Review: Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport Terminal 3 (Airside Convenience)

For the next (brief) hotel stay of my Iceland to The Residence via Cambodia trip, I spent several hours at the Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport (DEL) Terminal 3. Specifically, I was scheduled to have a roughly 10-hour layover, as I was arriving from London in Air India’s A350 business class, and connecting to Kuala Lumpur in Air India’s A320neo business class.

In situations like this, I find that there’s huge value in being able to get a room for some proper rest, rather than being stuck in the terminal for that long. The Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport has both an airside international and domestic portion — of the 93 rooms, 57 are international and 36 are domestic — and I booked the international portion, so I wouldn’t have to clear immigration.

While this hotel is no doubt incredibly convenient and the best place to get some rest, I can’t say the hotel otherwise impressed me that much. It didn’t feel terribly clean to me, and just generally wasn’t very well maintained. Still, if you’re looking to get some rest without clearing immigration, this is your option.

Booking the Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport

When you book the Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport, you’ll want to be sure that you book the correct wing of the hotel, or else you’ll find yourself in a situation where you can’t use the room you’ve reserved. The international portion of the hotel is open to transit passengers who don’t have to collect their bags. Prices between the two wings are generally similar.

I ended up booking an overnight stay, due to the awkward time of my layover, plus my desire to redeem points. The cash rate would’ve been $232 plus taxes and fees.

I had an IHG One Rewards free night award valid at a property costing up to 40,000 points, which could be topped off with more points. The hotel was charging 44,000 points, so I redeemed the certificate, plus an extra 4,000 points.

I value IHG points at 0.5 cents each, so while it’s not the most exciting redemption on earth, I thought it was a good option in this situation, especially since my balance of IHG points never seems to go down.

Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport location

After getting off my international flight, I had to clear transit security, and then found myself in the main departures hall of Delhi Terminal 3. The signage for the Holiday Inn Express isn’t necessarily great, though there is some signage in the terminal referencing a hotel.

The easiest thing to do is to follow the signage toward the Encalm Lounge, since the lounge and the hotel share an entrance.

When you’re in the main part of the departure terminal, just go through the entrance for the Encalm Lounge, and then proceed down the hall.

At the end of the hall you’ll see some elevators, so get into one of those.

While the Encalm Lounge is on levels three and four, the Holiday Inn Express is on level five.

Once on the fifth floor, you’ll find the entrance to the hotel right there.

I’ve gotta say, the signage and branding is really lacking, but even so, I didn’t find it that difficult to find. Note that when you’re staying at this hotel, you can freely roam around the terminal, so it’s not like you’re restricted to staying there.

Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport lobby & check-in

The Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport is a modest facility. The lobby area has around half a dozen seats, and then there’s simply a reception desk, which was staffed by one person. While she was friendly, it felt like the check-in process took an eternity.

Within around 10 minutes I had a key to my room, and was ready to get some rest.

Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport guest room

All the rooms at the Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport are located on the same floor. I was assigned room 305 (also the area code for my hometown of Miami — hah!), just a short walk from reception and on the right.

I was in a queen bed standard room, marketed as being 21 square meters (226 square feet). So the room wasn’t huge by regular hotel room standards, but for a transit hotel room, it was a decent size. The room had an entryway with the bathroom to the left, some closet space to the right, and the rest of the room straight ahead.

The room was pretty basic — it had a queen size bed, which was actually reasonably comfortable, with plush pillows. Across from that was a wall-mounted TV, and a desk with a rolling chair.

Also on the desk was two bottles of water, plus a kettle with some tea and instant coffee, all of which were complimentary. There was also an empty mini-fridge.

The room didn’t have much in the way of views, and just faced other parts of the terminal.

The bathroom was pretty basic, and had a sink, a toilet, and a walk-in shower, with Dove toiletries in reusable containers. There wasn’t much separation between the shower and the rest of the room, so when I showered, the rest of the bathroom got very wet.

There was Wi-Fi in the room, but it wasn’t particularly fast. Beyond that, I should mention a few more things:

• The sound insulation was horrible, and you could hear literally anyone and everything in the hallway, which was less than ideal for a hotel where people are moving around 24/7
• I found it interesting how this wasn’t at all a brand standard Holiday Inn Express in terms of design; on the surface, I think it actually looked a bit more elegant, though I think the room looks better in pictures than in real life
• The room just kind of didn’t feel very clean, or like it was in good condition; the rolling chair was basically falling apart and squeaked like crazy, the floor felt really sticky and unclean, and the bathroom had a very unpleasant odor

Basically, the bed sheets as such were the only thing that really felt clean, or where I didn’t want to immediately wash my hands.

Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport spa & gym

At the far end of the hall past the rooms, the Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport has a spa and gym… or something. It felt like the spa was abandoned, and when I asked at reception about this, I was told no treatments were available, though the associate didn’t really explain whether it was permanently closed, or what.

The mattresses just sort of stored in the hallway behind the spa reception don’t exactly give a great impression.

Then down the hall was the gym, which was… okay? I mean, it seems like they should maybe invest in fewer treadmills and more free weights, or something. 😉

Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport restaurant & breakfast

The Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport has a restaurant of sorts, located on the opposite side of reception of the rooms. It’s quite a large space, with both dining tables and areas meant more for lounging.

There were some decent(ish) views of the apron from here, certainly much better than from my room!

As is brand standard with Holiday Inn Express, the hotel offers complimentary breakfast, daily from 6:30AM until 10:30AM. Drinks included juice, tea, and coffee.

The spread was otherwise definitely more local than what you’d expect from a Holiday Inn Express, with several hot options. There was also toast, yogurt, and veggies. For a Holiday Inn Express, you certainly can’t complain. However, I didn’t eat anything as I wasn’t hungry, so I can’t speak to the quality.

Bottom line

If you want to rest while staying airside in Terminal 3 at Delhi Airport, then the Holiday Inn Express is obviously the place to stay. The property is expensive, but you’re paying for the convenience. While I appreciated the location, the room just felt sort of a little run down and unclean to me, in a way that left me with an unfavorable impression. I know that’s hard to convey based on the pictures, but that’s my experience.

Perhaps a more visual example of that is the hotel just storing (stained) mattresses in the hallway, and the free weight rack in the gym being mostly empty. It just seems like it’s a property where a little effort would go a long way.

What’s your take on the Holiday Inn Express Delhi Airport?