Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn Hotel Review
The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel and Vacation Complex was, at one time, a working train station. Many people traveled through the train depot in its hayday. Today, the complex has the hotel lobby which was the train depot and three hotel buildings with rooms. In the garden area, there are old train cars which have been converted into rooms as well.
There is plenty to do and see on the grounds without even leaving to see the sites of Chattanooga, of which there are many. Each building has it’s own pool. There are two outdoor pools and one indoor pool. Guests can use any pool in any building complex and are not limited to the pool in the building they are staying in. One outdoor pool has a hot tub which is nice to sit in after a long day of sightseeing.
Between the hotel lobby building and room building # 1 is a garden area. The gardens have sculpted shrubs, flowers, herbs and spices, gazebos to sit in and a water garden with coi fish. Children enjoy hiding in the shrubs and looking at the fish. The garden is surrounded by old train cars on tracks which just makes it such a charming place to take a walk and imagining how people used to travel the rails when that’s the only way that people did travel.
ROOMS
There are three buildings on the complex with standard rooms, suites and train car rooms to give a lot in the way of choices for whatever your needs may be. The rooms also have wireless internet which is a necessity for a corporate traveler but also quite convenient for family travelers. Most of us carry a laptop with us on our travels to be able to transfer photos from our digital cards to the hard drive. The added bonus of being able to check your email in the evenings is a nice option to have. Whatever room you choose, the friendly staff will let you look at the other room styles. Standard rooms and suites located within buildings 1, 2 and 3 are inside hallway rooms in which the entrance to the building itself requires a card key leaving you feeling safe in the buildings. The rooms are clean and the housekeeping staff is very attentive.
RESTAURANTS
This complex has 8 restaurants ranging in price and menu from family friendly to coporate traveler or honeymooners. I can only speak to the experience we had at The Garden Restaurant. Holiday Inn Hotels usually allow children to eat free and this was no exception. The menu was family friendly and reasonably priced. If you like chicken, order the southern fried chicken and you just might have to share it with the rest of the people at your table. To say the portion was generous is an understatment. The catfish portion was also reasonably generous in size and quite tasty. There is a children’s menu that includes pizza, hamburgers, hotdogs and chicken nuggets. It also includes the dessert and a drink.
In the mornings, The Garden Restaurant serves a breakfast buffet which holds eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, gravy, biscuits, cereal, pastries and fruit. A great way to start the day. Children eat this free as well. Guests are also able to order breakfast items from the menu as well.
We also ordered room service on one of our evenings and it was delivered quickly, the food was hot and tasty and gratuity is added right on to the bill at 18%.
SHOPS
There are many gift shops on the complex ranging from your run of the mill touristy items to embroidered shirts, hats, and different clothing. There are also handmade items and foods such as jams and jelly.
There is a fun arcade to hang out in after a day of sightseeing giving the kids an additional memory to their vacation. Be sure to visit the model railroad museum if time permits. It’s a small scale of what the train station looked like when it was a train station. It shows how the trains were able to come in and out and children who love trains would love learning about how the station looked and ran.
THE TROLLY
On the complex, outside The Garden Restaurant, in the garden is a trolly car. Originally, it was used in New Orleans. The hotel bought the trolly and it is used to tour the Chattanooga Choo Choo complex. The track is about a mile long and stops are made along the way so the conductor can speak. He talks about the station then and now, when Holidan Inn bought the complex and why and even talks about the area attractions including some of the history of the area. Since it’s an actual trolley with a bell that must be rang at crossings and on starts and stops, the conductor gets all the children involved and they are the ones who ring the bells. The trolly ride lasts less than an hour and costs $2 for adults and $1 for children. Tipping of the conductor is allowed and, by my opinion, encouraged. They are great assets to the overall experience you will get staying at the Chattanooga Choo Choo.
LOCATION
There are many hotels in Chattanooga that are 4 star and the Chattanooga Choo Choo is one of them. It is located away from downtown and the river area. Across the street from the hotel lobby building is a shuttle service to take you to all the attractions of Chattanooga. It’s an electric shuttle and it’s free to ride.
PRICE
This is an affordable family hotel on it’s own but the fact that there are 3 pools, a garden, several restaurants, an arcade, convenient shuttle service and a beautiful garden area make this $120 a night hotel an exceedingly fabulous value. The Chattanooga Choo Choo offers many vacation packages to match any budget and list of attractions you may want to do while in town.
CONCLUSION
Do not let the name of the hotel scare off your teenagers. This is not just a small children friendly hotel. The Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel is a recommended family hotel that has as much to see and do as the attractions themselves. It’s a vacation within a vacation if that’s possible. Reasonably priced, good food, pools, gardens and shops, each member of the family will find something to love about this vacation complex. With beautiful grounds and a friendly staff, what more could you want?
