I stayed at the HI Bradenton Riverfront for one night. The rooms were clean, the furnishings were decent, and the pillows were awesome. The sliding glass door facing the river did not close completely, by 1/4 inch or less. It was locked by use of a security bar. We did not feel unsafe due to this minor gap, especially since we were on an upper floor.

They are remodeling, installing new flat screen TVs as we were checking out. I assume they'll fix the sliding glass door when they remodel that room.

We had a meeting in one of the banquet rooms, which seemed to have been converted from an outdoor patio at some point. One of the doors obviously did not fill the space it was supposed to fill. The wait staff was TOO attentive. They did not understand when we asked them to leave our cups and bottles alone. All the luncheon buffet sandwiches had either mayo or an oil-based salad dressing. That could have been the meeting planners fault, but one of my coworkers is deathly allergic to most oils, and was unsuccessful in getting a dry substitute.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn for a quick overnight work trip. The location is lovely, right on the Riverwalk and although it is near a main road, the traffic noise was minimal. The hotel lobby is lovely in with old Spanish / dark tile decor. Check-in was easy and painless even though we had arrived at 11 a.m. Staff was very friendly and everyone said hello. The room was standard with king bed, desk and obligatory wing chair. The decor was dated but clean. The bathroom was also clean but also in need of updating as tub/sink/countertops were scratched. The bathroom was also the location of the complimentary coffee maker with the tea and coffee sachets which personally is not appetizing.

The bed was comfortable and rooms were sound proof although the air conditioning was a unit in the room that cut on and off throughout the night not very quietly. I had a second floor room with a view of the parking lot but a colleague had a view of the river / trees.

The courtyard to the pool and restaurant were charming with multiple fountains. The lunch at Dominic's (the in house restaurant) was buffet style. It was fairly limited with not many healthy choices but the food was decent. However, the breakfast menu for in-room dining was dire with two choices one of which cost $7 for orange juice, toast, an apple or banana and coffee.

All in all, it is a decent hotel in a nice and convenient location in Bradenton but it definitely should be on Intercontinental's / Holiday Inn's list for refurbishment.

I stayed at the hotel for a long weekend at the end of June 2007 and found everything to be very nice. The staff was friendly and check in was a breeze. I was using my redemption points for one night and then paying for the second and had absolutely no problem with the bookkeeping or reservation. Foyer at the hotel is nicely done in tiles and plants and felt very warm when entering. Room was very nice, clean, nice king size bed with lots of pillows. I had a nice view of the river and the landscaping around the hotel was very nice and well kept. Only "problem" was it was very hard to find since they have built-out in front of it. You cannot see it from the street - so needs better signage.

My wife and I stayed there for 4 nights between the Christmas and New Year's holiday. We were pleased with the overall accomodation: a nice room with King size bed for a reasonable price. Clean premises. Nice friendly management, located right on the Manatee River, close to the riverwalk and easy to get to from the main highway. Breakfast was not included, but they offered a nice hot and cold buffet for $8.50 at the affiliated restaurant right on the grounds. The latter was lovely, with tropical plants, pool, and fountains--we took several photos right there!