowing there is no hot water in the hotel. Apparently the desk clerk was supposed to hand me a note when I checked in informing me that the hotel has no hot water. Instead they only have a lukewarm water similar in temperature to something you might wash your hands with in a public bathroom. I measured the temperature of the water and it was 89 degrees. I also measured the swimming pool water temperature and it was only a few degrees cooler. I spent more than 75 minutes on the phone with customer service at IHG corporate. The Philippines call center provided no help. They called the hotel, spoke to the front desk clerk who was not qualified to make any decisions, then told me I must wait for the hotel manager to come out of a meeting. Finally they agreed to canceled my remaining reserve nights at no charge but planned to charge me $160 for the night with no hot water and threaten to charge another $160 if I was not able to check out by 2:00 p.m. it's important to note, I had a full four night stay planned so I did not have anything prepared to check out in the middle of the afternoon. In fact I was supposed to be at work. Deplorable service from the Philippines call center that identified themself as customer care aside, the hotel manager was eventually very nice and refunded my stay, but only after almost 2 hours of arguing with the front desk clerk and the telephone customer care folks. The real problem here, the hotel remains open despite not being able to provide hot water for their guests. The problem is so systemic they've produced notes that they hand out at the front desk informing guests that there is no hot water in the hotel. This is a problem, as explained by the hotel management, this time of year. The outside air temperature is 17° f. If I've been given this note on check-in I simply would have refused to check in. Why would you check into a hotel without side air temperature at 17° f when there's no hot water in the room. IHG has many hotels in their chain that are very nice, but they also have many that should be closed. If this hotel has no hot water, that means there's no hot water for kitchen staff to wash their hands, no hot water in which to sanitize dishes, and worse of all no hot water for guests paying $160 per night.

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