What Happened To The Holiday Inn Holidome, Are There Any Left?
Many of us remember that moment we got hooked into the miles and points hobby. It started with a new card offer, a honeymoon trip or some aspiration international destination. It usually comes out of some sort of necessity, us looking for a way to do a trip way above our weight class. But what about your love of travel as a whole? Do you remember the moment you fell in love with all things travel? Probably not, since it likely struck you at a young age when memories are blurry if you are getting a little long in the tooth like me.
Finding My Love Of Travel
I can’t pinpoint it exactly myself but there are some things that still stand out for me from my youth. We did a lot of road trips as a kid and that is where my love of hotels was birthed from. Don’t get me wrong, we flew sometimes too, but I have never loved airports or airplanes (an oddity in this space I know). Ian Snyder makes fun of me often for never caring what aircraft I am on etc. But hotels have always been there, heck I collect the soap and shampoo as keepsakes.
One hotel that does stand out clearly from my childhood is the Holiday Inn Holidome. We hit a few during our journeys and it was always a highlight of the trip. This was the Great Wolf Lodge before such things existed. I have to admit, I randomly started daydreaming about my beloved Holidome this past weekend. I thought to myself, I need to take my kids to one to see if they would love it as much as I did. But wait, are they even still a thing? What happened to this amazing idea full of creativity and ingenuity? Why don’t we see them around anymore? And, most importantly, are there any left? Down the rabbit hole I went…
The Holiday Inn Holidome Was Birthed Out Of Necessity
I don’t know if you were aware of this but when the Holiday Inn brand launched it was the first hotel brand to offer a pool at every single hotel. The goal was to attract more of the family travelers and this was the feather in their cap to get it done. But in the northern states the outdoor pool was worthless for 8 months out of the year. Talk about a waste of money!
That is why the first Holidome was created in North Dakota to solve just this problem. Holiday Inn liked the idea so much that they started adding them across the country and that is when the Holidome name was born. Throughout the 1970’s and 80’s Holidomes were popping up everywhere, reaching to a level of several hundred locations. The interesting tidbit from CNN was that the most popular locations were actually in Florida, not the northern states, since it was like an insurance policy against a rainy trip.
If you have never been inside a Holidome it was kind of like a motel with a courtyard but the courtyard was covered. Then a pool, putt put, shuffle board, tiki bar, arcade, pool tables etc. were added in the new indoor space. It was a backyard party but indoors. Awesome, right?
Here is a video of some of the old Holidome commercials (skip to 1:15 to get to hotel footage)
So What Happened To The Magnificent Holidome?
This place sounds awesome doesn’t it? You have all of the entertainment of a party at Richie Rich’s house but it is all indoors and worlds away from finicky weather outside. So what happened? Why is the Holidome pretty much extinct?
Well they were expensive, very expensive. The maintenance costs were brutal. The pool would create moisture throughout the Holidome area and mold and decay would be an issue. I have to imagine they just didn’t have the filtration systems like we do for indoor pools to keep up with it. Other problems would be the chemical smell of the pool seeping throughout the hotel because it was in an open air space. The design was also usually unaesthetically pleasing, looking like a pole barn roof thrown up around a motel.
Because of this, and the rise of the indoor waterpark, Holiday Inn made a pivot away from the Holidome in the early 2000’s. There was still a little over 100 locations left but were encouraged to change over to the new waterpark set up for Holiday Inn hotels. The waterpark has not been as widely adopted though, with only 6 states having at least one hotel with a waterpark.
Are There Still Any Holiday Inn Holidome Locations Left
But the big question remains, are there any Holidome locations left? There has to be a few holdouts out there, right? I found an awesome write up by Adventure Animal of a recent closure of the Holidome in Perrysburg, Ohio. This gave me a deep sadness since that is only an hour and a half from me and it closed in 2019. I should have been on this quest sooner! The hotel looked amazing so be sure to check out the post if you want to reminisce.
One interesting thing is it seems that some Holidomes have stayed intact after leaving the Holiday Inn brand. I found a few examples in Michigan, one at the Ramada Inn Alpena.
There is also a Delta Hotel in Kalamazoo that has some Holidome vibes. I have encountered some independent hotels here and there that were inspired by the Holidome as well. One of our favorite such locations is the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth (Frankenmuth is worth checking out if in Michigan). It has the open air pool, arcade, putt putt, restaurant etc. all in one open area.
I played on that indoor gingerbread house and slide as a kid and both of my children have enjoyed it as well. That is the essence of travel right there, sharing things with your family!
But What About A Real Holidome?
So we have found some old Holidomes that have brand hopped and some inspired Holidome creations. But what about the real thing? I was able to find one after some sleuthing! There may be a couple more, and if you know of any let us know in the comments below.
The one I found is Holiday Inn Saint Louis West At Six Flags. This place looks like the perfect answer to my quest. A Holiday Inn Holidome, right next to an amusement park! Are you kidding me? Flights are being booked now 😂. I have been wanting to take my kids to the amazing City Museum anyway so this is a dream weekend of awesomesauce.
Final Thoughts
Forget about lie flat seats and popping Krug on Cathay Pacific. The OG travel status was getting a room that opened out to the pool area at a Holidome. One could only be so lucky as a kid! I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane with me and I hope to see you in St Louis sometime soon 😉. We have to keep the magic that is the Holiday Inn Holidome alive after all!
If nothing else at least you can now answer the question, what happened to the Holiday Inn Holidome? Share any memories of it, or any memorable hotels as a kid, in the comments below.
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My dad used to take us every winter to the Holidome in Richfield Ohio. It was so much fun as a kid! I wish it was still open so I could take my kids!
Mark,
As a child in the 80’s, my family always stayed at a Holidome in San Angelo, Texas. It obviously was originally a Holiday Inn but changed brands a few times in later years. Around 2009ish, I visited that town and was sad to see it was boarded up. However, a few years later, I learned that it was bought and was being renovated. I am actually writing this from the renovated hotel. I am so thrilled to be staying here. It is called Pearl on the Concho – a SureStay by Best Western hotel. It is pretty much restored to his former glory. I am reliving the glory days 40 years later!!!
Former Holidome locations:
Howard Johnson Lima, Ohio
Ramada Lansing, Michigan
Wyndham Garden Ann Arbor
Wyndham Garden Detroit Metro Airport
Ramada Alpena (as Mark mentioned)
Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo (as Mark mentioned)
Ramada Clarion, Pennsylvania (closed in Oct 2023)
Ramada New Castle, Pennsylvania
Ramada Uniontown, Pennsylvania (closed Oct 2023)
Clarion Hotel (1/2) and Ramada Inn (1/2) Charlotte, North Carolina
Clarion Pocatello, Idaho (closed Dec 2021)
Doubletree Hotel, Westlake, Oh
Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, West Hilliard, Ohio
I believe the Ramada Inn in Michigan City was as well.
There’s one in fond du lac WI as a Ramada. We stay there all the time and get a room that has a window to the pool.
We were just back to New Ulm, Minnesota. The Holiday Inn Holidome is now a Best Western Plus. Seems to be well managed.
My brother and I always got a birthday wish from our mom as kids. Our birthdays were in cold months, so we always went to the Rockford IL HOLIDOME to swim.
The Holiday Inn I’m Austin, MN is still a Holidome! I didn’t know this was a thing until coming across this article but I’ve been there and can attest that the whole hotel smells like a swimming pool.
Just discovered a former Holidome called The Pearl on the Conchos in San Angelo, TX! Marvelously restored in 2016 by the still current owner. It’s swimmingly re-done!
So glad some of the buildings are still around!
As a trucker I occasionally stayed at a former Holidome across the street from the truck stop in Dallas. It was rather sad the massive enclosed space stripped of everything, just tattered fake grass carpet. The former Holidome had become a low budget dive motel for truckers, prostitutes and down on their luck families paying by the week. That motel has now been razed, as has the old school truck stop across the street, nothing but memories remain.
I worked on the road installing networks for 2 years solid in the mid 80s. Holidomes were always my first choice when arriving in a new city. I can’t count how many I stayed in but it was a ton. Great memories.
Growing up in Central WI. We had a Holidome in Stevens Point. My family would stay every Easter weekend. As a kid the Holidome was AMAZING! Pool, Hot tub, Shuffle board, Ping Pong and the sunken Arcade.
The smell of Chlorine and playing with cousins in the Holidome was a lot of fun.
Sadly this location was torn down.
Thanks for writing this article.
The Baymont by Wyndham in Hannibal is an old Holidome. But the building looks like an abandoned factory. So ugly. And the rooms are not in great shape. Kind of sad.
Grew up with my Mom and Grandmother working at the Navarre Beach, Florida, Holiday Inn. It was three stories with a Holidome. So, it didn’t have the “we need to come up with something to cover this pool, quick!” Vibe that some of them had, with the lower ceilings.
If you want to see it in it’s glory days, watch the opening of Jaws 2… only know that the staircase Roy Scheider walks up from the beach to the outdoor level was only for the movie. 😉
It was an amazing place to spend time in. I’ve missed it greatly since it was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
My aunt used to manage the Holidome in Midland Texas. I had many good times there. While not still branded as a Holidome, the one in San Angelo, Texas remains very similar to the original concept. It’s branded as ‘Pearl on the Concho’ by Best Western.
I went to work for the San Angelo, TX Holiday Inn Holidome, in the late seventies. Started as as a Secretary and later became the Director of Sales. Loved the job, the people and the city. The city was in it’s infancy in the Convention business. They built a Convention Center down the street on Concho Drive and San Angelo became a destination meeting place for Association’s and Meetings. Fun and exciting time.
I learned about these through an odd coincidence. I’ve mostly worked as a musician and stagehand, but I’ve worked several delivery gigs to fill in the slow periods. Made more than a few stops at hotels, and one of them was this cool, old place with a giant indoor courtyard with a multi-level pool and this sort of beach themed decor. It’s the Welcome Inn at 1612 N. Providence in Columbia, MO now. Probably was then too, though I can’t be certain, it was so many years ago. (Don’t even recall what I was delivering then. Too many options.) Anyway, years later I was doing install work with a local A/V company and we were working on a different hotel and got to talking and I mentioned the hotel in question and my boss said “Oh, that’s the old Holidome.” . . . The Holiwhat? This was a whole thing? Cool!
I’ll try to remember these the next time I’m on the road. See if I can hit one myself. (I did recommend the Columbia MO example to friends and family, as it was still clean and fairly well managed at the time. And they gave good reviews. Though it appears they give weekly rates now, so . . . your mileage may vary. It’s been a long time since last I was there.)
Anyway, I sincerely hope you had fun at the City Museum in St. Louis (where I am now) and I’ll definitely look and see if I can find a few more of these. Fun stuff!
Photos taken on my honeymoon in December 1986. Holidome at 13800 E. Colfax Avenue in Aurora, CO. (Sadly, it appears to be gone now. ) Just thinking of that pool smell upon walking inside gives me warm fuzzies. Manager cut us newlyweds a deal as we were there for my entire Christmas break from college. Only $39 a night! P.S. Don’t ask why we had a room with two doubles. Cheaper? We didn’t care. LOL
While you are in Missouri, drive north out of StL and go up to Hannibal. In addition to all of the wonderful MarkTwain experiences (including REALLY cool caves, there is an old Holidome that is now privately run and not affiliated with a chain. Not as well maintained as it was when part of a chain, but my kids never talk about any other part of the trip than the “fun hotel”!
Check the holidome in Schaumburg, IL if it’s still there…
It’s not sadly 🙁 the building is set to be demolished soon. I have fond memories of birthday parties there as a kid!
There is a hotel in Ann Arbor called Weber’s Inn. It has a Holidome feel with rooms that surround the indoor pool, ping pong table, small arcade, pool table, juke box, and snack bar area. It is upscale and kept very nice. The whole pool area has a glass roof. It’s as close to a holidome as I’ve found. I’m on your page because I went looking for a Holidome too. I had stayed at one in the late 70s in Denver and I wanted to find if there were others anywhere near me. I’ve stayed at Weber’s many times but wanted a change.
Regency Hotel and Conference Center in Boxboro, MA was definitely a Holidome! Still up and running with functioning pool and dome areas all intact, stocked with live plants and trees. The exit sign on the highway still had the Holiday Inn on the sign for accommodations, even though it’s changed hands.
Mainstay Suites in Williamsburg is an old Holidome I think it was originally built in the 50s as a holiday inn and then remodeled. Literally have every issue inside the dome area you listed. Right now the pool is OOO because we are renovating the bc of moisture from the pool. Crazy!
The Holiday Inn St. Lewis Six Flags was a Ramada when the Fundome was built, so it isn’t a real Holidome.
There were 3 in the Greater Pittsburgh area that we used to visit occasionally as a child, when Dad wanted to give us a weekend to swim. All 3 are still around under a different flag, however, but it appears all that is left is the pool. The mini-golf, shuffleboard, and game rooms all appear to have been removed.
Uniontown, PA – Ramada
Indiana, PA – Ramada
Beaver Falls, PA – Ramada (looks like this one now has an indoor playground, which wasn’t part of the Holidome experience)
There was also a Sheraton in Cranberry, PA (North of Pgh) that had a similar design to a holidome with an indoor atrium, indoor/outdoor pool, game room, and I think it may have had mini golf as well, but can’t recall for certain. It now flies under the Doubletree flag. Another copycat in a Days Inn in Butler, PA (North of Pgh) which had an indoor pool, courtyard and similar amenities to a Holidome. She was looking a bit long-in-the-tooth though, and closed last year, and is slated for demolition.
In the 80s, there were also several Best Western Conley Inns (Local franchisee that used the Best Western flag) in the Pittsburgh area that were knock-off Holidomes. Although they had similar amenities, I remember these to all be pretty dumpy, even for a pre-teen. My dad must’ve thought so too, because I only remember staying at one once.
Monroeville, PA – Demolished
Gibsonia, PA – Sat vacant and dilapidated for several years, but recently repurposed
Norwin, PA – Repurposed
Beaver Falls, PA – Demolished
New Stanton, PA – Demolished
Zelienople, PA – Demolished
Butler – Still remains, just without the Best Western flag. She needs some love though.
I guess we were lucky in my area to have so many different options for a weekend getaway to swim. Nothing beats the original Holidomes though.
There’s still one in Des Moines, IA by the airport. Not quite as sweet as the original from the 80’s but still the same vibe. Still can smell the chlorine that hit your nose the minute you stepped foot in that hotel. Great memories!
That smell, it is where the magic is at 🙂
I agree! ☺️
I just stumbled across your article and I have to say I agree with you about traveling and the holidomes!!! I got goosebumps when I started reading it lol. I’m not sure where you’re from but I’m in Ohio and there’s a music venue called blossom music center, kinda like an ampetheater sp? But back in the hay days of rock and roll and the birth of grunge, 70s, 80s etc there was another huge venue called the Richfield Coliseum. In fact it was built in 1974 and replaced in 1994 by the gund arena in downtown Cleveland. So as you can imagine the area needed hotels for people who came to see the concerts but also for the bands and here they put a Holidome. It still stands today as a functional hotel, under a different name, it’s been a half a dozen or so franchises of larger chains. I was there a few years ago and it was rather sad, it really looks like it hasn’t been updated since the 80s but the pool, hot tub, arcade, lounge, output golf and such are still available. The best part was absolutely having a room that opened up to the pool area, this meant you were pretty cool. Lol I didn’t know that others enjoyed them to the degree I did, especially as children. Thanks for the drive down memory lane.
Awesome – I go to Cleveland a few times a year so I’ll have to check it out.
The Ramada in Clarion, PA appears to be a re-branded Holidome. Stayed there a few months ago.
Awesome – thanks David
Check out the Doubletree in Rochester NY, Henrietta location. That was built as a Holidome. Been there many times back in the day. Had our High School prom there. Still standing to this day.
Erie PA. Splash Lagoon I believe is a former Holidome. It’s been renovated though but a nice place. I stayed there 5 years ago which was a Holiday Inn at the time but soon found out it dropped the IHG line entirely.
Hey Mark! We just left what used to be a Holidome in Texarkana! Looks like it’s changed hands more than once currently called “Boutique Hotel” by Ramada and before that was the “Clarion Lacrosse” but I was looking at the back of our hotel door map and it said “Holidome Area” where the pool is! (Which is what led me to your article here) I don’t know if you’d like to take the kids there it’s pretty cheap, has some kind of seedy people hanging around and had a pretty bad smell throughout the hotel. Our room had a sliding glass door that opened up to the pool area and the pool was actually really nice still.
Awesome – thanks for sharing Erin. Glad the pool area is holding up at least!
I stayed here as a kid when we would go to Texas to see Family. We always begged my Dad to stop there! Sadly it’s closed now. I was going to do a road trip to visit all the hotels that we stayed in. That’s how I found out it’s closed and on loop net for sale. We had one where I live but it was sold and demolished. It was actually one of the nicest ones I had ever been in. Oh to go back in time!!
Fun article!
Check out the Holiday Inn in St. Cloud, Minnesota, as well as Alexandria, MN. The one in Willmar, Minnesota is a potential, but thinking it’s been modified substantially.
Excellent – thanks Carrie
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The one in St. Louis is fun! We stayed there in January 2020. Up until just a few years ago, there were TWO Holidomes in the St. Louis area, but they demolished the other and built a regular hotel in its place. Very sad.
Thanks for sharing Amy. I hope to get out there next year with the kids.
I’m staying at a Holidome tonight! Holiday Inn, Spearfish, South Dakota. Mesmerizing!
Amazing – I am adding it to the list Stan!
Frankenmuth! Now you are stoking some childhood memories. Might need to do another trip in the near future to stuff my family full of Zehnder’s famous chicken ending with ice cream sundaes topped by little plastic zoo animals LOL. We visited the Splash Village indoor waterpark about 10 years ago when our kids were toddlers. The food and the waterpark were a hit. I understand that they have expanded it quite a bit.
Yeah they added an entire second area with some big slides etc. so about double the space now. It is one of the nicer water park / hotels we have seen for sure. Nicer than Bavarian Inn’s hotel but I have so much nostalgia for that hotel that we end up going there more often even though it is outdated (plus it is cheaper haha).
Love that place. Frankenmuth is awesome!
Frankenmuth is pretty special
There are a lot of these left but many have changed brands for better or worse. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/intercontinental-hotels-ihg-rewards-intercontinental-ambassador/1853107-holidomes-locations-currently-holiday-inn-branded-rebranded.html
A lot of them have been remodeled and repurposed the Holidome area unfortunately.
Excellent article, Mark! I didn’t know about the history of these gems. Coincidentally, I stayed at the one in Frankenmuth once on a trip to the Christmas store there. Thanks for the little mini-vacation I just took in my head. ❤️
Ah Bronners – one of a kind place for sure 🙂
Awe the memories of youth I remember going to these along with Howard Johnson’s, and then eating at Sambos, VIPS, Denny’s and Big Boy. A&W as a treat.
I still love myself some Denny’s after a late night 🙂
A&W is great too
I wonder if the Holiday Inn Chicago North Shore, 5300 W. Touhy Ave., Skokie, Illinois is a former Holidome? They have a covered courtyard with a pool that creates a chlorine musty smell through part of the hotel. Surrounding the pool are some rooms that do not have exterior windows, only windows to the pool area.
Two photos of the pool: http://www.hiskokie.com/gallery-hotel-amenities.php
Looks like it and that they half modified it haha
Love the article. For almost 10 years I have dragged my kids on a 3000 mile road trip every summer. They’ve grown up doing it (my oldest is a senior in HS). I hope the memories are lasting. One year we stayed in the Radission in Cheyenne WY and I thought it was the weirdest hotel I’d ever been in-indoor pool surrounded by rooms, big open area with a pool table, shuffleboard and video games. Not until I read, “Don’t Make Me Pull Over”, by Richard Ratay (a delightful book about the family road trip) did I realize it might be a Holidome. Since then we’ve stayed in a couple more that might be contenders-the Baymont by Wyndham in Cortez Co and just a week ago the Quality Inn in Trinidad CO. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one fascinated by the Holidome even though I never stayed in one when young.