The Holiday Inn Express opened in 2015, and it remains fresh and well-maintained throughout. It's situated on well-landscaped grounds and housed in a four-floor building with a porte cochere entrance. The contemporary interiors have a mid-range chain look, but there’s decent amounts of style. The ground-floor lobby and breakfast area is done in earth tones, and features graphic-print armchairs and rugs, dark-wood furniture and trim, high ceilings, and large windows. Families with children, couples, and travelers enjoying outdoor excursions or concerts at nearby Red Rocks Amphitheatre tend to be the hotel's main clientele. 

The Holiday Inn Express is located off Interstate 70, in an area with strip malls, big box stores, supermarkets, restaurants, bars, and other hotels. It's a 10-minute drive from downtown Golden, with plenty of shopping, dining, and bars, plus the Coors Brewery Tour, Golden History Museum, and the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum.

The Heritage Amusement Park, Colorado Mills mall, and Jefferson County Fairgrounds are all about five minutes by car. William Frederick Hayden Park is a 10-minute drive, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Bandimere Speedway is about 15 minutes. 

Lookout Mountain Nature Center and Preserve and the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave are also a 15-minutes drive, as is downtown Denver. The latter features attractions like the Denver professional sports venues, the Downtown Aquarium, 16th Street Mall, and Denver Museum of Art. Denver International Airport is a little less than an hour by car from the Holiday Inn Express. 

The spacious and well-maintained guest rooms and suites at the Holiday Inn Express have a handsome, contemporary look, with a brown-beige-tan color palette, dark-wood furniture, framed black-and-white photos, and all-white bedding. Amenities are a huge plus, as all come with 40-inch flat-screen TVs with DirecTV and HBO, plus microwaves, mini-fridges, coffeemakers, and free Wi-Fi. Some units have sofa beds and wet bars. Bathrooms are spacious and clean, and they contain shower/tub combos, granite countertops, large mirrors, hairdryers, and toiletries. Rooms get generous natural light, but the view of the parking lot and surrounding area is nothing special. 

The Holiday Inn Express offers up an impressive array of property amenities. An ample free breakfast buffet is served that gets high marks from guests, particularly for the hot cinnamon rolls. The spread also features eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, and a wide range of cold items. Free coffee is available in the lobby all day. There is no full-service restaurant, but several dining spots are located within a short drive or walk, and some will deliver to guest rooms. 

For wellness, there's a 15-meter indoor pool bordered by a hot tub and deck, and a gym with treadmills and several other pieces of modern cardio equipment, plus some free weights, a plyometric ball, and flat-screen TV. Other amenities include a coin-op laundry, meeting room, business center, lobby convenience store, 24-hour front desk, free on-site parking, and free Wi-Fi throughout.